Home
| Calendar
| Mail Lists
| List Archives
| Desktop SIG
| Hardware Hacking SIG
Wiki | Flickr | PicasaWeb | Video | Maps & Directions | Installfests | Keysignings Linux Cafe | Meeting Notes | Linux Links | Bling | About BLU |
On Thu, Aug 15, 2013 at 11:25:16PM +0000, Edward Ned Harvey (blu) wrote: > > From: discuss-bounces+blu=nedharvey.com at blu.org [mailto:discuss- > > bounces+blu=nedharvey.com at blu.org] On Behalf Of Greg Rundlett > > > > I think most people, and virtually all people on this list, would view this > > tax as both unjust and counterproductive. > > "Unjust?" I fail to see injustice. Injustice is when there's a > disproportional relationship between somebody's actions and the > actions that are against them. It does mean that, but that's a very narrow definition. Injustice simply means "wrong" or "unfair" (and feel free to consult a dictionary if you don't want to take my word for it)--see Rich's post quoting senator Brownsberger's well-worded argument as to why this tax is indeed unjust. And N.B.: the senator voted for the bill, and now wants to repeal it... because it IS unfair. > Counterproductive? A matter of perspective. It's counterproductive > for me, as somebody who has to pay a tax. It's productive for the > other people, who are the recipients. > > I definitely oppose corruption in government. But I favor honest > people being employed by government dollars, which have to come from > somewhere. We're really straying from topic here [this is your cue to stop reading if you are concerned about such things]--but public monies used to employ public employees are only productive if the employees are productively employed at tasks which benefit the public good. I can't tell you how many times I've gone into my public University's Registrar's office and seen 4-5 full-time government employees sitting around chatting about NOTHING RELATED TO EDUCATION while I waited in line for over an hour to change my schedule because the university screwed it up, while one or two student employees serviced the 100+ students waiting in line for exactly the same reason. In my parents' town police employees have been dismissed "honorably" with full benefits after defrauding the public and committing other crimes. Productive? Very hard to see... I'm for paying my fair share... so long as it's fair. And frankly some waste is probably unavoidable, and I'm reasonably OK with that too. But the various governments in the USA are notorious for waste, and Massachusetts is among the worst offenders (and highest tax burden) in the country. Do we get more for our tax dollars? I think not... I've had family members and friends of family who've worked in a variety of state and local government positions, and combined with my own experiences dealing with various government agencies, the stories they all have shared UNIVERSALLY led me to think there's very little that's productive about public employment, without exception. I view it more as a necessary evil, than anything remotely resembling "productive"... So while I'm not opposed to taxes, I am opposed to the state bleeding hard-working people dry, simply on account of their inability to behave responsibly with MY money. But that's NOT why I oppose this tax. See above. -- Derek D. Martin http://www.pizzashack.org/ GPG Key ID: 0xDFBEAD02 -=-=-=-=- This message is posted from an invalid address. Replying to it will result in undeliverable mail due to spam prevention. Sorry for the inconvenience.
BLU is a member of BostonUserGroups | |
We also thank MIT for the use of their facilities. |