Paul Grad has thrown down the gauntlet with his letter to the editor and has called for something as outrageous as…civil dialogue!
Does that take all the fun out things or what? Well I’ll do my best at being civil, though my cynicism is often difficult to contain.
Please allow me to apologize for not giving credit to Mr. Grad’s comments. The nature of web comments is less formal than “real” journalism (and most often anonymous) but I will give proper attribution in the future. Frankly, I had a suspicion that another person on our staff was writing under an assumed name.
On to Mr. Grad’s comments…
Let’s start with the police armor tax credit. Is this something you think the Federal Government should be controlling Mr. Grad? If so, why just law enforcement? Don’t you think we should be looking at which industries cause more deaths (like logging, aircraft pilots and fishing industry workers) and improving safety there? How about convenience store workers? I’m guessing they’re more likely to get shot at than police are; shouldn’t they be included in this bill?
Don’t get me wrong, I am all for the government stepping in and helping to make the world a safer place. This, however, seems like a special interest group getting tax credit-sounds like that might be called ‘socialist welfare’.
Regarding the ‘criticisms’ that I launched at Mr. Grad, I stand by my statement that some folks are hard to please when it comes to government spending. The staunch position that taxes are theft precludes that fact that taxes were established by a democratic process and could be removed in the same manner.
I am not sure I understand the idea that there is some sort of “harm” done to people who are taxed. I am drawn to the idea that taxes are payment for the use of public goods and services (and yes, we need to pay folks to administer the programs.) Therefore, I am “buying” my protection from criminals, terrorists and foreign invasion among other things.
To Mr. Grad’s assertion regarding the “immorality of taxing for things not in the Constitution,” Article I Section 8 of the constitution is fairly clear: “The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States.” The 16th amendment specifically allows for an income tax.
I agree completely with Grad on the issue of military spending. I feel that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said it best, “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.” I believe that the majority of military spending is simply, so-called “pork barrel” spending out of control. Many powerful politicians keep their power because they deliver big “defense” contracts to their home districts. We need all those bases and wars to support the industry.
I also agree that our natural resources are being sold for much less than their intrinsic value by the BLM.
I do differ with Grad on the issue of our county commissioners’ salary. The salaries are comparable to the private sector given the size of the organization. If we want our government agencies run efficiently, we need to pay prevailing wages for people to run them. The commissioners make more than most folks because they are responsible for more than most folks. To say that a multi-million dollar organization should be run but someone making minimum-wage strikes me as a bit extreme.
Josiah Dean
