The Best Thing - The Global attack on HIV/AID, not withstanding the prohibition of promoting condom use.

The Worst Thing - The unconstitutional unitary executive branch power.

Today in the United States the percentages may have changed to 97% and 3% but the truth is still there.

My surprise is that this seems to be a negative thing. 

The history of the past sixteen years shows that, during the first eight years, when the trivial many were allowed to participate in saving, investing and building toward a future, they tended to get richer and the economy tended to expand and grow.

Over the next eight years, when the wealth was allowed to return to the wealthy, the economy went down the toilet

My theory as to why is this:  Rich people don't need more money.  So when you give rich people more money they start to play with it.  Playing with money one doesn't need leads to dangerous speculation and risky ventures.  So what if I lose this money, I didn't need it in the first place.  I don't care if I lose it and I stand to make a bundle if the venture works.

The rich are also very good at playing with other people's money.  We trivial many just can't wait to trust them.  They must know how to grow money - they're RICH!

The rich will always be with us.  Being wealthy is the reward for being excellent (or very lucky).  I think Pareto was right but is a way he didn't see.  The vital few can be very predatory and greedy.  George Bush is just finishing up an eight year experiment that seems to prove that when you give tax breaks to the rich, the economy eventually gows down the crapper.

How about this for an economic recovery package.

Stop rewarding debt!!!

Encourage secure growth savings

Call for all patriotic (and otherwise ) citizens to PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE! 

Individual Income Tax - no exemptions, no deductions, period. no different kinds of income (wages, interest, capital gains, windfalls etc. )

Under $50,000 you pay 10% (Hell pay up, you are getting a lot of governmant services )

$50,000 to $499,999.99 you pay 20%  (Come on, pay up, you can afford it)

$500,000 and up you pay 30% ( you rely on the government to protect your wealth and be thankful you are not getting all the government you are paying for)

WHY?

John McCain is pro-life.  His life began t conception.  Now, if he were conceived in the terratorial United States we don't need more useless legislation.

If, on the other hand, Constitutional life begins at birth...well he may need some protection.

The only problen then is:

If Constitutional life begins at conception, then in order for foreigners to secure citizenship for their babies, all they need to do is to cross the border and conceive our little citizens on US soil (or motels) and then go back home.  After birth they only need to present the baby, along with a picture of the conception act which includes a GPS reading...AND BABY IS HOME FREE!!!

John McCain gets to solve the illegal immagration problem  at the same time he resolves the pro-life (welfare) vs. pro-choice (self sustaining) question.  And he doesn't even need to worry about seperation of church and state to do it! 

$50,000,000,000 will buy a lot more wind turbines than it will buy nuclear power plants. It will also provide the volume of orders to drive the price down so the savings can be used to provide the volume of orders to make photo voltaic roof shingles affordable 

My God, Senator!  you have the power and the constitution mandate to do that.  Stop with these nebulous, fuzzy, transparent attempts to protect wealth and start protecting the future of everyone in this wonderful country

What we should be doing is

• Encouraging Israel to go out into the world and start fighting against genocide aimed at muslem minorities.  They could invite the Palistenians to engage in joint operations in Darfur for example.  Who is going to want to exterminate a country that is defending your religon?  That is the meaning of NEVER AGAIN,  Never Again.
• Put a $1.00 per gallon tax on oil and gasoline and use that money to erect neighborhood windmills, install roof shingle solar cells on every building, construct trash to energy power generating systems around the country and most importantly - recycle the profits from these ventures to pay for more of the same.  This is good for oil producing nations as well.  Their resources and their income will last longer.
• If the United States knew what was best for the middle east, we would have solved their problems after the two world wars.  We need to BACK OFF.  We need to STOP what we are doing.  19 Saudi Arabians attack the World Trade Center.  They are led and inspired by a Yemmani Saudi.  We attack the Yemmani Saudi in Afganistan, but not really because we need an enemy to be afraid of.  Then we invade Iraq because maybe nobody will notice we need a secure place to get oil because China and India are going to suck every other source dry within 20 years.  Then we try to pick a fight with Iran for God knows why, we support Israel attacking Lebonnan AND THEN WE SEND OUR PRESIDENT TO THE REGION AS GLEEFULLY AS A BRIDE TO HER WEDDING BOWER WITH BILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF OUR BEST WEAPONS!

 As I remember, the argument was something to the effect that allowing the rich to keep more money would encourage them toinvest that money in America, thus driving long term economic gain for everyone through more jobs, better jobs, more tax revenue through increased commerce which would result in lower  government and national debt.  Now we need something entirely new.

I propose paying our fair share.  People get emotional over taxes, period.  It's going to happen regardless of the plan.  So lets have a simple plan.  I propose our current ltax law is unlawful because it can't be understood.  People do not pay their fair share.  Poor people use a lot of expensive social services.  Rich people use a lot of very expensive protection services.  So...if you earn less than $50,000 in a year you pay 10% tax, Period.  If you earn $50,001 to $500,000, you pay 20%.  If you earn more than that you pay 30%.  Unearned annual income from investments held for more than five years that amounts to over $5,000 up to $500,000 is taxed at 20% and over that it is taxed t 30%.  All unearned income from investments held less than five years and all windfall income is taxed at 40%.  Cheaters forfit all income for the year that they cheated.  The same rates apply for corporations who wish to do business with or within the United States.

If any member of congress receives value (money, trips, candy, etc.) from any entity that would benefit from any legislation then that congreaa person is prohibited from voting on that legislation.  Violations will result in the forfiture of that congressional seat and the nulling and vioding of that legislation.  To protect free speech, congress people can introduce and debate the legislation, they just can't vote on it.  This does not apply to the interests of the home state provided any value recieved is votes. 

 Please keep in mind that I am only trying to look at the United States economy with out including the hundreds of billions, perhaps trillions of dollars that have evaporated in the Iraq debacle.

We have given this economic plan seven years to work. That is a fair amount of time over which we should be able to spot success or failure.  I think the final grade has to be failure.  This is why.  The richest people and corporations have been getting to keep more money for the past seven years so they could re-invest it.  They did this.  But, they did not re-invest in new stuff for the United States.  They have been buying each other out, ccarving each other up, selling each other off and generally running around and around in ever shifting, ever merging circles.  The economic engines that are supposed to drive our economy look more and more like the pack of tigers in the politically incorrect story of Little Black Sambo.

• Hedge Funds - Limited to the wealthiest financial gruops, very risky, and virtually tax free.
• Sub-Prime mortgages - What a Great idea!  Lend to people who can't afford a house, mortgages that they will not be able to pay back after two years.  This forces them to refinance all of the equity that a booming housing market has inflated because they get slapped with a penalty when they do it.  And NOBODY saw this bust coming?
• Investing in China - I bought a pair of shoes that have holes for stitching.  The shoes are glued together,  Not a stitch on them!  How do I know?  The glue comes unstuck after one month.  Can I buy shoes not made in China?  No.  They are making our food, our drugs, our automobile tires, our toy, our clothes, our tools and almost everything else in our stores today.  I think you could write the names of corporations investing in America on the back of a match book
• Labor - how much money is the business sector investing in illegal immagration? - Billions. How many billions?  I don't know off hand.  But does anyone else out there have an estimate on how many billions of dollars get wired and mailed back to foreign countries in small ($20, $50 $100 per week or month) increments?  This money is leaving our economy and going to poor areas of Asia, Africa, Europe and South and Central America.  Some of it is being recycled to pay for more human smuggeling.  Businesses are not being held accountable.
• Lobbying - How much money must rich people and rich corporations be making off of our current fiscal policy that they actually show profit from investing hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars with sitting congressional people?
• Oil - It seems that since the top secret Dick Cheney energy policy was adopted the price of fuel has been rising.  All of the increases are going to the energy companies. Last year a $1.00 /gal freedom from oil tax on $2.00/gal gasoline would have been policical suicide.  This year $1.00 tax on $3.00/gal gas is anathma.  But we still got the price rise and we have nothing to show for it except the forcast of $4.00 gas next year.  Lets put the tax in place and use it to rebuild roads and bridges and offer a prize of $50,000,000 to the first five people who invent, build and have tested a retrofittable 100 mpg auto engine or propulsion system that can be retrofitted into existing vehiclesat a consumer cost of no more than $5,000.  I would also propose that tvery member of the first factory that can produce those affordable engines at a six sigma quality level each get $1,000,000 after the first year.