Today I was in the psych grad lab just shooting the breeze (I love the PG-13 version of that phrase. I don't know why. I guess I just like hearing swearing. It's funny to me and feels so casual. I guess that's the problem though...too casual becomes too irreverent and so on...but still) with some of the other students and someone had brought up the subject of Obama's news conference last night touting the stimulus plan. One guy then started complaining that all Republicans ever want are tax cuts, and how was that supposed to ever get us out of this recession. My insides were churning.
I think taking an economics class should be mandatory for all college students. Very few people will ever actually do anything related to it professionally, but economics is a key factor in government and having a rudimentary understanding of economic principles is fundamental to having an informed voice.
Taxes were the reason why colonial Americans threw the Boston Tea Party (which is in itself kind of funny now that you think about it. Rich white guys are pissed about having all these taxes levied, so what do they decide to do? Throw a bunch of tea into the Boston harbor, but dressed up as Native Americans. If people were to do this today, what would they be dressed up as? African-Americans? Hispanics? Middle-easterners? Jews? Do you think anyone would realize what it was that they were protesting or would they go straight to talking about how racist/anti-semitic/anti-whatever and be looking for some way to turn this into a hate crime? What would the ACLU do? I wish something like that could occur just so I could see. That was the longest aside ever.) was all about. No taxation without representation, remember? Or in the Book of Mormon, what were the people of Zeniff upset about? The taxes (burdens) inflicted by the Lamanites. Their grievances were to heavy to be born, so they skidaddled their hinies out of there.
Taxes means you have less money and the government has more. Honestly...when does the government ever surpass the private individual's ability to make the most out of a dollar? If your company generates $1 million in revenue and gets taxed 30%, you probably stay, right? What happens when taxes goes up to 50%? 70%? At what point do you start looking for other options overseas where there are not so many government excisions?
Everyone needs to take a basic course in economics. And if I were teaching that class I would have everyone read Atlas Shrugged. So needed right now...
2 comments:
Here, here!
I'd rather our country depend more on God than our government!
ps, I'd dress up as a hippie. They bug me.
Chris, be proud of me. I took econ110 not once but TWICE! (...I got a D the first time around and had to take it again because it was a major requirement.)
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