Fall break

So it's Fall Break. I have been working on my thesis a lot over the break, watching soccer and football, and enjoying life. Weather's been okay, but it rained yesterday. Nothing terribly exciting. I'm back on campus, and nobody is here. Quiet, quiet, quiet.

What inspired me to post is that I wrote a really long email and I figured I ought to keep it, as it explains why I couldn't vote for Obama (or McCain). Since many people in my generation probably find it inconceivable that somebody my age couldn't vote for Barack (heh - the google spell checker doesn't recognize Barack), I can direct them to this little ditty. It began with an email that my mom sent that illustrated who pays the federal income tax and people whining about how "unfair" tax cuts are there.

This is slightly disingenuous... this is only the federal income tax, not all taxes.

They've tried to do studies on taxes paid as a percentage of income earned, and almost across the board people pay a little more than 25 percent of their income in taxes w/ sales taxes, local income tax, property taxes, corporate income, payroll, etc.

For example, if one makes $90000 all of your income is subject to the ~6% payroll tax (plus there's the hidden payroll tax "your employer" pays - actually, the vast majority of the payroll tax the employer pays ultimately comes out of the paycheck of the employee, but that's another subject), so about 6% of that person's income is paid in payroll taxes.

Compare that with somebody who makes $900000. only the first ~$90000 is subject to the payroll tax, so less than 1% of his/her income is taxed under the payroll tax. The rich guy also will pay a smaller percentage of income in sales taxes, cigarette taxes, gas taxes, etc. because, while that person may spend more and may pay more taxes in an absolute sense, that person will not pay a proportionate amount of taxes than an average/poor earner.

Sooo, having said all that, Obama saying that 95% of Americans will get a "tax cut" under his plan is even more disingenuous. Considering that 40+% of Americans do not pay any federal income taxes, it's hard to see where the "cut" for them comes from. Ultimately that plan is tricked up welfare, a new New Deal which provides only an income effect (which will lead people who get these "cuts" to work less) while raising marginal tax rates on everybody (which provides a substitution effect away from work as well).

Essentially, it will shrink the tax base to pay for a growing number of people on the dole to some degree or another. As a trend, it's entirely unsustainable over the long term, which is a significant part of why I couldn't bring myself to vote for a pretty cool dude whose foreign policy I entirely agree with and who is on the right (or right-er) side of many social issues (gay rights, drug decriminalization/legalization, removing the embargo of Cuba). He has been pretty even keel, but his party's demogogary on economic issues (Two Americas, opposing free trade, THEY TOOK OUR JERBS- google that if you don't get it, etc) is pretty unforgivable. I will never vote Democratic as long as they continue that crap. Even when a 40something smooth guy with a much better temperment to be president is running against a geriatric "American greatness" conservative who the neo-cons liked over Bush in 2000 who picked somebody for vice president who appears to be a dumber, less qualified version of George W. Bush.

So it's a great year to do a write-in! I would have voted for Bob Barr, but the dude was a religious nut who attempted to crucify Clinton and wrote the Defense of Marriage Act. Write-in! Viva la revolucion!

Son #1

By the way, I wrote in Mike Munger, a Duke political science and economics professor who is running for governor of NC on the libertarian ticket. I honestly believe that he would do a better job governing than just about anyone in the country, so I don't feel I threw away my vote at all, despite my occasional crack that I threw away my very valuable vote (NC is a swing state this year). And, in my own little way, I did protest- I want to be a Republican, but the party has lost it's way since 1995 after the government shutdown. Goddamn Bill Clinton and his inexplicable desire to have sex with ugly interns. He riled up too many religious nutjobs.