rbw1966

Then make the people who comprise those corporations legally (and financially) responsible for the actions of that corporation.

quote: Originally posted by MtnGoat: "Upping the percentage on people who make peanuts does not make you much money until you REALLY gouge." And yet these same people are the ones who demand the most services. What we have is people who do not generate enough resources for themselves, demanding someone *else* work to serve them. I noticed you used the term "demand" twice in the above post. Please provide evidence that these people DEMAND these services and make sure you use ample citations to back up your sweeping generalization of who "these people" are. Show your work.

I agree with Poseur: corporations get the legal benefit of being treated as individuals so why not tax them the same? I think we're on to something.

Hey--who let Mr. Reality into the classroom? I thought this was a hypothetical discussion. How can we solve the worlds problems if someone keeps injecting pragmatism into it?

You actually listen to the dialogue? I bet you have a box of kleenex and some hand lotion nearby too.

I'm not an economist, but I play one on cc.com. Intuitively though, it would seem that a flat rate coupled with zero deductions would make the tax-field a lot more equitable. People falling into the lower echelons of the income strata already have fewer deductions--if any--then those falling at the opposite end of the spectrum. Eliminate deductions and the field becomes more level because the rich would end up paying more under a flat rate system then they do now. The zero deduction clause would not affect the poor much at all while it would affect the rich significantly.

My unit was jumping into the swamps of Florida on a training exercise. We'd only been in the plane for an hour or so but if you've ever ever worn all the paraphanalia of a military parachute drop you know how horribly uncomfortable it is. Main chute, reserve, rucksack, rifle, shit hanging everywhere. And it was hot. Water in the canteens so warm it tasted like tea kinda hot. We were begging for them to open the doors. When they finally started pushing people out I was sweating like a pig and dying to get out. They were shotgunning people out both doors in a staggered fashion to avoid colliding under the plane. Welll. . .lets just say I was a tad bit too eager to get out the door and the guy on the other side of the plane hit me upon exit. I was tangled in his risers and he was about ten feet below me, just under the rucksack strapped to my reserve. Training took over at this point and I started pulling myself down his risers so our chutes were side-by-side rather than one above the other. There are horror stories about both chutes failing under these circumstances. The guy below me was screaming his head off. Before we had time to think about much else we hit the ground, each of us rolling on our backs and away from each other. He had released his rucksack before impact. I had not released mine out of fear it would slam into his head. I limped away with a few cracked ribs, he walked away fine. As we were packing up our chutes our battallion commander came running by "you guys like doing things the hard way! Hoooah!" We looked at each other and smiled. Oh, you wanted climbing related: Myself and two friends headed up to climb the Eliot Headwall on Hood. It was late summer and conditions were not so good. Our not-so-alpine start put us at the bergschrund at around 3. Looking down into it we knew if we went for it we'd be descending by moonlight so we decided to turn around. We were roped up together with me at the end and our least-experienced member in the middle. We were doing running belays using screws since the ice was too bulletproof to take pickets. About halfway down snowdome I hooked a crampon point on the leg of my bibs and I was off to the races. There was no pro between me and the middle guy so I went screaming on by him. He tried to arrest the fall but was ripped off too and we both went screaming past the leader who dropped to arrest position. When I came to a stop I was on the opposite side of a crevasse, my feet just barely reaching snow. The thing that held our fall? One single screw.

I'm hoping to go BC skiing this weekend. Maybe can incorporate the two and do some choss climbing at Illumination Rock or hit Pete's Pile on the way home. French's?

quote: Originally posted by allison: -everyone gets 10% income tax and %5 sales tax... -smokers get 60% 'smoking tax' (purchase of cigaretts etc) -drinkers get a 20% 'alcohol tax'(on purchaswe of alcohol) -have kids, get $500 per year per kid (up to 3 kids) -make more than $500,000 per annum? 30% income tax -make more than 7 figures, 40% tax -make less tahn $18,000 0% income tax -make under $20,000 with kids 0% . . hmm something is wrong with this picture... Sure is. So let me see if I have this correct: smokers get taxed more than drinkers. Why? People who are successful get taxed progressively more? Why? Success is punished under your system. That seems to be completely against many of the principles upon which our country was founded. I agree philosophically with a flat tax--but only if its across the board with absolutely no deductions--not even for kids.

Looks like an inverted opium poppy head to me.

And don't forget your sled if you really want to make it a suffer-fest. I'll bring the wine to load it up with.

Let me know if you need a partner. This has been on my list for a while.

Hmmm. . .I seem to recall talking to someone who did it in a long weekend during the winter but I very well may be mistaken. Also a good trip: circumnavigation of Mt. Hood during the winter. This is another on my list.

Should not take more than a long weekend. Hit the trailhead Friday evening, get an alpine start and go for it. Should be able to make the exit at Bachelor late Sunday night. Travel fast and light. In springtime conditions its possible to do it in 24 hours. Wintertime the approach is longer (about 6 miles I think--Iain?).

Three sisters marathon. Let me know when you wanna go. I'm doing it this year.

I thought I was the only dork watching that. The skiers made me feel better about my abilities.

And congratulations to TG for a job well done!

Air burst! Air burst!

Um. . yeah, thats what I am doing. I'm trying to pick up some pointers on the finer aspects of poultry romance. Are you stalking me?

Including your affinity for chickens. Damn--no page top. [ 11-13-2002, 03:08 PM: Message edited by: rbw1966 ]

Kudos to our own Terminal Gravity whose brewpub was hailed as the "best little brewery in Oregon." Keep up the good work! Can you feel the love? Oops: What I MEANT to say was in Jonathan Nicholas' column in the Oregonian he states: "Can Wallowa County show Europe the way? Martin Goebel, founder of Portland-based Sustainable Northwest, has been helping northeast Oregon show that environmentally sustainable development really can work in rural economies. So there was Goebel last week, at a NATO-sponsored workshop in Poland, talking up Enterprise and grass-roots action. Hope he didn't give away all the town's secrets. We don't want everyone finding Terminal Gravity, the best little brewery in Oregon. " [ 11-13-2002, 03:11 PM: Message edited by: rbw1966 ]

You've got way too much time on your hands.

Welcome to participatory democracy. If you want to abdicate all your political powers to some dipshit in office feel free. Don't want to sign the petition, then don't. Just because its on the ballot doesn't mean you have to approve it. The initiative process is the most grassroots form of political change short of litigation Joe Citizen has available to him (or her).

Don't panic! Buy organic!