Here's your Democratic alternative...

[rraley]

Why is a person who has never paid income taxes offering to increase mine?

Come back when the "cruel world" is something you have experienced and not read about.

So sorry Pete for having ideas...

Well let's look at my tax code simplification proposal and the response that it invoked from many of you. A similar response will occur for ANY form of tax code simplification. There will be someone who will criticize the proposals and make them impossible. In the 2004 South Carolina Senate race, Republican Jim DeMint championed a national sales tax. The DSCC and Inez Tennebaum harshly criticized it as a tax increase for most South Carolinians. The result: DeMint's winning percentage in South Carolina, a solidly red state, was much lower than expected. Furthermore, there is a large market out there that deals with the large, convoluted tax structure in America. Imagine America without HR Blocks, tax attorneys, accountants, IRS employees...those mediums employ ALOT of people and with tax code simplification, many would lose their jobs. These two dynamics combine to ensure that any real tax code simplification will not occur.

Now I know that my 30% idea does not dramatically increase taxes, but the proof for that is found in the details and the problem is that it isn't my proposal...it is the proposal of a group of economically conservative professors. I would suggest that y'all look into it...it is a solid proposal that creates lower taxes for those who make under $100,000 and allows greater simplicity. I also like a VAT (over a sales tax, which in my opinion, affects the consumer too much while leaving the producer out of it). The thing that I absolutely would not like to see is a flat tax that causes the middle's taxes to increase and the upper's taxes to decrease (most of the flat tax proposals I have seen create such a dynamic).

 

[rraley]

BTW...I'm listening to George W. Bush speak right now about "fair trade..." His position sounds more like mine than what many of you have articulated.

 

[SamSpade]

Once again, why can't we have congerssional districts based on counties? Figure up your state's population, and divie up the districts by grouping geological areas together. Of course, looking at all of those red counties out there, that would be bad news for Democrats.

Doesn't work, for many reasons, but the simplest is that population *distribution* in many states is massively heterogeneous with respect to counties. You just can't proportionately represent the people by dividing along county lines.

Take New York, 29 representatives, 62 counties. 19 million people - of which, around *12* million live in the 8 counties closest to New York City. That's two-thirds of the people in the state. That gives them about 19 representatives. You *have to* divide the regions around New York City into smaller regions to get 19 representatives. Otherwise, you have one representative for several MILLION, and another for a few ten thousand.

I realize with some western states - like Wyoming - there's only ONE Congressman at all, and he represents a smaller population than some of his eastern counterparts. That's unavoidable.

Same with California, Texas, Georgia, Illinois and Pennsylvania. Huge population centers with nothing else around. GeoGRAPHICally ( I know you didn't mean geoLOGICally) it just doesn't work any other way).

UNfortunately, this redistricting is allowed to be warped any way people want, without any regard for how they function. Thus, all of Southern Maryland is lumped in with PG County, even though we're more closely connected with Anne Arundel in the way we function.

It's a conflict of interest to allow the a party to control how the districts are re-drawn. It makes more sense to allow a non-partisan group to draw them in a way that makes sense.

 

[Bruzilla]

Take New York, 29 representatives, 62 counties. 19 million people - of which, around *12* million live in the 8 counties closest to New York City.

Sounds like you would have eight reps for the eight counties, with about 1.5 million constitunets each, only about 1/2 or so of voting age. Then have the remaining reps pick up 2 or 3 counties each, for a constituent level of about 420,000 or so. If you want to play in the big leagues downtown, you'll be expected to put up more of an effort. What's wrong with that?

 

[SamSpade]

Sounds like you would have eight reps for the eight counties, with about 1.5 million constitunets each, only about 1/2 or so of voting age. Then have the remaining reps pick up 2 or 3 counties each, for a constituent level of about 420,000 or so. If you want to play in the big leagues downtown, you'll be expected to put up more of an effort. What's wrong with that?

For one thing, it's usually considered unconstitutional not to fairly apportion districts. The agency I work at - the Census - is specifically mandated by the Constitution largely for this reason alone - to be able to establish representation.

That being the case, they do a fairly decent job of dividing the populations evenly. Take TEXAS, for example - here's a breakdown of its districts:

http://www.ncec.org/redistricting/district9d41.html?district=tx108


I also gave the simplest scenario. Truth is, each state has its OWN laws which forbid districts to be redrawn certain ways - e.g. cities or townships can't be broken up, minorities can't be deliberately excluded, etc. Some of the laws are archaic, but each state is allowed them, and is responsible for the redistricting.

 

[Toxick]

Did I miss something? Surely you are not suggesting that the US impose its values on sovreign nations by insisting that they pay their workers a minimum wage that is to our liking?

Hell, if we're going to do that, lets make English the official language, and establish Christianity (or Islam, Buddhism or Wicca - doesn't really matter) as the official religion for the Global Community.

I say it's time we USE our Superpower status instead of all this pussy footing around.

 

[sleuth]

Hell, if we're going to do that, lets make English the official language, and establish Christianity (or Islam, Buddhism or Wicca - doesn't really matter) as the official religion for the Global Community.

I say it's time we USE our Superpower status instead of all this pussy footing around.

Throwing in the tag because you forgot it.

 

[Toxick]

Throwing in the tag because you forgot it.

Thanks.
I'm learning that I can't be too careful.