Stuff My Brain Says #35

Currently, President Obama is pushing for his "Buffet Rule" - a minimum tax rate upon the wealthy. He said that they were not paying their fair share. That's right, with about a $5 Billion/year estimated influx of cash to our oh-so-financially-trustworthy government, the concept is nothing but a gimmick. In other words, just a little class (envy) warfare in an election year. He says it's all in the name of fairness. I say that is a LIE. Mr. President, if you really want to spew such rhetoric with a straight face, how about, in the name of fairness, make the 47% of Americans who pay NO income tax pay their share? That would validate your (faux) sincerity and bring in much more to the coffers than the "Buffet Rule".

Oh, wait. I'm sorry. I forgot: this is an election year. You don't want to piss off all of those folks living off the government (in other words, receiving the benefits of this nation without the same sacrifice as the rest of us) now would you?

© Emittravel 2012

Any Graphic Artists Out There?

I'm not good at visuals. I can't draw a straight line with a ruler. I can't draw stick figures (they all come out male). I even have difficulty coming up with pictures to illustrate my blog. So, I'm asking for help.

I have an idea for a political cartoon, but I can't draw it. In one of my poems I mention that if a picture paints a thousand words, it is the poet's job to come up with the thousand words.

What follows is a description of what I have in mind. If you are of the visual bent, and can bring this to light, please contact me at nocturnecsh@gmail.com. I'll post the image to this blog (linking it to Twitter, Facebook, and Google+) - with full credit to you. Thanks!

Imagine the inside hull of a ship. On one bulkhead is a huge hole with a deluge of water flooding the compartment. The water is labeled "Spending" or "Debt". In the center of the frame stand a donkey and an elephant. Both have buckets in their hands and they are scooping the water from one side (their left?) and pouring it out on their other side (their right?). They are NOT throwing the water out, just moving it. One says to the other: "I think we need bigger buckets."

As you can tell from the cartoon, both the Democrats and Republicans are showing themselves inept when it comes to handling basic economics. The Democrats are crying that the wealthy are not paying their "fair share". If only they would our crisis would be over. The Republicans are saying no to any new taxes, but haven't proposed anything remotely serious when it comes to anything productive. Oh, I understand that they want to come up with some $1.6 trillion in cuts - OVER TEN YEARS! Who really gives a flip when they will increase spending by about $8 trillion over the same ten years?

Listen: you can confiscate ALL the resources of EVERYONE in the country and the problem WOULD NOT BE SOLVED. Why? Because these morons in D.C. will simply OUT SPEND the revenue - as they have been doing for YEARS.

That is why the proposed cartoon has both parties working hand in hand as the ship goes under.

So, thanks folks! Have at it. Can't wait to see what you come up with!

© Emittravel 2011