Interesting Web Site
I disagree with some of things that the author of the essay at fuckthesouth.com had to say, mostly the statements about the second amendment and a little bit of the hyperbole about taxation, but it's otherwise worth a read.
posted by Robert at
11:35 AM
5 Comments:
(Savannah) What part of the taxation stuff did you find over-the-top? The fact that he claims ownership of specific buildings?
The overall pattern he describes, of the north supporting the south, is not limited to America. "The north," whether globally, regionally, or within a given country, is always richer than "the south"--and usually has to support it. About ten years ago, a group in northern Italy called (appropriately enough) the Lega Nord wanted to secede over frustration about the financial dependence of the south on northern tax revenues.
Anyhow, you're right, it was a good read.
By
Anonymous, at 12:38 PM
I didn't appreciate The Author ripping on people who think that the money they earn should belong to them. Hey, it IS my money, not the government's money. Mind you, I'm okay with taxation in general as the price of citizenship, and people who say "Name one good thing that any government did" (like the Libertarian candidate for one of the Wisconsin offices did) are off the deep end, but I think our taxes could be lower if everybody paid their fair share. "Don't tax the rich because they'll just figure out how to avoid paying taxes," which is what King George has said, is morally bankrupt. (Yes, I know this is not what The Author says; I got off on a tangent. I just have a problem with people who don't think that the money we earn belongs to us.)
By
Robert, at 1:24 PM
(Savannah) I didn't think the author was trying to debate the point of whether it's our money or not. He was using "it's our money" as an example of the phrases that southerners use when they complain about taxes, and he was angry at them for making such complaints when they get financial help from the north. He's saying "Blue states have a heavier tax burden than you, and in fact are supporting you with our taxes, so shut up about how put-upon you are."
It's like when Samuel Johnson said, also about the American South, "How is it we hear the loudest yelps for liberty from the drivers of negroes?" He wasn't arguing about liberty itself, he was saying that slave-owners have no right to demand it for themselves when they deny it to others. The fuckthesouth author was saying the same thing: Southerners should shut up about taxes when they are on the *receiving end* of tax support rather than the giving end.
And you're right: working people should keep far more of what they make. The tax burden should be shifted sharply upward. We (I include stay-at-home moms) support the country with our work. Taxes should be minimal for us. The rich should feel it. We give our days; they should give their cash.
By
Anonymous, at 2:30 PM
(JJB) Not to mention the comparative return on investment wealthier folks get from their tax dollars.
By
Anonymous, at 11:01 PM
(Matt) Check this sorry site out: http://www.sorryeverybody.com/gallery/1/
By
Anonymous, at 8:19 AM
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