People who make minimum wage would be fine under the flat tax because the would get a bigger return at tax time.
I don't understand what you mean here. How does getting back the extra money (above the 5%) that was withheld from their paychecks cushion the blow of the 5% itself? This doesn't address the problem that, even once they get their refunds, the 5% taken out of their paycheck cuts into the bare essentials needed to survive.
I am sorry I really do think those people need to look at their life choices and make changes to improve their situation. It goes back to accountability. People think they are entitled to this that and the other are wrong. You are entitled to nothing. You have to earn everything you need and want. It is harsh I know, but it is a lesson I had to learn the hard way.
People are at least entitled to not having the system burden them unfairly when they're already at a disadvantage. Here's a fact: the united states of America has the second lowest social mobility in the developed world. According to a Kent University study, 70.9% of adults in the lower income quartile were in the lower half of income distribution as children, and well over half of those were in the bottom quartile, not just the lower half. If you are poor in America, chances are it has less to do with your life choices than it has to do with the fact that you were born poor: you went to a lousy public school with no books and incompetent teachers, you didn't have books in your home, you didn't have educated parents, you had to worry more about dodging the crossfire of warring drug gangs than studying when you were growing up, you were surrounded by drug addicts and prostitutes instead of positive role models, and so on. Even if that person really wanted to improve his or her situation, they still have to compete with the people who have had every advantage. There are people who climb the social ladder in this country, of course, but it happens much more rarely here than in other developed countries. Hard work isn't enough. You need to work hard AND be lucky. If you are already at a disadvantage in the latter regard, a tax rate that cuts into your basic needs for survival is going to make it harder to pull yourself out and make the American class structure more rigid.
Like you, I believe people need to earn what they want and need. I just want everyone to have an equal opportunity to do so.
Back to public voting on spending. Those example where there is human suffering or act of God would not require a vote. That is a given.
It isn't a given in the sense that you'd have to specify that in the statute. If you didn't, judges like Scalia and Thomas who look to the literal meaning of the language would declare any such emergency spending illegal and the more liberal judges would insert their own ideas of common sense. Dealing with all the exceptions and complications that arise when you apply general principlals to real life is how your ten page bill turns into encyclopedia-length tomes.
The American public are smarter than you think.
I'm not making a judgement on how smart they are, just how informed they are on matters of policy. I'm under no misconception here; I've studied this in college and worked on a congressional campaign.
I hate when someone try to discount the American people's think and expects them to vote on policy maker. Either they know what they are doing or they don't. Why vote at all? Just make all public office life terms. I trust the American people to do what is best for their country.
I think what you're saying here is if they aren't capable of voting on specific policies, then that must mean they aren't capable of picking leaders to do it for them. I don't agree with this logic. You don't know how to fix teeth, but that doesn't mean you can't pick a good dentist.
Let me clear this up a little. The public vote won't deal with those subjects that you brought; it would deal with things like the bridge to nowhere. These little personal issues that Reps have and try to get pass without thinking the cost. There has been a incredible lack of accountability with how our money is spent. I know my idea of public vote on how the US Government spends money is unrealistic, but my whole point is that we haven't been pay any attention to how our money is spent.
We need to look at who is the biggest spenders of our money and what it was for. Examine where the money went and why; there has been a lot money spent to appease special interest groups and campaign donors. It is time for it to end. It time for us to say," You will not spend my money like that anymore." We allow this to continue without protest or yelling. It is time for us to become that voice that says,"Stop" and not only during elections. It has to be done now!
If you're talking about people making themselves more informed and getting more active politically, then I can get behind that.
