You know what's cool about this whole "Socialism" meme?

[rucky]

People are finally connecting taxation with wealth - granted many are coming to the wrong conclusions, but that's due to a huge amount of misinformation out there about our tax system (and what we spend it on). Thanks, Grover Norquist. So the only thing missing is the facts connecting our tax dollars - who pays taxes, what's a "fair share", and what do we actually get for our tax dollar:

So here's one great article I've bookmarked for this occasion...

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/11/07/5075

Common Wealth and the 'Entirely Self-Made' Myth

by Michael Schwalbe

Every year since 1982 Forbes magazine has published a list of the 400 richest Americans. Anyone who wants to attach names and faces to the abstract notion of a "ruling class" should pick up a copy of the October 8, 2007, special issue. In profiling these richest of the rich, Forbes serves its self-proclaimed function as a "capitalist tool" -- not by offering advice on management strategies but by helping to manage popular consciousness.

Such management is necessary in a country where 1% of the population owns nearly 40% of the wealth. Lest this egregiously skewed distribution of resources evoke too many moral qualms, Forbes assures us, issue after issue, that economic inequality is the result of a fair game in which the smartest and hardest-working naturally rise to the top. Forbes tells us, for instance, that of those 400 richest Americans, 270, or about two-thirds, are "entirely self-made."

Yes, they say "entirely."

...

To see what's wrong with this idea, it's easiest to start with criteria that ought to disqualify a person from claiming to be "entirely self-made." After we've applied these criteria, we can see who's left in the pool. So, then, let us scratch from the list of the self-made anyone whose accumulation of wealth has been aided by any of the following:

- Laws concerning property or contracts, and the public agencies that enforce such laws
- Public schools or employees educated in public schools
- Employees or customers who rely on public transportation
- Mail systems built and operated at public expense
- Public hospitals and government-licensed physicians
- Health and safety regulations created and enforced at public expense
- Police and fire protection provided at public expense
- Public libraries and parks
- Any public amenities that add value to commercial or residential real estate
- Government contracts
- Government-provided business incentives
- Regulatory agencies, such as the Federal Trade Commission or the Securities and Exchange Commission, that sustain trust in the stock market
- A government-granted license permitting the exclusive use of a broadcast channel
- The Internet
- A form of currency legitimated and backed by a stable government
- Social welfare programs that keep the poor from rebelling
- The U.S. military

If we use these criteria to determine who can legitimately claim to be "entirely self-made," the Forbes number drops dramatically. It's not 270 out of 400. In fact, it's precisely zero.

read on! You'll see how a system of progressive taxation makes the American Dream possible.

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. Awesome!!

K and R

[wtmusic]

2. I was raised by wolves in the forest

can I be self-made? (D'oh...it was a national forest!) :banghead:

[rucky]

3. Cool. I've always wanted to be raised by wolves.