Secession???

A recent post on thinkprogress.org discusses comments Gov Rick Perry made about support the secession of Texas if Washington continues to force bail out money/programs on the states. His argument is that not all states are willing to accept the money/programs along with the stipulations that Washington is placing on them, and that's a violation of the 10th amendment. I think any talk of secession is absurd. Yes the country is in poor economic shape, but any state seceding from the union is a ridiculous idea. Does he not remember the civil war. I find it hard to believe that the majority of Texas residents would want that to happen. I certainly don't. America, despite it's flaws, is the best country in the world. I don't want to be a resident of a seceded something or other because some pigheaded, arrogant idiot decided that's what was best for me. The best way to overcome the current situation is for lawmakers to put aside their party affiliation and do what's best for the country. Individual states should have the ability to choose if a program is right for their state or not. Throwing a temper tantrum and threatening secession however is not the way to get attention or make a point.

From Soapboxing

, May 8, 2009

Check the Box Rules
President Barack Obama recently proposed to withdraw a rule that allows corporations, which have subsidiaries outside of the country, to avoid paying taxes on income. The check the box rules were created by former President Bill Clinton’s administration and written into law by congress after Clinton tried to have it withdrawn. The check the box rules were intended to help American corporations reduce paperwork. Since the rules went into effect companies have used them as a loop hole to hide income in tax havens overseas. Obama’s overhaul of the tax policy could help raise an extra $210 billion dollars in tax revenues for the government in the next ten years.Opponents of the proposal say this will be really hard on corporations that already have to pay a high tax rate compared to countries like Ireland were corporations are flourishing. The say that if corporations had a lower tax rate companies would be more likely to move to the U.S and bring jobs to Americans and keep their income in the U.S. They also say if corporations have to pay these taxes it will give them an unfair disadvantage in the global marketplace. All of this may be true but it is not faire that corporations residing only in the U.S. should have to pay more taxes then companies that are sending jobs overseas. If it will help our economy to have lower taxes for corporations then we should lower taxes, but I don’t think companies should have the ability to weasel around paying their income taxes.

Seriously...GPS

A recent article read in the New York Times explained the rational of certain states increasing usage of GPS devices to track domestic violence abusers and stalkers. According to the article, research suggests that GPS devices help to enforce restraining orders making them "more than just a piece of paper" by allowing law enforcement to see exactly where the abusers/stalkers are at all times and to respond quickly if they are in violation.

This is absurd. Ok, I get that now you can see if they have violated the order by getting too close to the person who they are restrained from. This would be very useful only in validating/proving how many times they broke the violation, but does nothing to PREVENT the violation. Obviously, these people have no respect, well for anyone, but even more so, not for authority. People who respect authority/laws wouldn't violate a restraining order, and better yet, probably wouldn't be abusive or stalk someone to begin with because, well it's wrong. On average it takes police 3-8 minutes to respond to an emergency call. That's a long time when you are being attacked, harrassed, having your tires slashed etc. GPS monitoring does nothing more than provide and increased sense of false security to the vicitms and to law enforcement.

The truth is, we need more strict laws for abusers and more domestic violence prevention programs for people at high risk. Too many times these people get away with a very serious/dangerous crime with little more than a slap on the hand, a few fines and apparently now a nifty GPS system so that the police can tell exactly where the crime occurred.

Universal/National Healthcare

Universal health care for Americas has been a heated debate topic for many years now. Opponents claim that the nationalization of health care will create a system where a minority will be footing the bill for the majority and that this will lead to long waits to see physicians, get medications, surgery, diagnostic lab/procedures etc. and in the end the quality of care will be less than is currently received in the private sector. Supporters argue that we should be able to come up with a system that allows people to have private insurance if they so choose, or a national/universal policy thereby insuring that all citizens get equal access to the appropriate level of care at an affordable cost

A recent commentary post in USA Today discusses exactly this. This article is aimed at everyone. If you have ever needed medical care or think you ever will, then you need to pay attention. The commentary consists of opinions from several different posters each with a valid point. Paul McDowell makes a valid claim that current opponents to universal health care advocate that the current system allows the US to provide the best health care in the world. However, how can this be so when infant mortality is high here compared to other industrialized countries. I agree that one can get fantastic care in the US under the current system. However, as a nurse who works in a hospital I see the real stories of real Americans each and every day who have been left behind to suffer. The private system of health care in the US today is profit based. The insurance companies could care less if they help people heal, or prevent disease, they only care about the bottom dollar. They can deny any claim, and they often do. The problem is that we have too many uninsured and underinsured.

I truly believe, this being the greatest nation in the world, that we can come up with a solution to the health care crisis. I agree with Dr. Heyman that we need health care reform that consists of a public-private mix. The problem is that the large health care companies have paid off our members of congress via lobbying because they stand to lose a significant amount of profit if a public policy was more easily accessible, affordable and provided the same level of care.

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2009/02/americans-deser.html#more

Seriously, give them a vote already!

In the New York Times I read an article stating that a bill has been passed by a senate committee giving Washington,D.C. a voting member in the House of Representatives. Per the article, similar bills have been submitted in the past and voted down, and cites the reason being that some members of congress believe it to be unconstitutional. Republican opponents fear that allowing DC to have a voting member in the House will lead to having 2 senators which they believe would be Democrats. I believe that it is unconscionable that the people of Washington DC have had to endure taxation without representation for so long. Is that not one of the main reasons the founders of this country were willing to put everything on the line and start a new nation. They believed this to be tyranny-an arbitrary and unrestrained exercise of power. The reason given for not passing a bill of this type is even more outrageous, simply put, one party doesn't want the other to have more votes than them, most likely because they then wont be able to put forth legislation that allows them to line their pockets and fatten their bank accounts. Modern day factions.. and worse yet, "we the people" just sit back and let them do it! We need to stand up as a people and demand that this changes. I think they are in need of an attitude adjustment, a reminder that we sign their paychecks with our tax dollars, and they are there to represent what we need. If DC residents don't get the chance to let their voices be heard via a representative, and we just sit back and let it go, then we too are guilty of being tyrants. People from around the country need to contact their representatives and senators and demand that they pass a bill allowing DC to have a voting representative, if not...they can always find a new job at election time!
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/12/washington/12district.html?scp=1&sq=senate%20panel%20oks%20bill%20to%20give%20washington%20a%20voting%20representative&st=cse