Sun - October 16, 2005
Unknown Author with a Powerful Though
We are not Equal in a free society and that is
Good!
Free people are not equal, and equal people are not
free.
First, I should clarify the kind of "equalness" to which I refer in this statement. I am not referring to equality before the law-the notion that you should be judged innocent or guilty of an offense based upon whether or not you did it, and your race, sex, wealth, creed, gender or religion should have nothing to do with it. That's an important foundation of Western Civilization and though we often fall somewhat short of it, I doubt that anyone here would quarrel with the concept.
No, the "equalness" to which I refer is all about income and material wealth-what we earn and acquire in the marketplace of commerce, work, and exchange. I'm speaking of economic equality. Let's take this first principle and break it into its two halves.
Free people are not equal. When people are free to be themselves, to be masters of their own destinies, to apply themselves in an effort to improve their well-being and that of their families, the result in the marketplace will not be an equality of outcomes. People will earn vastly different levels of income; they will accumulate vastly different levels of wealth. While some lament that fact and speak dolefully of "the gap between rich and poor," I think people being themselves in a free society is a wonderful thing. Each of us is a unique being, different in endless ways from any other single being living or dead. Why on earth should we expect our interactions in the marketplace to produce the same results?
We are different in terms of our talents. Some have more than others, or more valuable talents. Some don't discover their highest talents until late in life, or not at all. Magic Johnson is a talented basketball player. Should it surprise anyone that he makes infinitely more money at basketball than I ever could?
We are different in terms of our industriousness, our willingness to work. Some work harder, longer, and smarter than others. That makes for vast differences in how others value what we do and in how much they're willing to pay for it.
We are different also in terms of our savings. I would argue that if the President could somehow snap his fingers and equalize us all in terms of income and wealth tonight, we would be unequal again by this time tomorrow because some of us would save it and some of us would spend it. These are three, but by no means the only three, reasons why free people are simply not going to be equal economically.
Equal people are not free, the second half of my first principle, really gets down to brass tacks. Show me a people anywhere on the planet who are indeed equal economically, and I'll show you a very unfree people. Why?
The only way in which you could have even the remotest chance of equalizing income and wealth across society is to put a gun to everyone's head. You would literally have to employ force to make people equal. You would have to give orders, backed up by the guillotine, the hangman's noose, the bullet, or the electric chair, that would go like this: Don't excel. Don't work harder or smarter than the next guy. Don't save more wisely than anyone else. Don't be there first with a new product. Don't provide a good or service that people might want more than anything your competitor is offering.
Believe me, you wouldn't want a society where these were the orders. Khmer Rouge Cambodia in the late 1970s came close to it, and the result was that upwards of 2 million out of 8 million people died in less than four years. Except for the elite at the top who wielded power, the people of that sad land who survived that period lived at something not much above the Stone Age.
What's the message of this first principle? Don't get hung up on differences in income when they result from people being themselves. If they result from artificial political barriers, then get rid of those barriers. But don't try to take unequal people and compress them into some homogenous heap. You'll never get there, and you'll wreak a lot of havoc trying.
Confiscatory tax rates, for example, don't make people any more equal; they just drive the industrious and the entrepreneurial to other places or into other endeavors while impoverishing the many who would otherwise benefit from their resourcefulness. Abraham Lincoln is reputed to have said, "You cannot pull a man up by dragging another man down."
First, I should clarify the kind of "equalness" to which I refer in this statement. I am not referring to equality before the law-the notion that you should be judged innocent or guilty of an offense based upon whether or not you did it, and your race, sex, wealth, creed, gender or religion should have nothing to do with it. That's an important foundation of Western Civilization and though we often fall somewhat short of it, I doubt that anyone here would quarrel with the concept.
No, the "equalness" to which I refer is all about income and material wealth-what we earn and acquire in the marketplace of commerce, work, and exchange. I'm speaking of economic equality. Let's take this first principle and break it into its two halves.
Free people are not equal. When people are free to be themselves, to be masters of their own destinies, to apply themselves in an effort to improve their well-being and that of their families, the result in the marketplace will not be an equality of outcomes. People will earn vastly different levels of income; they will accumulate vastly different levels of wealth. While some lament that fact and speak dolefully of "the gap between rich and poor," I think people being themselves in a free society is a wonderful thing. Each of us is a unique being, different in endless ways from any other single being living or dead. Why on earth should we expect our interactions in the marketplace to produce the same results?
We are different in terms of our talents. Some have more than others, or more valuable talents. Some don't discover their highest talents until late in life, or not at all. Magic Johnson is a talented basketball player. Should it surprise anyone that he makes infinitely more money at basketball than I ever could?
We are different in terms of our industriousness, our willingness to work. Some work harder, longer, and smarter than others. That makes for vast differences in how others value what we do and in how much they're willing to pay for it.
We are different also in terms of our savings. I would argue that if the President could somehow snap his fingers and equalize us all in terms of income and wealth tonight, we would be unequal again by this time tomorrow because some of us would save it and some of us would spend it. These are three, but by no means the only three, reasons why free people are simply not going to be equal economically.
Equal people are not free, the second half of my first principle, really gets down to brass tacks. Show me a people anywhere on the planet who are indeed equal economically, and I'll show you a very unfree people. Why?
The only way in which you could have even the remotest chance of equalizing income and wealth across society is to put a gun to everyone's head. You would literally have to employ force to make people equal. You would have to give orders, backed up by the guillotine, the hangman's noose, the bullet, or the electric chair, that would go like this: Don't excel. Don't work harder or smarter than the next guy. Don't save more wisely than anyone else. Don't be there first with a new product. Don't provide a good or service that people might want more than anything your competitor is offering.
Believe me, you wouldn't want a society where these were the orders. Khmer Rouge Cambodia in the late 1970s came close to it, and the result was that upwards of 2 million out of 8 million people died in less than four years. Except for the elite at the top who wielded power, the people of that sad land who survived that period lived at something not much above the Stone Age.
What's the message of this first principle? Don't get hung up on differences in income when they result from people being themselves. If they result from artificial political barriers, then get rid of those barriers. But don't try to take unequal people and compress them into some homogenous heap. You'll never get there, and you'll wreak a lot of havoc trying.
Confiscatory tax rates, for example, don't make people any more equal; they just drive the industrious and the entrepreneurial to other places or into other endeavors while impoverishing the many who would otherwise benefit from their resourcefulness. Abraham Lincoln is reputed to have said, "You cannot pull a man up by dragging another man down."
Posted at 12:39 AM Read More
Sat
- October 2, 2004
Conference, Priesthood session, etc.
Today is Saturday October 2nd and I've had a hard
time getting going this morning. It took taking a shower to finally wake me up
and give me the energy to start moving. Conference also began today and the
family also decided to celebrate Cassie's birthday, she turned 30. I went to a
Japanese restaurant this evening with Tim, Becky's dad, and Scott my
brother-in-law. This has become a tradition for Scott and Dad that I try to join
in on every now and then. They go out to eat before the Priesthood session of
Conference. The restaurant was very good, but I will have to admit that I don't
think I will ever become a fan of "squid salad." I did however enjoy the steak
and tempura.
When it comes to conference, more particularly, the priesthood session. I have the hardest time staying awake after they turn the lights off and the speakers with their soft, gentle voices start to talk. Today I happened to have rubber-bands and I was able to fight off sleep by practicing magic.
President Monson gave a great talk about personal responsibility within our callings. He shared a great story about one of his young men advisors and how he helped President Monson to understand the importance of helping to keep people active and to fulfill our callings.
I think the most memorable part of his talk, the part that I would like to use to help boys to realize their potencial, was how his leader taught him through life experiences. He didn't just tell him to do this or do that. He taught him by incorporating experiences that help teach through example.
I'm starting to lose my battle against sleep. I'll have to finish this later.
When it comes to conference, more particularly, the priesthood session. I have the hardest time staying awake after they turn the lights off and the speakers with their soft, gentle voices start to talk. Today I happened to have rubber-bands and I was able to fight off sleep by practicing magic.
President Monson gave a great talk about personal responsibility within our callings. He shared a great story about one of his young men advisors and how he helped President Monson to understand the importance of helping to keep people active and to fulfill our callings.
I think the most memorable part of his talk, the part that I would like to use to help boys to realize their potencial, was how his leader taught him through life experiences. He didn't just tell him to do this or do that. He taught him by incorporating experiences that help teach through example.
I'm starting to lose my battle against sleep. I'll have to finish this later.
Posted at 12:02 AM Read More
Tue - September 28, 2004
09/28/2004 - Lunch
New Goals, etc.
Well I decided last night, early this morning, that
in order to achieve my goal of studying my scriptures more I would read at least
one chapter a day and then make comments about the chapter in my weblog. This
helps me also to keep a journal that later I can print out and keep in a
book.
Today I went out to LDS.org and just randomly picked Heleman 14 to study. Chapter 14 deals with Samuel the Lamanite and his prophesying and preaching to the Wicked Nephites.
Samuel prophesies in verse 6 referring to the new star announcing Christ's birth " And behold this is not all, there shall be many signs and wonders in heaven." I honestly had never noticed that before. It must have been a spectacular show looking up into the sky that night. Not having the same knowledge that we have today about space, I can fully understand the next verse where he says "And it shall come to pass that ye shall all be amazed, and wonder, insomuch that ye shall fall to the earth. The ancient Nephites and Lamanites could very well have believed much like the Little Red Hen that "The sky is falling."
I realized in verse 12 that Samuel also testified that Jesus Christ was the physical creator of our world, the "Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning." Wait a second, Samuel also said "Heaven" Not only did he organize the Earth under the direction of our Heavenly Father, but did he also organize what we know as our solar system? Something to think about.
In verses 17 and 18 Samuel reminds us that Resurrection is a gift given to all mankind, but Eternal Life or being saved from the "second death" is conditional and is based on our own repentance.
In verse 25 Samuel prophesies of the First Resurrection "And many graves shall be opened, and shall yield up many of their dead; and many saints shall appear unto many."
I think one of my favorite passages is at the end of verse 30; "ye are free; ye are permitted to act for yourselves; for behold, God hath given unto you a knowledge and he hath made you free." In that short paragraph I am reminded that I have been raised with much knowledge and understanding as it pertains to the Gospel. I have also been given Agency and with both knowledge and agency I have been made free.
Today I went out to LDS.org and just randomly picked Heleman 14 to study. Chapter 14 deals with Samuel the Lamanite and his prophesying and preaching to the Wicked Nephites.
Samuel prophesies in verse 6 referring to the new star announcing Christ's birth " And behold this is not all, there shall be many signs and wonders in heaven." I honestly had never noticed that before. It must have been a spectacular show looking up into the sky that night. Not having the same knowledge that we have today about space, I can fully understand the next verse where he says "And it shall come to pass that ye shall all be amazed, and wonder, insomuch that ye shall fall to the earth. The ancient Nephites and Lamanites could very well have believed much like the Little Red Hen that "The sky is falling."
I realized in verse 12 that Samuel also testified that Jesus Christ was the physical creator of our world, the "Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning." Wait a second, Samuel also said "Heaven" Not only did he organize the Earth under the direction of our Heavenly Father, but did he also organize what we know as our solar system? Something to think about.
In verses 17 and 18 Samuel reminds us that Resurrection is a gift given to all mankind, but Eternal Life or being saved from the "second death" is conditional and is based on our own repentance.
In verse 25 Samuel prophesies of the First Resurrection "And many graves shall be opened, and shall yield up many of their dead; and many saints shall appear unto many."
I think one of my favorite passages is at the end of verse 30; "ye are free; ye are permitted to act for yourselves; for behold, God hath given unto you a knowledge and he hath made you free." In that short paragraph I am reminded that I have been raised with much knowledge and understanding as it pertains to the Gospel. I have also been given Agency and with both knowledge and agency I have been made free.
Posted at 02:32 PM Read More
09/28/2004
A Pretty Good Monday
I woke up this morning actually feeling quite good.
I had a good day at work where I enjoyed editing HTML all day. I also came
across a neat tip for OSX. If you hold down Command + Shift + 4 it will allow
you to take a screen shot of a selected area, but if you press the Spacebar, it
will take a picture of a selected
window.
I've been thinking about the upcoming elections and I find myself continually amazed that people don't see right through John Kerry. I have my issues with President Bush, but those are minimal compared to the fear I have for what John Kerry would do in the White House.
We need strength to fight our enemies, not diplomacy. The Terrorist do not care to find a peaceful resolution, they simply want to destroy us.
I heard on the radio today a story about a teacher who told a student that if the world didn't have weapons, then there wouldn't be fighting and wars. Apparently this teacher hasn't seen the abuse cases chronicled on the Evening News.
I need to remind myself to do better at reading my Scriptures. Downloading the Scriptures to my iPod helps, but I need to actually study them!
Today after work we went out to eat at Fuddruckers with Grandma and Grandpa Montano and Scott and Julie's family. We had a very enjoyable time.
I've been thinking about the upcoming elections and I find myself continually amazed that people don't see right through John Kerry. I have my issues with President Bush, but those are minimal compared to the fear I have for what John Kerry would do in the White House.
We need strength to fight our enemies, not diplomacy. The Terrorist do not care to find a peaceful resolution, they simply want to destroy us.
I heard on the radio today a story about a teacher who told a student that if the world didn't have weapons, then there wouldn't be fighting and wars. Apparently this teacher hasn't seen the abuse cases chronicled on the Evening News.
I need to remind myself to do better at reading my Scriptures. Downloading the Scriptures to my iPod helps, but I need to actually study them!
Today after work we went out to eat at Fuddruckers with Grandma and Grandpa Montano and Scott and Julie's family. We had a very enjoyable time.
Posted at 01:01 AM Read More
Thu - October 2, 2003
Breakdown of Taxes
Only The Rich Pay Taxes
Top 50% of Wage Earners Pay 96.09% of Income Taxes
October 23, 2002
The IRS has released the year 2000 data for individual income tax returns. The numbers illustrate a truth that will startle you: that half of Americans with the highest incomes pays 96.09% of all income tax. This nukes the liberal lie that the rich don't pay taxes. The top 1%, who earn 20.81% of all income covered under the income tax, are paying 37.42% of the federal tax bite.
*Data covers calendar year 2000, not fiscal year 2000 - and includes all income, not just wages, excluding Social Security
Think of it this way: less than four dollars out of every $100 paid in income taxes in the United States is paid by someone in the bottom 50% of wage earners. Are the top half millionaires? Noooo, more like "thousandaires." The top 50% were those individuals or couples filing jointly who earned $26,000 and up in 1999. (The top 1% earned $293,000-plus.) Americans who want to are continuing to improve their lives - and those who don't want to, aren't. Here are the wage earners in each category and the percentages they pay:
Top 5% - 56.47% of all income taxes; Top 10% - 67.33% of all income taxes; Top 25% - 84.01% of all income taxes. Top 50% - 96.09% of all income taxes. The bottom 50%? They pay a paltry 3.91% of all income taxes. The top 1% is paying more than ten times the federal income taxes than the bottom 50%! And who earns what? The top 1% earns 20.81% of all income. The top 5% earns 35.30% of the pie. The top 10% earns 46.01%; the top 25% earns 67.15%, and the top 50% earns 87.01% of all the income.
The Rich Earned Their Dough, They Didn't Inherit It (Except Ted Kennedy)
The bottom 50% is paying a tiny bit of the taxes, so you can't give them much of a tax cut by definition. Yet these are the people to whom the Democrats claim to want to give tax cuts. Remember this the next time you hear the "tax cuts for the rich" business. Understand that the so-called rich are about the only ones paying taxes anymore.
I had a conversation with a woman who identified herself as Misty on Wednesday. She claimed to be an accountant, yet she seemed unaware of the Alternative Minimum Tax, which now ensures that everyone pays some taxes. AP reports that the AMT, "designed in 1969 to ensure 155 wealthy people paid some tax," will hit "about 2.6 million of us this year and 36 million by 2010." That's because the tax isn't indexed for inflation! If your salary today would've made you mega-rich in '69, that's how you're taxed.
Misty tried the old line that all wealth is inherited. Not true. John Weicher, as a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank, wrote in his February 13, 1997 Washington Post Op-Ed, "Most of the rich have earned their wealth... Looking at the Fortune 400, quite a few even of the very richest people came from a standing start, while others inherited a small business and turned it into a giant corporation." What's happening here is not that "the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer." The numbers prove it.
I have made an executive decision as the owner and ultimate editor of this website that this table and these numbers stay on this website forever - or until next year's numbers come out. In order to get these facts, you have to see them each and every day. This story, along with a link to the IRS chart, will stay somewhere on the RushLimbaugh.com homepage so everyone can see and find these numbers at any time. It's crucial that people get this, so please, share it with a friend now!
IRSfigures2000.pdf
Top 50% of Wage Earners Pay 96.09% of Income Taxes
October 23, 2002
The IRS has released the year 2000 data for individual income tax returns. The numbers illustrate a truth that will startle you: that half of Americans with the highest incomes pays 96.09% of all income tax. This nukes the liberal lie that the rich don't pay taxes. The top 1%, who earn 20.81% of all income covered under the income tax, are paying 37.42% of the federal tax bite.
*Data covers calendar year 2000, not fiscal year 2000 - and includes all income, not just wages, excluding Social Security
Think of it this way: less than four dollars out of every $100 paid in income taxes in the United States is paid by someone in the bottom 50% of wage earners. Are the top half millionaires? Noooo, more like "thousandaires." The top 50% were those individuals or couples filing jointly who earned $26,000 and up in 1999. (The top 1% earned $293,000-plus.) Americans who want to are continuing to improve their lives - and those who don't want to, aren't. Here are the wage earners in each category and the percentages they pay:
Top 5% - 56.47% of all income taxes; Top 10% - 67.33% of all income taxes; Top 25% - 84.01% of all income taxes. Top 50% - 96.09% of all income taxes. The bottom 50%? They pay a paltry 3.91% of all income taxes. The top 1% is paying more than ten times the federal income taxes than the bottom 50%! And who earns what? The top 1% earns 20.81% of all income. The top 5% earns 35.30% of the pie. The top 10% earns 46.01%; the top 25% earns 67.15%, and the top 50% earns 87.01% of all the income.
The Rich Earned Their Dough, They Didn't Inherit It (Except Ted Kennedy)
The bottom 50% is paying a tiny bit of the taxes, so you can't give them much of a tax cut by definition. Yet these are the people to whom the Democrats claim to want to give tax cuts. Remember this the next time you hear the "tax cuts for the rich" business. Understand that the so-called rich are about the only ones paying taxes anymore.
I had a conversation with a woman who identified herself as Misty on Wednesday. She claimed to be an accountant, yet she seemed unaware of the Alternative Minimum Tax, which now ensures that everyone pays some taxes. AP reports that the AMT, "designed in 1969 to ensure 155 wealthy people paid some tax," will hit "about 2.6 million of us this year and 36 million by 2010." That's because the tax isn't indexed for inflation! If your salary today would've made you mega-rich in '69, that's how you're taxed.
Misty tried the old line that all wealth is inherited. Not true. John Weicher, as a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank, wrote in his February 13, 1997 Washington Post Op-Ed, "Most of the rich have earned their wealth... Looking at the Fortune 400, quite a few even of the very richest people came from a standing start, while others inherited a small business and turned it into a giant corporation." What's happening here is not that "the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer." The numbers prove it.
I have made an executive decision as the owner and ultimate editor of this website that this table and these numbers stay on this website forever - or until next year's numbers come out. In order to get these facts, you have to see them each and every day. This story, along with a link to the IRS chart, will stay somewhere on the RushLimbaugh.com homepage so everyone can see and find these numbers at any time. It's crucial that people get this, so please, share it with a friend now!
IRSfigures2000.pdf
Posted at 05:03 PM Read More
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Published On: Oct 16, 2005 12:39 AM
Published On: Oct 16, 2005 12:39 AM