Talk Thursday: So What’s It Gonna Be, Eh?

Most likely a rant, and that kind of bothers me. Why do I rant so much? Do I think myself superior that the crappy shallow comments that people make are beyond my own baseness? Superior no, base, hell yes, mind boggled normally. Recent observations.

ABC Radio (because I rarely watch real news on TV – Give me Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and Bill Mahre any day of the week, I digress) reported early this week that the man of interest in the shooting death of Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen committed suicide (a good money saving measure for the cash strapped state of California). The short story (common it’s radio – we have to say the important stuff in usually ninety words or less) repeatedly commented that Chasen was murdered while driving her Mercedes through Beverly Hills.

So if she was driving a Volvo would she have been murdered? What difference does the model of vehicle have on her death? NADA, thank you very much! But apparently some dimwitted reporter felt it was very important to note several times (with in his ninety or so words) that she was driving a Mercedes. Gas guzzling vehicle envy on the part of the report I dare say.

And by the way... the guy who committed suicide may not even be linked to the Chasen murder... but she was driving a Mercedes in Beverly Hills.

This week the Senate failed (or is it refused) to extend unemployment. This hits me on several levels
1) the perpetual mind-boggle that is the hallmark of my daily existence
2) the anger that we can take care of the truly rich and ignore people who are truly in need because there are no jobs

Last night my mother made a comment about how Demark had slowly cut back remuneration and duration of unemployment because it paid so well the unemployed liked staying there. Mom, in the US that is called Welfare, not unemployment – you have to be making big bucks to make big bucks on unemployment. And btw Mom, there aren’t jobs out there. That isn’t to say that there aren’t people who work the system, but I’m looking at my own daughter, who works as many hours as are available to her (they are never enough to be called employed) and yet can’t get unemployment because she’s trying to be a responsible mom raising a child by herself. I bet the worthless sperm donor, who can’t be bothered paying support, gets unemployment in between dropping jobs because he gets dinged for support.

We are in the toughest economic era to hit the US (and the world since the great depression) and we can’t extend unemployment benefits? Nope, can’t, but let’s talk about tax cuts for Billionaires. I think death taxes are wrong, especially 55 percent death taxes for any tax bracket, but really folks, how much money is enough? It does grieve me that we favor the rich with tax-breaks and loop-holes and it also grieves me that hardworking people who save for their retirement are penalized in their retirement.

In this day and economy (actually for a decade or three now) a million dollars is not a lot of money, it’s certainly not a lot when you are looking at the end of your life and counting the pennies to keep you in your home – in health care – in a nursing home. But starting January 1st estates of a million dollars or more could be taxed up to 55 percent estate (death) taxes. I’m sorry that bothers me. My mom’s estate will be about a million. Maybe, just about, depending on property values. Fifty five percent to the government because you died? Outrageous.

Sounds self- serving doesn’t it? If you pay your taxes why should you have to pay fifty five percent more on the action of your death (or is that the inaction of your death?) I believe in paying my taxes but hmmmm, let me see: My boss pays taxes on the money the station makes (including payroll taxes), I pay taxes on the money that I get paid out of what is left after my boss pays the taxes. Then I pay taxes of my property and at the end of the year I pay taxes on what the government feels they over looked when they taxed me the first time around. Hmmmm, I buy things in the community, and the proprietors of my favorite shops pay taxes on what they made when I bought the things to live on. Now the money that I set aside from my paycheck for my retirement (out of the taxed money that my boss paid taxes on) are not taxed…. Until I retire and have to use that money to pay the taxes on my house and live. I might possibly inherit some money from my mom when she dies after the government takes up to fifty five percent of her estate. So then what might possibly be left over when I die (that the government hadn’t figure out how to tax) will be taxed just because I failed to be.

I wasn’t born rich so, oh, crap I should be on welfare to break even.

Darnmit I’m tired,
Sith,
Cele