Taxing
Democrats and other liberals fail to understand two fundamental beliefs of those who support the tax reform bill: First, people who have money should not be required to support those who do not. Liberals insist that women have the right to control their own bodies, yet they don’t think people have the right to control their own money. The rich should be able to choose if and when to donate their money to charity.
Second, the federal government is too big and wastes taxpayers’ money on things for which the government should not be responsible. The only way to shrink the government is to reduce taxes, and because those with the most money pay the most taxes, cutting taxes for the rich is the most effective way to shrink the government.
The bottom line is, so what if the tax reform bill is a massive tax cut for the rich? What makes liberals think they are entitled to rich people’s money? The point of the bill is not to help rich people, but to reduce the size and scope of the federal government. Now, Congress needs to take the next step and cut spending.
Santa Rosa
The new tax bill is tax code change and not tax reform. The plan leaves in place the bad practices and procedures of dividing us into classes, ignoring the
$9 trillion tax evasion problem over the next 10 years, taxing production instead of consumption, deceitful practice of taxing business continues, feeding the swamp instead of draining it, using government power of “direct taxation” and keeping in place the Sixteenth Amendment that enables the second requirement of a communist state: a graduated income tax per The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx. The best plan is the FairTax Act of 2017 (HR 25). Real leaders address the root causes of bad taxation that are taxing production instead of consumption and direct taxation enabled by the Sixteenth Amendment.
Jacksonville, Florida
Let’s Keep Talking
Last week’s visit by Flame and Fortune in the American West author Gregory Simon to Santa Rosa prompted a lively discussion about how and where we rebuild after the fires. Based on the aftermath of the Oakland Hills fires and others across the west, the book examines the planning, political and profit-making mechanisms that contribute to fire disasters like we’ve seen in Sonoma County and now Southern California.
The Greenbelt Alliance is advocating for a resilient rebuild and recovery that reduces fire risk. We also support new homes and shops getting built near transit in existing towns and cities and along the SMART line. However, Greenbelt Alliance is not, and never has, called for a building moratorium, which your article (“Hot Topics,” Dec. 20) suggests. Let’s keep the dialogue going.
Regional Director,
North Bay Greenbelt Alliance
No Choice
The Trump administration decided that animals raised for food under the USDA Organic label need not be treated any less cruelly than those in conventional farming. The decision reverses years of U.S. Department of Agriculture policy, which held that the “organic” label should impose minimal ethical, health and environmental standards. For the animals, this included adequate space, light and access to the outdoors. This will no longer be the case.
Caring consumers opting for “organic” animal products, to reduce their role in subsidizing these abuses, will now have no choice but to switch to plant-based foods, including the widely available nut- and grain-based meats, milks, cheeses and ice creams.
Santa Rosa
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