This is a Journal entry by There is only one thing worse than being Gosho, and that is not being Gosho

They know the price of everything but the value of nothing

Post 1

There is only one thing worse than being Gosho, and that is not being Gosho

I heard that said many times about the Thatcher/Major governments. I haven't heard it said yet about the Bush administration but I reckon it's just as valid a comment.

I caught a piece on NPR over the weekend - if you want to listen to it yourself you can do so by going here http://discover.npr.org/rundowns/rundown.jhtml?prgId=2&prgDate=July/27/2003 and scrolling down to the link for 'Commentary: Tax Credit Blues'.

The gist of what the commentator said was that he would much rather the government kept his tax credit. His $800 on its own couldn't do anything to fix the the big problems, but if the government kept his, and everyone else's tax refund (the one that Bush tried so desperately to push through) it could be pooled and spent properly and with some altruism and thought for the future, instead of giving it to spendthrift, selfish citizens so that they could pay off some of their credit card bill or buy something else they don't need.

He gave an example of some women who volunteered for a medical study involving oestrogen. At the time, oestrogen was thought to be a miracle drug for women, but this study proved that to be wrong. What the women who took part in the study did though (he said) was to show an enormous generosity of spirit and immense altruism by offering to be someone who may not get this 'miracle drug' (it was a long-term study - many years as I recall) whilst others did.

He concluded by saying that America would be a far better place if we all held a similar attitude. Not too hard to agree with that really.

Now, all we have to do is find everyone else in America who thinks the same way and organise. Then maybe we can out this nasty, vile, spiteful, and mean-spirited administration.


They know the price of everything but the value of nothing

Post 2

abbi normal "Putting on the Ritz" with Dr Frankenstein

I have also said keep your tax relief, and do what should be done with it instead!

I will listen to this later, it sounds worthwhile.
Thanks Gosho
smiley - disco


They know the price of everything but the value of nothing

Post 3

broelan

unfortunately i have to admit the tax credit has come at a desperate time for us, but i'd much rather hubby could find a job. another income would do us much more good than a piddly $400 that could be better spent elsewhere. but i keep hearing horror stories about people who have been out of work for months and months and i'm thinking 'this is only the beginning' smiley - headhurts


They know the price of everything but the value of nothing

Post 4

paulh, vaccinated against the Omigod Variant

I don't think this administration has much sense.
That would be enough reason by itself to push
for a new administration next year (or FPR
this year, though that's a longshot smiley - winkeye).

Someone in the Bush administration proposed
establishing a futures market for terorrist attacks.
Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle ridiculed
the concept. Somebody high up in the Bush
administration was not doing his/her job of
scrutinizing proposals. smiley - cross

Why do we have to be the laughingstock of the world? smiley - wah


They know the price of everything but the value of nothing

Post 5

abbi normal "Putting on the Ritz" with Dr Frankenstein

Congress knew about that for 2 months and did not think it was an outrageous concept until the common people spoke up.
It worked this timesmiley - ok
smiley - disco


They know the price of everything but the value of nothing

Post 6

paulh, vaccinated against the Omigod Variant

It can't be cheap to maintain troops in
Iraq and Afghanistan, plus the other countries
where we *already* had troops stationed.
If you're going to be the world's policeman,
you need some way to pay the bills. smiley - erm


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