Archive for the ‘Ethics-general’ Category
October 17, 2011
Herman Cain has a plan for America’s tax system: junk the federal income tax and payroll tax, and substitute his 999 system, in which everybody pays 9% federal income tax and 9% federal sales tax, and corporations pay a 9% income tax.
Elegant in its simplicity. But a crusher for the working poor, who now pay 8% in payroll (Social Security and Medicare) taxes, but get a substantial credit via the earned income tax credit, or EITC.
Here’s how a single mother of two earning the California minimum wage of $8 an hour would fare under the 2011 tax structure and under Cain’s 999 plan.
2011 actual Cain 999
Earned income $16,000 $16,000
Less taxes:
Federal payroll tax 900 -0-
Federal income tax -0- 1,440
Federal sales tax -0- 1,440
State/local taxes 1,600 1,600
Subtotal taxes paid 2,520 4,480
Net income before EITC* $13,480 $11,520
EITC 4,800 -0-
Net income 18,280 11,520
So under Cain’s plan her actual taxes paid increase by 77% ($2520 to $4,480), and she loses the EITC of $4,800. Her net income is slashed by 37% ($18,280 to $11,520).
What does it say about the media and about Cain’s competitors for the Republican nomination that they let this barbarism go unremarked?
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*Earned Income Tax Credit. Cain’s plan abolishes (“simplifies”) it.
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Tags:999, earned income tax credit, EITC, ethics, federal income tax, federal sales tax, Herman Cain, media, minimum wage, payroll tax, Social Security and Medicare tax, tax plan, working poor
Posted in Ethics-general, Government, hypocrisy, Media, Politics | 3 Comments »
October 17, 2011
Massive demonstrations have a place in society: many people get more attention than a few. And if you want to make a point make a splash. The more people the more splash. But they’re ethically troublesome.
I’ve written recently about the twin dangers of mass demonstrations: the cover that a lot of peaceful people can give to wrongdoers, and the potential for an incendiary clash of wills with the authorities. Fortunately America has escaped both dangers in the case of the Tea Party demonstrations, and—so far—in the case of Occupy Wall Street, the latter only when cool heads in New York government prevailed on Brookfield Properties, the owner of Zuccotti Park, to call off their plan to expel the demonstrators.
Rome wasn’t so fortunate, as the Occupy Wall Street movement spread there and erupted in violence (Photo).
Many in the Occupy Wall Street crowd have stated their intention to stay indefinitely. That’s especially troublesome. One- or two-day demonstrations can be policed and controlled, and with forbearance on all sides can end peacefully. But where there’s no time limit impatience and irritability can build up and inevitably lead to confrontation, and usually ends in violence.
America is a nation of laws, and when the laws don’t serve the country well it’s up to the lawmakers to change them. And the lawmakers must be able to operate without being under threat of violence—no matter how much you may want to brain Eric Cantor (just to name one lawmaker). (more…)
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Tags:Brookfield Properties, categorical imperative, corporate greed, demonstrations, ethics, Immanuel Kant, Occupy Wall Street, Rome, Tea Party demonstrations, universal practice, Zuccotti Park
Posted in Ethics-general, Government | 2 Comments »
October 14, 2011
New York has averted a potentially explosive confrontation with the Occupy Wall Street protestors. From FovNews.com a few minutes ago:
“The deputy mayor of New York City says a planned cleaning of the Occupy Wall Street protest encampment in lower Manhattan has been postponed.
“Late last night, we received notice from the owners of Zuccotti Park – Brookfield Properties – that they are postponing their scheduled cleaning of the park, and for the time being withdrawing their request from earlier in the week for police assistance during their cleaning operation. Our position has been consistent throughout: the City’s role is to protect public health and safety, to enforce the law, and guarantee the rights of all New Yorkers. Brookfield believes they can work out an arrangement with the protesters that will ensure the park remains clean, safe, available for public use and that the situation is respectful of residents and businesses downtown, and we will continue to monitor the situation,” Deputy Mayor Cas Holloway said in a statement.”
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Tags:Brookfield Properties, Cas Holloway, ethics, FovNews.com, New York, Occupy Wall Street, park cleaning, Zuccotti Park
Posted in Ethics-general, Government, Politics | Leave a Comment »
October 13, 2011
Americans pay attention when a lot of people turn out. And so there’s lots of attention for “Occupy Wall Street,” or OWS for short. Thousands of people, mostly of the Millennial generation (born since 1982) are camping out in Zuccotti Park, just two blocks from Wall Street’s New York Stock Exchange.
The Right doesn’t like OWS: “I think it’s dangerous, this class warfare,” Mitt Romney opines. “Growing mobs,” snarls Eric Cantor. “Anti-American,” Larry Kudlow charges. “The beginning of totalitarianism,” warns Ann Coulter.
OWS comprises lots of people, diverse in temperament, opinion, and goals, but they are engaging in old-fashioned American protest, this one against corporate greed, social inequality, and joblessness.
Some dismiss them as incoherent, but that’s a mistake. They’re angry about the way our society has moved away from the American dream and toward greater and greater inequality. Like them or not, OWS is a growing force. Our country needs to take their complaint seriously. They may be as consequential as Tahrir Square. Or more. Or maybe not.
Of course there’s always a danger when a mass of people congregate. Large numbers of peaceful people can give cover to wrongdoers bent on looting or mayhem, as in the recent London riots, or in the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles in 1992, which started as a peaceful protest but left 53 dead (more…)
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Tags:American dream, Ann Coulter, bonus marchers, corporate greed, Eric Cantor, ethics, Herbert Hoover, joblessness, Larry Kudlow, London riots, looting, Millennial generation, Mitt Romney, mobs, New York, New York Stock Exchange, Occupy Wall Street, protest, Ray Kelly, Rodney King riots, social inequality, Tahrir Square, totalitarianism, U.S. Cavalry, Zuccotti Park
Posted in Ethics-general, Politics | 8 Comments »
September 30, 2011
If you’re unhappy with the liberal bias of the mainstream media, welcome to Fox News and to one of their sources, CNSNews.com, a conservative news service formed to provide more balance than spin: in its words, “an alternative news source that would cover stories that are subject to the bias of omission and report on other news subject to bias by commission.”
You would have read about President Obama’s Wednesday back-to-school speech, in which the President spoke about the importance an eighth grade ethics course had in his life, about how the questions raised in that ethics course “are still with me today. Every day, I’m thinking about those same issues as I try to lead this nation.
But that’s not what Fox and CNSNews reported. No, the headline was
Obama: ‘I Don’t Think Ethics’ Was My Favorite Subject
Here’s the lead paragraph, in toto:
President Barack Obama told an audience of high school students in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday that he was “not always the very best student” and that ethics “would not have made it on the list” of his favorite subjects.
Not a word in the entire article about how important the course—or ethics—was in his life. Just that he didn’t like it.
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Tags:back-to-school speech, CNSNews.com, eighth grade ethics course, ethics, Fair and balanced, Fox News, half-truths, liberal bias, mainstream media, Obama
Posted in Ethics-general, Media | 1 Comment »
September 29, 2011
President Obama focused on ethics in his annual back-to-school speech today at Benjamin Banneker High School in Washington. It’s worth thinking about what he had to say about ethics:
Now, if you promise not to tell anybody, I will let you in on a little secret: I was not always the very best student that I could be when I was in high school, and certainly not when I was in middle school. I did not love every class I took. I wasn’t always paying attention the way I should have. I remember when I was in 8th grade I had to take a class called ethics. Now, ethics is about right and wrong, but if you’d ask me what my favorite subject was back in 8th grade, it was basketball. I don’t think ethics would have made it on the list.
But here’s the interesting thing. I still remember that ethics class, all these years later. I remember the way it made me think. I remember being asked questions like: What matters in life? Or, what does it mean to treat other people with dignity and respect? What does it mean to live in a diverse nation, where not everybody looks like you do, or thinks like you do, or (more…)
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Tags:back-to-school speech, Banneker High School, ethics, high school, Obama
Posted in Education, Ethics-general, Government, Sports | Leave a Comment »
September 29, 2011
The Israeli government is inexorably annexing conquered Palestine territory, in contravention of international law and against continual requests by the United States. That’s earning them the anguish of much of the Israeli population and the condemnation of most of the world.
Israel shows exquisite timing in its defiance of the rules of civilization. As the United States shows support for Israel, Israel takes odious actions that outrage the entire Muslim world and wreck America’s credibility with that world.
In March 2010 Vice President Biden traveled to Israel to demonstrate “a total U.S. commitment to Israel’s security.” Israel picked that occasion to announce a plan to build 16oo new homes in East Jerusalem. Biden denounced the Israeli plan, but to no effect,
Last week at the United Nations President Obama cravenly surrendered to the Israeli government’s demand that we oppose the Palestinian request for admission to the UN, and called instead for resumption of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Two days later Israel torpedoed negotiations by announcing yet another 1100 homes would be built on occupied land in East Jerusalem. Secretary of State Clinton condemned the announcement, as if that would have any effect on Israel’s reckless plans.
United States support for Israel has become a blank check for relentless expansionism that threatens to plunge the Middle East into another war, one that Israel will do everything to draw the United States into.
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Tags:admission to the UN, Biden, East Jerusalem. United Nations, ethics, expansionism, Fool me once, international law, Israel, Middle East war, Muslim world, Obama, Palestine territory, Palestinian Authority, Secretary Clinton
Posted in Ethics-general, International, military | Leave a Comment »
September 23, 2011
Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, told a cheering UN General Assembly today, “I do not believe that anyone with a shred of conscience can reject our application for full admission to the United Nations.”
Who can disagree? The government of Israel, for one. And if the GOI objects, the American right will come right along. And so, sadly, will President Obama. Conscience takes a back seat when votes are about to be counted.
Obama’s speech to the UN was a craven surrender to the Israeli government’s demand that we oppose the Palestinian request. This is an ethical disaster, as well as a realpolitik one. It will wipe out the good will Obama earned with his earlier calls for honorable treatment of the Palestinians and his once-brave insistence on a halt to Israeli expansion into the West Bank. Forgotten, too, will be his siding with the Arab Spring, outweighed as it is among most Muslims and young people everywhere (including in Israel) by his opposition to Palestinian rights.
Obama did have support for his position. To Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Obama’s speech was a “badge of honor.” This is the same Netanyahu that President Clinton blamed, as recently as yesterday, for preventing a peace deal.
Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman liked the speech even more, telling a news conference, “I congratulate President Obama, and I am ready to sign on this speech with both hands.” Lieberman is widely despised in Israel as a racist for his proposal to rid Israel of its Arab citizens by “redrawing its map to ‘exchange’ part of the Arab population and create a more ‘homogenous Jewish state,’ as a solution to Israel’s Arab minority ‘problem.’ ”
Having sabotaged Israel’s own relations with Turkey over Israeli refusal to apologize for killing nine Turkish activists running the Gaza blockade, Israel is now sabotaging American relations with the entire Muslim world, which will have a hard time accepting that America preaches freedom for all, but not for occupied Palestine.
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Tags:Arab Spring, Avigdor Lieberman, badge of honor, Binyamin Netanyahu, ethics, Gaza blockade, Israel, Mahmoud Abbas, Muslims, Obama, Palestinian Authority, Palestinians, President Clinton, realpolitik, Turkey, UN General Assembly, West Bank
Posted in Ethics-general, Government, International, Politics | 4 Comments »
September 19, 2011
It’s looking iffy whether the Republicans can prevent President Obama’s reelection with a Tea Party-approved candidate. So let’s change the rules.
First, change the way electoral votes are tallied. Nebraska and Pennsylvania are headed this way. In Nebraska electoral votes are awarded congressional district-by-district. Obama carried Omaha in 2008, so earned one of Nebraska’s five votes. Nebraska appears headed for a winner-take-all system that would deny Obama that one vote.
Pennsylvania is a bigger deal. Obama carried the state in 2008, and its 21 electoral votes under winner-take-all rules. It is headed for a district-by district award—yes, the system Nebraska is abandoning—under which Obama would have only gotten 11 of Pennsylvania’s 21 votes in 2008.
So we could see a Republican gain of 10 votes in Pennsylvania and one in Nebraska—enough to swing a close election. But Republicans can improve the odds a lot more by making it harder for students, minorities, and low income people to vote at all.
To this end Republican-controlled state legislatures in Florida, Ohio, and Wisconsin are moving to trim early voting days. Early voters are disproportionally Democrat.
If that’s still not enough to insure a Republican victory, legislators in 20 states are considering tighter ID requirements, including requiring a government-issued photo ID. Guess who don’t have photo IDs: lots of students, minorities, (more…)
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Tags:congressional districts, early voting, election rules, electoral votes, ethics, Florida, League of Women Voters, minorities, Nebraska, Obama’s reelection, Ohio, Pennsylvania, photo ID, poor people, registering new voters, Republican-controlled state legislatures, students, Tea Party, voter fraud, voter ID requirements, winner-take-all, Wisconsin
Posted in Ethics-general, Government, Politics | 3 Comments »
September 16, 2011
America’s criminal justice system consists of arrest, indictment, trial, and sentence. After serving out the sentence, the offender goes back to society with another chance. Unless that is, he was convicted of a sex offense, anything from violent rape to “sexting” a nude photo.
Sex offenders can never finish paying their debt to society, in spite of the fact that recidivism rates for sex offenders, especially for child molesters, are far lower than for other convicted felons. After serving their sentence they face crushing restrictions on where they may live–as of 2007, some 27 states and hundreds of municipalities had enacted laws that bar sex offenders from residing within up to a half mile of schools, parks, playgrounds and day care centers. Their homes are listed on the internet, and some even are subjected to humiliating signs like the one shown here. This even though the vast majority of sex offences are against relatives or friends, not strangers.
Besides the residency restrictions, sex offenders find it all but impossible to ever find gainful employment. It’s impossible to get a job with any employer that’s big enough to have a human relations department, because once they have—easily—checked the national registry of sex offenders the answer is no.
Jack Marshall’s EthicsAlarms.com treats this issue, along with the larger issue of treatment of prisoners in general, in his blog entitled America’s Untouchables. I recommend it.
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Tags:America’s Untouchables, child molesters, criminal justice, employment, ethics, EthicsAlarms, Jack Marshall, national registry of sex offenders, recidivism rates, residency restrictions, sex offenders, sexting
Posted in Criminal justice, Ethics-general, Government | 5 Comments »
Herman Cain has a plan for America’s tax system: junk the federal income tax and payroll tax, and substitute his 999 system, in which everybody pays 9% federal income tax and 9% federal sales tax, and corporations pay a 9% income tax.
Ethics Bob 