Wednesday, April 15th, 2009
Today is April 15th. Taxes are due in the United States of America. This year it has become Tea Party Day, an homage to The Boston Tea Party. Before the American Revolution, the British governement was burdening the colonies with taxes. The Tea Act of 1773 made the situation intolerable and on December 16, 1773, the Sons of Liberty, dressed up as Mohawk Natives and threw 342 crates of tea from three East India Company ships into Boston Harbor in protest. “No taxation without representation” is a slogan reborn in today’s protest.
Although I am unable to attend a Tea Party today, I support the idea of fewer taxes. I don’t want hidden taxes disguised as fees. I want the whole tax code simplified and made fair. If an income tax is in place then everyone should be paying the same percentage regardless of other circumstances. There should be no way for those with means to find a way to hide their income and avoid income taxes. I prefer the idea of a sales tax on non-food items because I then have some slight control over when I pay taxes and how much in taxes I pay. I can choose not to buy expensive luxury items and therefore not pay taxes. Welfare should be uncomfortable and provide training or opportunity and encourage people to become productive.
But none of this seems to be the case. So today groups of people will gather all over the USA and speak out against what appears to be uncontrollable government spending. I hope someone is listening.
Tags: April 15, Boston, Government, Maine, Sons of Liberty, Tax, Tea Party
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Wednesday, April 1st, 2009
I hope this is an April Fools joke! A bill has been proposed in the U.S. Senate that would empower the government to set and enforce security standards for private industry.
From the Washington Post: “Senate Legislation Would Federalize Cybersecurity”
The proposals, in Senate legislation that could be introduced as early as today, would broaden the focus of the government’s cybersecurity efforts to include not only military networks but also private systems that control essentials such as electricity and water distribution. At the same time, the bill would add regulatory teeth to ensure industry compliance with the rules, congressional officials familiar with the plan said yesterday.
The legislation is co-sponsored by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John D. Rockefeller IV of W.Virginia and Sen. Olympia J. Snowe of Maine, my home state.
On the face of it, this sounds good. A government agency who is responsible for monitoring and reacting in conjunction with other agencies in the event of an attack on our nations cyber-infrastructure.
But I am not in favor of a bigger government. Also, I think there is a lot of good going on in the private sector in regards to security. They don’t need regulation. I believe that Homeland Security already has authority to respond to threats and attacks on the internet. I prefer that legal due process remain in place and fear that a new agency would be given powers to circumvent the courts.
I guess we shall see how this turns out and I look forward to reading what more inteligent and thoughtful writers have to say about this idea.
Read the entire article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/31/AR2009033103684.html?nav=rss_nation/special
Tags: Government, law, Maine, Security, Senate
Posted in Security | No Comments »
