Today, I posted a response to someone on Politco.com. The poster was upset with President Obama for not giving Catholic employers a pass on providing birth control to their employees. I thought it was worth posting here, with some editing and some additional comments.
I am a Roman Catholic. At first, I was upset with Obama for not giving the church a pass on the birth control thing. But, then I thought about it. If Catholics get a pass, where does it end? People who work for Jehovah's Witnesses can't get blood transfusions? People who work for Christian Scientists can't get ANY health care? Don't you have to draw the line SOMEWHERE?
No matter what the Roman Catholic bishops are saying, they HAVE an out. ALL employers do. All they have to do is NOT provide health care, pay the fine AND the employee can go and get whatever they want on the open market. The employee is better off. They get what THEY want, not what their employer wants. If the church feels honor bound to pay for health care, they can give their employees a raise, and come to Catholic congregations and ask for more donations to pay for it. I'd GLADLY add some bucks to the collection plate if it was ONLY for health care for Catholic employees.
If this is really about "religious freedom" and not birth control, why has the Catholic Church (and other faiths) NOT been screaming for the past 235 years that Quakers should NOT have to pay taxes that go for the military? I am FOR the military, but most Quakers are pacifists. They believe war is murder, just like Catholics believe some forms of birth control are murder. Yet, Quakers are FORCED to pay for the military in their taxes year after year. They have lost every lawsuit because 1) few supported THEIR religious freedom and 2) the law must allow for the greater good.
If Quakers have to pay for the greater good, why shouldn't Catholics?
Tuesday, March 06, 2012
Friday, December 30, 2011
Endowments for Public Schools
Earlier today, I saw something on my Facebook page which asked the question as to what type of human being thinks there is nothing wrong in asking a teacher to take a 20% pay cut, but cannot fathom asking a millionaire to pay an addition 3% in taxes.
There was a lot of discussion about it, as you can imagine. And, I, of course, added my two cents. Then, I thought, perhaps, my two cents was actually worth sharing with the blogosphere.
If we want to fight the conservatives in the area of education funding, PART of the answer is endowments for teacher's salaries and pensions. Here is an idea in a few steps:
1) You make conservatives happy by "investing" in something that pays interest or a dividend. If you have a 5% return, you need $1,000,000 for a $50k salary. If you want the teacher to have a bigger salary, you add to the endowment.
You can use this same fund for the teacher's retirement pension, allowing the surviving spouse/partner to receive the pension upon death of the retired teacher. BUT you need a stipulation that the funds will be used to pay a NEW teacher when both teacher and spouse/partner have gone on their great reward in the sky. Thus, you fund BOTH salary and pension at the same time.
Wall Street would practically slobber all over itself trying to make this work. Yes, you WILL have to have stipulations as to what happens in economic downturns, so that teachers salaries are not all wiped out because some stockbroker(s) or bank(s) does(do) something stupid and tanks the economy.
2) Next, you give donors to the endowment a tax deduction. (See conservatives act like sex-starved teenage boys.) Make it a charitable deduction. Currently, if a millionaire makes a donation to endow a professor's chair at a university, the millionaire gets a tax deduction. Why shouldn't anyone who gives to endow a public school teacher's salary and benefits get the same?
3) As each teacher's salary/benefits is endowed, you place the tax savings into another teacher's account. This is so all the teacher's salaries get endowed faster. There will ALWAYS be people who can get donations faster than someone else. Just like there are people who can jump higher or type faster than others. When Teacher X has all they need in their account, and they can get 100% of their salary and benefits from their endowment, the TAX money that would have gone to Teacher X can now go to Teacher Y. It helps meet the entire goal faster.
4) When it is all COMPLETE, you lower or eliminate PROPERTY taxes, and, after that, SALES taxes. Why not do this as each teacher is funded? Because the wealthy areas will be funded faster and the poorer areas not at all. Sooooooooo, if the wealthy want to be done with property and sales taxes, we need to make sure they also donate to the poorer districts. By the way, this will not work if we wait for the wealthy to fund the whole thing. All of us will have to make contributions here and there to teacher's endowments.
Donations would have to be given with no strings as to what can be taught, but can be given to specific subjects. For example, you could donate to fund a math teacher, science teacher, PE teacher...whatever you, the donor believes is important. You could NOT, for example, put a stipulation on the donation that a science teacher could not teach evolution, or a math teacher multiplication.
This will take generations to finish, but in the end, you have a fully funded public school system that includes pensions and does not depend on taxes.
Well, that's my basic idea. I am sure there are people out there that will tear my idea apart and list all the reasons why "liberals" like me can't possibly know what we are talking about.
There was a lot of discussion about it, as you can imagine. And, I, of course, added my two cents. Then, I thought, perhaps, my two cents was actually worth sharing with the blogosphere.
If we want to fight the conservatives in the area of education funding, PART of the answer is endowments for teacher's salaries and pensions. Here is an idea in a few steps:
1) You make conservatives happy by "investing" in something that pays interest or a dividend. If you have a 5% return, you need $1,000,000 for a $50k salary. If you want the teacher to have a bigger salary, you add to the endowment.
You can use this same fund for the teacher's retirement pension, allowing the surviving spouse/partner to receive the pension upon death of the retired teacher. BUT you need a stipulation that the funds will be used to pay a NEW teacher when both teacher and spouse/partner have gone on their great reward in the sky. Thus, you fund BOTH salary and pension at the same time.
Wall Street would practically slobber all over itself trying to make this work. Yes, you WILL have to have stipulations as to what happens in economic downturns, so that teachers salaries are not all wiped out because some stockbroker(s) or bank(s) does(do) something stupid and tanks the economy.
2) Next, you give donors to the endowment a tax deduction. (See conservatives act like sex-starved teenage boys.) Make it a charitable deduction. Currently, if a millionaire makes a donation to endow a professor's chair at a university, the millionaire gets a tax deduction. Why shouldn't anyone who gives to endow a public school teacher's salary and benefits get the same?
3) As each teacher's salary/benefits is endowed, you place the tax savings into another teacher's account. This is so all the teacher's salaries get endowed faster. There will ALWAYS be people who can get donations faster than someone else. Just like there are people who can jump higher or type faster than others. When Teacher X has all they need in their account, and they can get 100% of their salary and benefits from their endowment, the TAX money that would have gone to Teacher X can now go to Teacher Y. It helps meet the entire goal faster.
4) When it is all COMPLETE, you lower or eliminate PROPERTY taxes, and, after that, SALES taxes. Why not do this as each teacher is funded? Because the wealthy areas will be funded faster and the poorer areas not at all. Sooooooooo, if the wealthy want to be done with property and sales taxes, we need to make sure they also donate to the poorer districts. By the way, this will not work if we wait for the wealthy to fund the whole thing. All of us will have to make contributions here and there to teacher's endowments.
Donations would have to be given with no strings as to what can be taught, but can be given to specific subjects. For example, you could donate to fund a math teacher, science teacher, PE teacher...whatever you, the donor believes is important. You could NOT, for example, put a stipulation on the donation that a science teacher could not teach evolution, or a math teacher multiplication.
This will take generations to finish, but in the end, you have a fully funded public school system that includes pensions and does not depend on taxes.
Well, that's my basic idea. I am sure there are people out there that will tear my idea apart and list all the reasons why "liberals" like me can't possibly know what we are talking about.
Thursday, December 01, 2011
Return The Democratic Majority To The House And Senate in 2012: OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES ...
Return The Democratic Majority To The House And Senate in 2012: OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES ...: In response to this letter , written by former general partner of Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Goldman S...
Health Care Pro-Life Bag from thedemocratlady.com
Health Care Pro-Life Bag from thedemocratlady.com
Reads, "Health care is a pro-life issue". Great way to show your feelings about cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and other health issues. Great way to support Barack Obama, too. Vote Democrat! Save Medicare! Can be used as grocery bag to help the environment's health as well.
Design is featured on many other products, as well. An appreciated Christmas gift for someone who thinks as you do.
Reads, "Health care is a pro-life issue". Great way to show your feelings about cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and other health issues. Great way to support Barack Obama, too. Vote Democrat! Save Medicare! Can be used as grocery bag to help the environment's health as well.
Design is featured on many other products, as well. An appreciated Christmas gift for someone who thinks as you do.
Tuesday, September 06, 2011
Democrats, Get Off Your Rear End!
Get ready now!
In recent months, Republican majorities in Ohio, Wisconsin, Florida, and several other states have created voter registration ID laws that are intended to prevent the poor, the elderly and other people who generally do not have drivers licenses from voting. They claim that this will reduce voter fraud. But the actual intention is to stop Democrats from voting.
That said, this blog post is not intended to be a complaint about the laws. While I do feel that they are un-American, cumbersome and intended to violate people's constitutional rights to vote, it does not change the fact that we have to live with them.
With that in mind, here are some action suggestions that any person can do NOW:
1. Find out what the current voter ID law is in your state. What paperwork does a person need to get a voter ID?
2. Look around you, who do you know who does not drive and/or does not have access to wherever they need to go to get the proper identification in order to be able to vote in 2012? How much help does that person need help to get the right paperwork?
3. Get off your rear end and help them! Stop complaining about the law and work with it. Explain the new law to the elderly, the poor and anyone you know who might be disenfranchised. Help them write for their birth certificate, or other paperwork, if necessary. Help them pay for it if necessary. When all their paperwork is ready, make sure they have filled everything out properly. Then take them wherever they need to go to get their voter ID. Get started now! Not tomorrow, not next week, not later on in the day, but right now.
4. Some people will require to take a day, or more, off work in order to get the necessary papers and voter ID. Many people will not be able to afford this. If they do, they risk being fired or just losing a day's pay, that they can ill afford. There will be costs involved in order to obtain birth certificates and other documents that may be necessary to get the voter ID. Many people will not have the funds for these simple fees. When you can, where you can pay for it yourself. This is not a bribe to vote. This is not anything except helping people to keep their right to vote.
Belong to a union? Get your union involved. How many people can your union put on a bus and take them en masse to wherever they need to go, to get whatever paperwork they need, in order to vote in 2012?
Remember, read the laws carefully. Get legal advice, if you think you need it. Do not break any laws. Just get off your rear and get to work!
It really is simple. Mostly, it takes a lot of work. Over the next several months, it is necessary that every Democrat that lives in any of the states that have these stupid, silly, bad voting laws comes to the aid of every poor person, elderly person, or anyone who may be disenfranchised by these new laws.
Make sure that no one in your state is unable to vote because they don't have the proper ID.
Republicans are counting on you to be lazy. They're counting on you to sit back, and be mad at Obama and not budge. Prove them wrong!
America is counting on you. Freedom is counting on you. The future is counting on you.
In recent months, Republican majorities in Ohio, Wisconsin, Florida, and several other states have created voter registration ID laws that are intended to prevent the poor, the elderly and other people who generally do not have drivers licenses from voting. They claim that this will reduce voter fraud. But the actual intention is to stop Democrats from voting.
That said, this blog post is not intended to be a complaint about the laws. While I do feel that they are un-American, cumbersome and intended to violate people's constitutional rights to vote, it does not change the fact that we have to live with them.
With that in mind, here are some action suggestions that any person can do NOW:
1. Find out what the current voter ID law is in your state. What paperwork does a person need to get a voter ID?
2. Look around you, who do you know who does not drive and/or does not have access to wherever they need to go to get the proper identification in order to be able to vote in 2012? How much help does that person need help to get the right paperwork?
3. Get off your rear end and help them! Stop complaining about the law and work with it. Explain the new law to the elderly, the poor and anyone you know who might be disenfranchised. Help them write for their birth certificate, or other paperwork, if necessary. Help them pay for it if necessary. When all their paperwork is ready, make sure they have filled everything out properly. Then take them wherever they need to go to get their voter ID. Get started now! Not tomorrow, not next week, not later on in the day, but right now.
4. Some people will require to take a day, or more, off work in order to get the necessary papers and voter ID. Many people will not be able to afford this. If they do, they risk being fired or just losing a day's pay, that they can ill afford. There will be costs involved in order to obtain birth certificates and other documents that may be necessary to get the voter ID. Many people will not have the funds for these simple fees. When you can, where you can pay for it yourself. This is not a bribe to vote. This is not anything except helping people to keep their right to vote.
Belong to a union? Get your union involved. How many people can your union put on a bus and take them en masse to wherever they need to go, to get whatever paperwork they need, in order to vote in 2012?
Remember, read the laws carefully. Get legal advice, if you think you need it. Do not break any laws. Just get off your rear and get to work!
It really is simple. Mostly, it takes a lot of work. Over the next several months, it is necessary that every Democrat that lives in any of the states that have these stupid, silly, bad voting laws comes to the aid of every poor person, elderly person, or anyone who may be disenfranchised by these new laws.
Make sure that no one in your state is unable to vote because they don't have the proper ID.
Republicans are counting on you to be lazy. They're counting on you to sit back, and be mad at Obama and not budge. Prove them wrong!
America is counting on you. Freedom is counting on you. The future is counting on you.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
No New Texans Ipad Skin from thedemocratlady.com
No New Texans Ipad Skin from thedemocratlady.com
No New Texans I Speckcase by thedemocratlady
Ipad expresses your feelings and thoughts about another possible president from Texas.
No New Texans!
Stop Rick Perry!
Texas conservatives tickin' you off? Tell Rick Perry what you really think of him and his "ideas". Stop Rick Perry! NO NEW TEXANS! Support Barack Obama!
Design comes in shirts, tees, mugs, hats, keychains, and much more.
No New Texans I Speckcase by thedemocratladyIpad expresses your feelings and thoughts about another possible president from Texas.
No New Texans!
Stop Rick Perry!
Texas conservatives tickin' you off? Tell Rick Perry what you really think of him and his "ideas". Stop Rick Perry! NO NEW TEXANS! Support Barack Obama!
Design comes in shirts, tees, mugs, hats, keychains, and much more.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Abortion and Voting
I am often asked, how I can be a Roman Catholic and a Democrat. The theory is, one cannot uphold the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Roman Catholic Church, while supporting candidates that would seek to keep abortion legal. Since my 53 years on this planet has convinced me that, if abortion were illegal, those who want one would simply go underground to get it, my vote doesn't amount to a hill of beans in this area.
In other words, making it illegal will not stop it. So, the killing will continue, no matter how I caste my vote. And, yes, I believe abortion is murder.
For those conservatives, ready to kill me, for being a baby-killing Democrat (and I have been called much worse by them), I want to say, loudly and clearly, I BELIEVE ABORTION IS MURDER. Once more, in case you missed it, conservatives, I BELIEVE ABORTION IS MURDER!!!!
I, also, believe we can actually SAVE more baby's lives with Democratic policies than Republican ones. Why? Because I know of several women in my life who told me they had abortions because they did not have the money to pay for the doctor bill. One woman looked at me with tears in her eyes and said, "I had to murder my baby because I had to choose between feeding the three children I already had, and paying the doctor for the one that was coming." Her deadbeat husband had left her with 3 kids. A few weeks later she found she was pregnant. I told her, indignant that I was at the time, "If abortion were illegal, you wouldn't have been able to get one." She replied, "It was." Nothing but free medical care was going to save that baby. She even told me she was prepared to give the child up for adoption, but there was no one to help her pay for the delivery. The horror, to me, of this is that she did not want an abortion, but felt she had no other choice.
Usually, when I relate the above story to conservatives, they get a very sympathetic look on their face. They genuinely feel sorry for her situation. But when I say that something like the "public option", or, horror of horrors, "universal health care" would save these children, one of two things comes out of their mouths: "That's socialism", or "We'd like to help, but we just can't afford it". Translation being, "I would let innocent babies die to prove a political point" or "I am too cheap to make sacrifices in my personal life so that babies can live."
Then, they go on to ask me if I believe that murders should go free. They talk about having the ability to prosecute women who murder their children via abortion. While I do not believe that murderers should go free, I also do not want to punish the aforementioned woman, or those in similar situations. Their nightmare is enough. Since I believe in an afterlife, and therefore, that all of us will be judged by God, I am not worried about anyone, ever, getting away with murder, or anything else, for that matter.
In my life I have also known women who had abortions because they could not pay for daycare, or food or whatever basic thing the baby would need. I have NEVER known any woman who had an abortion because she didn't want to be bothered with the child. Yes, some women have abortions for mind-bogglingly selfish reasons. Those women I would like to thrash, personally. But I believe them to be very rare. At least, I have never known one. And those babies are going to die no matter how I, any Democrat, or any conservative, votes. Because people that selfish, almost always get their way.
However, I can, by supporting candidates who will support universal health care, day care, food stamps and other social programs that twist the knickers of conservatives, enable more women to deliver healthy babies.
That's why I vote Democrat. To save the babies.
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