Modest Proposal: Poll Tax

[tleberle]

My big high school graduation gift was a stock portfolio of one share each in five different local companies (I think Microsoft, Starbucks, Nordstrom, Boeing and...something else.) Anyway, for years and years, I would get the annual report four-color glossy thing, along with a proxy vote to mail back. Since I had one share in each company, I was

Comments

[lilgrnfroggie]

Well, that's just a tad unfair for us stay-at-home parents. I get no vote or do I have to share them with my husband? Technically, I pay no taxes since I make no money, but my name is on the tax forms. So make no money = no voting? I'm not sure I can agree with that one at all. And if I did make money (which I sort of did a few years ago) how would that be separated? I will never make any where near what my husband makes (based on decisions I've made in my life, not because it's not possible), but who is president (or senator or changes to the Constitution or what-have-you) effects me just as much.

[tleberle]

It was a Modest Proposal, not a Perfect Proposal, for reasons like the one you just mentioned. I had not thought of that.

"lolwut"

[einstein9073]

Do you seriously believe that the ultra-rich don't have enough power already? You believe this so firmly that you want to explicitly turn our democracy-based republic into a cashed-based oligarchy?

Dude. The reason the economy is in the toilet right now isn't due to poor people, it's due to abuses by the rich idiots you're trying to empower.

[tleberle]

And I shall put a great deal of thought into a reply to someone who uses the subhead "lolwut."

G'day.

[einstein9073]

Darn, I should have used the word "plutarchy" instead of "cash-based oligarchy". Or "cashed-" even.

That was an excellent ad hominem attack on my post, but you don't get to decide to dismiss an argument because you don't like it's title.

Well, this is your journal. I suppose you can. But you'd be wrong.

[tleberle]

Why is it wrong to say "Hey, I'm not going to engage with people who don't bother to actually read the content of the post and who read what they want to out of it"?

Did you not notice the part where I say that I would limit the number of votes that the top earners could have precisely to keep the rich from having too much power? Guess not.