At least two provisions in the House  health reform bill are very troubling, the de facto repeal
of Roe v. Wade and this.  In a powerful post on the Welcome Back to
Pottersville, poster Jurassicpork laid it out.  This is as clear and
logical a statement as I've seen on the utter contempt that
Congress has for the people.  We're creating a new criminal class,
people who can't afford health insurance.  The solution - fines and
prison.  All thanks to the Money Party which has reached depths
previously unimaginable.  Well worth a read.  Michael Collins

I'm so happy I found this haven for lost diaries... Again, I posted this at the KOS and watched it slide down the great orange slopes. Again, it was rescued, and praised by a few diligent readers there. And, again, I bring it to you. Thank you for being here.

"I guess it depends if you're a half-glass empty guy or a half-glass full guy."
—George W. Bush

Ever get a parking ticket when you were a half-glass empty guy? Or maybe you were a full-glass full guy, in Bernie Madoff's old neighborhood, and you've had some million dollar months? A $100 equals a tenth of a grand a month, one ten-thousandth of a million. If you make $50,000 a year (a little above the median), that ticket is 0.024% of your monthly income. If you make $12 million  per year, it's 0.0001%, approximately 240 times less than the median American's unhappiness over the same violation.

A flat tax would be more fair than a flat fine. At least with flat income taxes, we'd all be paying the same percentage of our income.

Dwindling tax revenues force governments to look for ways to balance their budgets. Draconian nose amputations are showing up in emergency rooms all over America. More are on their way. Regressive taxes are just worsening the pain on the lowest earners.