Bits and Pieces

Taxes – Federal and Others: Government services and benefits are everywhere. Social Security is one. So are disability benefits funded through Social Security. Medicare and Medicaid are other examples of tax dollars at work. So too, are sidewalks, streets, highways, bridges, dams, stormwater sewers. Of course public water and sewer systems, public schools, libraries, parks and a host of other amenities we likely take for granted. Police and fire protection are a huge presence in our lives and they are funded by tax collections. A property owner pays property taxes. A renter pays rent to a landlord who is a property owner and property tax payer; the rent collected goes in part to those tax payments. Sales taxes, excise taxes on goods and services, and other government fees are all forms of taxes. Car registration fees, gasoline taxes and a host of other user taxes all go to pay for government supplied goods and services. We all pay them. Some of us pay more than others, but then they enjoy a much higher standard of living than the rest of us do. They have received more benefit than the rest of us, thus they pay more and we pay less.

Hardly anyone has a free ride in our society. We all pay if we breathe air. Taxes are built into our economic model and the wealthy know this. Complaining about high taxes is a common game played by the favored few. But it remains only a game. Do not fall for their whines. Of course Congress knows they can gain campaign dollars from these folks for doing their bidding. That is another game common to our form of government. Pity that; shameful, too.

Racism-White Privilege: When I was growing up, I felt at ease in most neighborhoods and surroundings. I did not know what it was like to be singled out and questioned by others. I belonged where I was and had freedom of movement. Later, I made friends with a lot of schoolmates and their diversity taught me a few lessons. One was that a black kid was not free to move in just any neighborhood. He was clearly in view if he was in a white neighborhood. He stood out. Just like I would have stood out if I walked through a black neighborhood. But there were none anywhere I lived. Our town was mostly white.

Arrive now in today’s world, a black driver is in clear view of a policeman and quite likely to be stopped for small driving infractions. From there the situation can escalate rapidly out of control. Switch the circumstance of a white driver and note the lack of worry or concern for being stopped. Most likely none. That difference is white privilege. We whites do not experience it, so it is not on our radar screen.

That difference is racism. Whether it is mine or yours, a white person simply does not experience life the same way a black person does. For whites it is very subtle and goes unnoticed. To claim we are not racist is a falsehood, one many don't realize they are making. But....

Manchin of West Virginia: He claims not to be a blockade to President Biden’s agenda. But he is. He takes his agenda points directly from Republicans because he is one of those oddities in the southland – he is a democrat on the national public stage from a conservative republican district. He is a renegade that sassies up to his constituents so he has the votes to remain in office. What he accomplishes is another story.

Joe Manchin knows what he is doing. He gets power and funding for his district just by being ornery. To earn his vote in a very divided chamber, Joe normally gets what he wants. Once again, this is an example of the squeaky wheel getting the attention, and the money and power. Shameful but effective. Yes, Manchin is a blockade to Biden. And he knows it.

April 30, 2021