Truth is an Absolute Defense

Freshman Florida congressman Alan Grayson went to the House floor yesterday and described the Republican health care plan as "don't get sick, and if you do, die quickly." The Average Man promptly went to his website and gave him twenty bucks. Apparently I wasn't the only one, as he raised $100K yesterday!

Now, even better -- he goes on the Wolf Blitzer show and Does. Not. Back. Down!



YEAH!!!

Now let's see if some other Dems will learn a lesson.

John McCain will Raise Your Taxes

well, unless you're a zillionaire, of course....

From the Tax Policy Center (a joint venture of the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution):

"Senator McCain's tax cuts would primarily benefit those with very high incomes, almost all of whom would receive large tax cuts that would, on average, raise their after-tax incomes by more than twice the average for all households. Senator Obama offers much larger tax breaks to low- and middle-income taxpayers and would increase taxes on high-income taxpayers. The largest tax cuts, as a share of income, would go to those at the bottom of the income distribution, while taxpayers with the highest income would see their taxes rise."

Heck, even the conservative Business Week admits that Obama's plan will benefit the middle class far more, and, unlike McCain and Bush's plans, will pay for itself rather than leave us further in debt.

Here's a Washington Post article with a graph that makes it pretty clear how both plans will work and who gets the beneifts.

Now, lest you feel sorry for those poor zillionaires who will have their taxes raised (or think you're going to become one of them in the next 4-8 years), here's some facts:

- Right now capital gains are taxed at a maxiumum of 15 percent. So if you work hard and bring home a paycheck, you get hit with 25 or 30 percent, but if you sit around while your money makes you more money, you pay only 15. There's no reason that income shouldn't be taxed the same. This will account for a lot of the "increase" on the wealthy (while the rest involves closing tax loopholes that let US companies "operate" overseas and avoid paying income tax altogether, which is flat-out wrong and un-American).

- I say "increase" because the top tax rate has actually been falling steadily through the last century. Fifty years ago, the top earners paid a whopping NINETY percent in taxes. Reagan & Bush The First dropped it from 70 way down to 31, which also accounts for a lot of the debt they racked up. So it's not unreasonable to bump it back up to 39, which, incidentally, is where Clinton raised it to in 1993, and he not only paid down the debt and left us a surplus, but we had the biggest growth of our economy in decades.

As for how McCain will actually raise your or my taxes, it's pretty sneaky -- he wants to tax employer-provided health care benefits. (and give a credit that's a fraction of the average cost for most families). So if you get wonderful, inexpensive health care coverage through your job, prepare to be stung.

And lest you think that McCain's plan might somehow make health care less expensive overall, this Economic Policy institute analysis shows that Obama's plan will cover a far greater number of people for less money. Crazy!

Them's the facts. If you read or see or hear differently, consider who's talking to you, and how much money they make.

RUDY GIULIANI: FRIEND OF MONTECITO?

The Average Man didn't think too much about Rudy Giuliani's fund raising trip to Montecito. That quickly changed, however, when I read this article from the Montecito Journal. Specifically, it was the following teaser that caught my attention:

There is plenty of money in Montecito, and anyone who believes there is little Republican strength in what many see as a decidedly Democrat-leaning community, some serious rethinking may be in order.

That got me thinking ... Is this true? Is Montecito a Democrat-leaning community? As someone who Treks to the Left, I would like to hope it is, but this would certainly fly in the face of my perceptions regarding the wealthy. After all, it's no secret that the "haves" do quite well under Republican leadership. And the "have nots?" Well, not so much.

In his speech to the Montecito crowd, Rudy made the following noteworthy comment:

Who has the best health care in the world? Who has a better health care system? Is there one we should borrow from somewhere else? Do you want the health care system they have in England? Or Germany, or Canada, or anyplace else?

I always get a kick out of this argument, because it's stated so boldly you almost feel silly debating it. I mean, Canada, come on. Who would want to get sick there!? Of course, if you know the real story, you know that countries like Canada have excellent health care and pay way less than we do for the privilege. But my point here isn't to defend Canada. You'll get no argument from me that the US generally has the best health care system, but what Giuliani fails to mention is the fact that it's only great if you can afford it.

Here's another interesting quote from the good Mayor:

America is not heading in the wrong direction ... people may feel that way, but that they are responding more to the media and the lack of leadership, and not to the reality of what is happening in this country. It has never been this good, for anybody ...

Bold statement. I'm not sure what people he is referring to here, but it certainly isn't the average man. Apparently Mr. Giuliani doesn't think much of the shrinking middle class or the growing divide between the rich and the poor. It seems to me that the people who have it so good in Giuliani's America are the same people who can afford that great health care: like the people who live in Montecito.

Now, I'm certainly not taking shots at Montecito; it's a beautiful place. I eat there, I shop there, and I would love to live there some day. But I think Giuliani's comments bring light to the problem of perspective suffered by the Wendy McCaws of the world. It's easy to think things are better than they've ever been if you can raise $290,000 in a single fund raiser. So I say to Montecito, if you are a "Democrat-leaning" community, then good for you in voting against your economic interests. If you're not, then I ask you to take a moment and think about things from the average man's perspective.

By the way, I went to the Internets to try and find out how Montecito voted in the last presidential election. I came up with a big goose egg on that one, but I did discover that Avril Lavigne lives there. So, there you go.