Comments for Past & Present http://blogs.uww.edu/pastpresent Fri, 21 Nov 2008 10:18:23 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 Comment on Teddy Roosevelt Weighs In on the Joe-The-Plumber Deal by kreitlob http://blogs.uww.edu/pastpresent/2008/10/18/teddy-roosevelt-weighs-in-on-the-joe-the-plumber-deal/#comment-10 kreitlob Thu, 06 Nov 2008 13:55:20 +0000 http://blogs.uww.edu/pastpresent/?p=76#comment-10 Kyle: Great comment. But just to clarify my point in the original post, I am saying that it makes no sense in the 21st Century to assume the government will play no role in the economy. To say the government takes from the wealthy and gives to the poor is to ignore the ways in which the government allows the wealthy to gain wealth. Whether the government should give money to victims of Hurrican Katrina is one question, but almost no one opposes that the government made possible the fact there were levees in New Orleans to begin with or even that we had the equipment and people to tell us about the hurricane. The real question is what role the government should play and for whose benefit. Also, as a matter of mathematics, if the top category becomes wealthier, then they will pay a higher proportion of all taxes without the government deciding to change anything. So the government is not deciding to take more from them. If I made $20,000 in the year 2000 and make $200,000 this year, I will be paying a greater share of the overall national tax revenues this year obviously, but not because the government is punishing me more than they did in 2000. Kyle:

Great comment.

But just to clarify my point in the original post, I am saying that it makes no sense in the 21st Century to assume the government will play no role in the economy. To say the government takes from the wealthy and gives to the poor is to ignore the ways in which the government allows the wealthy to gain wealth. Whether the government should give money to victims of Hurrican Katrina is one question, but almost no one opposes that the government made possible the fact there were levees in New Orleans to begin with or even that we had the equipment and people to tell us about the hurricane.
The real question is what role the government should play and for whose benefit.

Also, as a matter of mathematics, if the top category becomes wealthier, then they will pay a higher proportion of all taxes without the government deciding to change anything. So the government is not deciding to take more from them. If I made $20,000 in the year 2000 and make $200,000 this year, I will be paying a greater share of the overall national tax revenues this year obviously, but not because the government is punishing me more than they did in 2000.

]]> Comment on Teddy Roosevelt Weighs In on the Joe-The-Plumber Deal by Kyle Shelton http://blogs.uww.edu/pastpresent/2008/10/18/teddy-roosevelt-weighs-in-on-the-joe-the-plumber-deal/#comment-9 Kyle Shelton Thu, 06 Nov 2008 06:11:00 +0000 http://blogs.uww.edu/pastpresent/?p=76#comment-9 I do not think that spreading the wealth would be a very good idea just because it takes away from the idea of freedom which our country was founded on. Is having a 1% tier of outrageously powerful and wealthy people in out country a problem, of course, but that 1% already takes care of 40% of all taxes brought in and now we want to take more from them? It would be one thing if it was redistributed and everyone took that money and put it into the economy, but you know that it wont. It will probably end up more like 40-50% of the people putting the money to good and the remainder spending the money on useless things, much like we saw in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. It would also be another story if that top, elite tier deserved to be taxed more, but the truth is that they do not. They are clearly in that position for a reason, because they are smart with what they do, and chances are they play a big role in our economy because they have so much to invest. So now instead of having all this money invested in the economy you take it out and give it to people who may or may not do the same. It just doesn't seem to fair or safe to me. I do not think that spreading the wealth would be a very good idea just because it takes away from the idea of freedom which our country was founded on. Is having a 1% tier of outrageously powerful and wealthy people in out country a problem, of course, but that 1% already takes care of 40% of all taxes brought in and now we want to take more from them? It would be one thing if it was redistributed and everyone took that money and put it into the economy, but you know that it wont. It will probably end up more like 40-50% of the people putting the money to good and the remainder spending the money on useless things, much like we saw in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. It would also be another story if that top, elite tier deserved to be taxed more, but the truth is that they do not. They are clearly in that position for a reason, because they are smart with what they do, and chances are they play a big role in our economy because they have so much to invest. So now instead of having all this money invested in the economy you take it out and give it to people who may or may not do the same. It just doesn’t seem to fair or safe to me.

]]> Comment on Asian Impact on Big League Baseball by Monon Eggers & Liz Lee http://blogs.uww.edu/pastpresent/2007/02/27/asian-impact-on-big-league-baseball/#comment-3 Monon Eggers & Liz Lee Sun, 18 Mar 2007 17:33:33 +0000 http://blogs.uww.edu/pastpresent/2007/02/27/asian-impact-on-big-league-baseball/#comment-3 We have read your political views, and although we love you very much, we can't say with any certainty, that we understand most of it. It has been a long time since college for us girls! I n fact the most interesting part of it is the reference to baseball - because that is something I can relate to. Go Rockies. Keep the good information and inquisitive conversations going Professor! We have read your political views, and although we love you very much, we can’t say with any certainty, that we understand most of it. It has been a long time since college for us girls!
I n fact the most interesting part of it is the reference to baseball - because that is something I can relate to. Go Rockies. Keep the good information and inquisitive conversations going Professor!

]]> Comment on When Myths are Cast in Stone by Thomas Anderson http://blogs.uww.edu/pastpresent/2007/01/23/when-myths-are-cast-in-stone/#comment-2 Thomas Anderson Wed, 24 Jan 2007 16:11:02 +0000 http://blogs.uww.edu/pastpresent/2007/01/23/when-myths-are-cast-in-stone/#comment-2 I find it interesting that there is so often conflict between the scholarly community and the rest of the world in terms of what is real truth and what is merely fiction that has been passed down. Looking at the article it states that the city is considering not putting up plaques because of this as they rightly do not want to pass on false history. My concern with this is that it is always fun to know why something is there and to learn from things such as this. I think that what the city would be wise to do would be to keep the plaque but ensure that it states that the story of the quilt has not been historically verified by any scholar. This would continue the folk tradition, many of which form an underlying fabric of U.S. history and it would let people know that there is no known truth to the statement leaving people to form their own opinions based on the facts as is the way society should work. I find it interesting that there is so often conflict between the scholarly community and the rest of the world in terms of what is real truth and what is merely fiction that has been passed down. Looking at the article it states that the city is considering not putting up plaques because of this as they rightly do not want to pass on false history.
My concern with this is that it is always fun to know why something is there and to learn from things such as this. I think that what the city would be wise to do would be to keep the plaque but ensure that it states that the story of the quilt has not been historically verified by any scholar. This would continue the folk tradition, many of which form an underlying fabric of U.S. history and it would let people know that there is no known truth to the statement leaving people to form their own opinions based on the facts as is the way society should work.

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