Who Do We Hold Accountable?

The following article was written by K.A. Atcher, a friend of GOOOH. It is really good. GOOOH seeks to hold our elected officials accountable. Ms. Atcher goes a step further and points out not only how easy it would be for us all to hold others accountable, but that it is our duty to do so.





By K. A. Atcher (1/27/09)


Our new president has promised to change the tone of Washington, and whether you approve of each change or not, he appears to be trying to do what he said he would do – an encouraging sign. Yet, there are some troubling signals already surfacing, witness Mr. Obama’s choice for Treasury Secretary. Timothy Geithner had some unfinished business with the IRS; it seems he neglected to pay his taxes. But if you’re good at what you do, past unethical behavior apparently does not disqualify one for positions of trust. Reuters reported that Mr. Geithner was “too uniquely qualified for Congress to reject . . .” and the New York Times declared there was “no better alternative.” So he gets the job – appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by Congress, despite an admitted disregard for the laws he will be entrusted to enforce.


And why are we surprised? We have become a nation of no accountability and no consequences. Consider the outrageous behavior of athletes who get away with drug use and assault, not to mention bad behavior on the field – if they are especially talented at moving the ball or scoring the run, their talent trumps any violation of ethics or law. And this is an area where We, the Public, could easily enforce a higher standard. Team owners and managers would quickly respond to a drop in attendance; advertisers to our use of the ‘off’ button on our TV sets.


But We, the Public, don’t do that. We may grumble when someone ‘gets away’ with something for which we are convinced we would pay heavily if caught. We think the judge, or the manager, or someone-other-than-me should do better. But we are not willing to inconvenience ourselves to enforce a standard of behavior.


We have much less influence on Wall Street, but do we really care what those CEO’s are doing – as long as our 401k or IRA keeps growing? Private behavior, in the United States, is private and rightly so. But when private behavior spills over into the public domain; when bad behavior has the potential to impact our lives; we need to do more than avert our eyes in embarrassment.


If we are truly outraged at the loss of ethical behavior in Washington, we must start the change at home with the small things that are in our control. We may not have any say in the prosecution and sentencing of Bernie Madoff, but we can hold ourselves, our children, our local school board, to a standard of performance, integrity and accountability. We can conduct our own business to those standards and support only those public figures whose behavior meets those standards.


Yes we need government officials, elected representatives and CEO’s who are honest, open and trustworthy right now – and some currently are, or try to be – but no law passed today will influence a law-breaker except to stimulate greater efforts to get around it. If we want honest government, honest business, we need to produce honest young people, with a sense of honor and duty to others and to their country.


We need teachers – in grade school and high school – who insist on appropriate behavior in the class room, backed by school boards with the courage to put student education ahead of spurious political correctness. We need coaches – high school, college and pro – who will bench their best player for misconduct even if it means losing the big game – there is no more powerful lesson than the shame of letting down your teammates. We need athletic directors who will insist their players actually get a useful education. And, perhaps most critically, we need parents and community members who will support these actions by actively supporting the schools where they do well and boycotting activities that work against the goal of producing good citizens.
It may sound simplistic to suggest we not pay to see movies with themes or actors who do not represent our ideals, or that we deprive ourselves of the pleasure of watching a star athlete perform just because he or she exhibits arrogant disregard for decent behavior, but these ‘stars’ are the role models our young people emulate. Mentoring a single high school athlete, tutoring just one struggling kid who won’t be on the political stage for ten or twenty years, may seem like a waste of time, but nothing else will ultimately put our society back on track.


It doesn’t matter which political party you support, or where you stand on climate change, gun control, abortion, unions, immigration, healthcare – pick your label, pick your slogan – no one is out there campaigning for the right to lie, cheat and steal. Yet, too many of our young people learn that if you can get away with it, it’s OK; and if you get caught you only have to say, “I’m sorry,” and get on with business as usual.


We get to cast a vote for elected officials every two or four years, but a small upside to this current economic downturn is that our scarce dollars now carry more weight. We can vote everyday by choosing where our money goes and how we spend our volunteer hours. Like it or not, you are either part of the solution, or part of the problem. There are no sidelines; we’ve all been pulled into the game.

The taxes we pay

I received an email the other day listing the various taxes we have to pay. I'm sure you can think of others, but have you considered that not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, back when our nation was the most prosperous in the world. Today, those who make over $75,000 a year send over 50% of their income to the government via some form of taxation.

First under the Bush Administration and now Obama's, the government is borrowing money to return to the citizens of our country in an effort to stimulate the economy. Remember last year's stimulus check? What affect did it have? Consider how the first $350 Billion has been spent and the impact it has had. More importantly, consider how that debt will be repaid?

Last year we paid $135 BILLION in INTEREST on our nation's debt. The new administration has already said the deficit for the next three years will exceed a trillion dollars - and that is a conservative estimate. Before you support further government spending, consider the list of taxes below, and whether or not you want them to increase, or new ones to be added to the list.

Allowing politicians to spend more money than they collect is a fools game. The debt must be repaid. Are you comfortable passing such a debt to your children? Are you comfortable that we pay so much in taxes for so many different things? Consider the list that follows. The two parties have tricked you into thinking the debate is about whether or not we want the top 1% of income earners to pay more in taxes. The real debate should be about allowing politicians to hide the total amount of money they are collecting, and then spending more than they collect.

Consider the list that follows and who pays these taxes. Consider how much more our children will have to pay to finance the spending of our generation.

1. Accounts Receivable Tax
2. Building Permit Tax
3. Commerical Drivers License Tax
4. Cigarette Tax
5. Corporate Income Tax
6. Dog License Tax
7. Excise Taxes
8. Federal Income Tax
9. Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
10. Fishing License Tax
11. Food License Tax
12. Fuel Permit Tax
13. Gasoline Tax (42 cents per gallon)
14. Gross Receipts Tax
15. Hunting License Tax
16. Inheritance Tax
17. Inventory Tax
18. IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
19. Liquor Tax
20. Luxury Taxes
21. Marriage License Tax
22. Medicare Tax
23. Personal Property Tax
24. Property Tax
25. Real Estate Tax
26. Service Charge Tax
27. Social Security Tax
28. Road Usage Tax
29. Sales Tax
30. Recreational Vehicle Tax
31. School Tax
32. State Income Tax
33. State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
34. Telephone Federal Excise Tax
35. Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
36. Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
37. Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
38. Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax
39. Telephone State and Local Tax
40. Telephone Usage Charge Tax
41. Utility Taxes
42. Vehicle License Registration Tax
43. Vehicle Sales Tax
44. Watercraft Registration Tax
45. Well Permit Tax
46. Workers Compensation Tax


Can you think of others?

How to Kill an American

I often recieve emals that have been forwarded many times, and often, they are quite good. I thought I'd post this one. While an unnamed Australian Dentist is credited with writing the article, Snopes.com reports that it was written by Peter Ferrara, an associate professor of law at the George Mason University School of Law and first published in National Review on 9/25/01.

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You probably missed this in the rush of news, but there was actually a report that someone in Pakistan had published in a newspaper, an offer of a reward to anyone who killed an American, any American.

So an Australian dentist wrote an editorial the following day to let everyone know what an American is. So they would know when they found one (Good one, mate!!!!) [Per the introduction, Peter Ferrara has been credited by others as the author]

An American is English, or French, or Italian, Irish, German, Spanish, Polish, Russian or Greek. An American may also be Canadian, Mexican, African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Australian, Iranian, Asian, or Arab, or Pakistani or Afghan.

An American may also be a Comanche, Cherokee, Osage, Blackfoot, Navaho, Apache, Seminole or one of the many other tribes known as Native Americans.

An American is Christian, or he could be Jewish, or Buddhist, or Muslim. In fact, there are more Muslims in America than in Afghanistan. The only difference is that in America they are free to worship as each of them chooses.

An American is also free to believe in no religion. For that he will answer only to God, not to the government, or to armed thugs claiming to speak for the government and for God.

An American lives in the most prosperous land in the history of the world.

The root of that prosperity can be found in the Declaration of Independence, which recognizes the God given right of each person to the pursuit of happiness.

An American is generous. Americans have helped out just about every other nation in the world in their time of need, never asking a thing in return.

When Afghanistan was over-run by the Soviet Army 20 years ago, Americans came with arms and supplies to enable the people to win back their country!

As of the morning of September 11, Americans had given more than any other nation to the poor in Afghanistan. Americans welcome the best of everything... the best products, the best books, the best music, the best food, the best services. But they also welcome the least.

The national symbol of America, The Statue of Liberty, welcomes your tired and your poor, the wretched refuse of your teeming shores, the homeless, tempest tossed. These in fact are the people who built America.

Some of them were working in the Twin Towers the morning of September 11, 2001 earning a better life for their families. It's been told that the World Trade Center victims were from at least 30 different countries, cultures, and first languages, including those that aided and abetted the terrorists.

So you can try to kill an American if you must. Hitler did. So did General Tojo, Stalin, Mao Tse-Tung, and other blood-thirsty tyrants in the world. But, in doing so you would just be killing yourself - because Americans are not a particular people from a particular place. They are the embodiment of the human spirit of freedom. Everyone who holds to that spirit, everywhere, is an American.