—Richard Bach
I am so frustrated. The Republican tax plan feels wrong to me, yet some republicans whom I respect, believe it has enough positive aspects to vote for it. Trickle down economics seems to have been a disaster for Reagan, yet there are those in power who believe it is the only way. While I see the theoretical success of such a plan, it seems not to take into account human greed, or human suffering, for that matter. Both of those things seem to make it a losing proposition before we even start.
I want to know the facts...just the facts...and that seems as difficult now as it did for Joe Friday fifty years ago. If I watch FOX I will be shown illogical statistics from gung-ho republicans who are pushing their right-wing agenda. If I watch MSNBC it will be the left who will be clouding reality while pushing their agenda. I don’t know where to go to get an impartial explanation of a tax plan that seems poorly suited for me, my family or the majority of the country. I doubt that I will ever like it, but I would sure love to understand it.
I would also like to understand why Social Security, a program that I have been paying into for most of my life, is referred to as an “entitlement program.” I never complain about paying my social security taxes, because I know that someday I will hopefully be getting that money back. It should work as a forced savings account, accruing interest until the participant needs it. Unfortunately, much of my money...all of our money...was “borrowed” years ago to pay off other shortfalls, and if there ever was a plan to pay back this money, that plan has long been forgotten. So suddenly, seniors have become liabilities to a broken system and politicians looking to fix blame on something tangible.
On a totally different note, I have been smiling all week over the engagement of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. I have been watching the TV show "Suits" from its inception, and she is one of those actresses who you just like looking at. She is quite attractive, and she just oozes sweetness. If she can tame “Wild Child Harry” then she deserves to be royalty, and apparently she is his long time crush becoming a reality.
I think Princess Di would have been proud to see that her sons grew up to be fine independent men who chose fine independent women to share their lives with, even though British royalty makes independence difficult. The fact that the Queen seems to be accepting a half-black, American actress who is apparently pregnant as her grandson’s future wife, tells me that the stodginess of the throne might just be a thing of the past. Yes, I am sure that Diana was smiling from above as she watched Harry and Meghan work the crowd as they promoted the Aids charity that meant so much to the beloved princess.
Speaking of this beloved princess, my book of the week, Diana: Her True Story in Her Own Words by Andrew Morton, paints a picture of a very unhappy young woman trapped in a “unhappily ever after” fairytale. I enjoyed learning about her life before, during and after her time with Charles.
As always, a complete review of this book follows my blog.
Happy reading,
- Beverly