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Taxes, Spending, Religion, and Tort Reform

By Theresa Fritz Camoriano

***Several cell phone companies have sued the state of Kentucky, because it has imposed a special tax on them while making it illegal for them to inform their customers about the tax.  If Kentucky’s legislators thought this tax was such a good idea, you would think they would be announcing it from the rooftops, not skulking around trying to keep us in the dark about their activities as if they were a bunch of burglars.    

***On the same note, had you heard that several hundred of the police who supposedly walked off the job in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina actually never existed in the first place?  They were phantom people, existing only on the payroll, and being supported by federal money, but they didn’t really exist.  Don’t you imagine that these phantom people will reproduce very quickly in order to have many more of them on the payroll for the rebuilding effort as the boatloads of money come pouring in on the city?

***The U.S. government is prosecuting churches that promote or oppose political candidates from the pulpit, saying this violates the requirements for their tax-free status.  If we are really going to have freedom of speech and freedom of religion in this country, then speaking out on any subject, especially politics and religion, should not affect tax status.  Period.  (It also should not result in fines or jail time.  Don’t forget to tell that to John McCain and Russ Feingold as well as President Bush, who signed their oppressive campaign finance law.) When Iraqi politicians are risking their lives to build a government, are any U.S. politicians brave enough to stand up for our freedom of speech and freedom of religion?

          ***The U.S. Post Office is raising its rates again.  Japan now is allowing private companies to compete for its postal business.  If people didn’t have to worry about being thrown in jail for competing with the U.S. Postal Service, we would have good mail service at a good price. 

          ***As more and more of our businesses are victimized by lawsuits, and as we consumers have to pay ever-higher prices for our insurance, medical care, and products as a result of this abuse, it is time for us to consider a solution that really works – a loser pays system.  This system would encourage reasonable settlements and would greatly reduce frivolous lawsuits.  This is not a pie-in-the-sky risky scheme – it is how most of the rest of the world works.  Are any U.S. politicians brave enough to take on the trial lawyers for the good of the country?

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