God Bless the Rich People of America

George Bush made an appearance today in Annandale, Virginia. A small group of Bush supporters showed up, about 600 in number. Bush spoke of tax cuts for the rich, arguing that it will do no good to target the rich when it comes to taxes. He says the rich know how to dodge taxes anyway. Well, I guess we can't accuse Bush of a cover-up there. He just came right out and said it: THE RICH KNOW HOW TO AVOID TAXES. So we have to go after those of us who a) aren't rich and b) don't know how to or don't have any way to reduce our tax.

But this approach is all wrong in the first place. Taxes are not a bad thing. A democracy must have taxes. The middle class so vital for a democracy depends on taxes. Mr. Bush does not subscribe to that philosophy. Since he is very wealthy and will never need to worry about money, he forgets about the rest of us. And he repeats the phrase "tax burden" over and over until Americans begin to see taxes as something to be relieved of. The rich want "tax relief." Congressional leaders echo the phrase ad nauseum. Let's not forget the truth: PAYING TAXES IS PATRIOTIC. Taxes allow us to live in a democracy. However, the Bush administration is leading us into the realm of rich vs. poor. The middle class is shrinking as we speak. Our democracy is in peril.

Bush told his supporters that rich Americans (those who earn more than $200,000 per year) happen to be small business owners and they put people to work. So it follows, according to Bush, that they should get tax breaks. That puts the onus on the middle class I guess. We all know that the jobs Bush talks about are really not there. Small businesses are being forced to downsize. They're not hiring. Small business owners are being saddled with high costs of health insurance and increases in just about every aspect of running their businesses. And our work force is working more and more hours for less and less money and fewer benefits. The strategy that Bush put over on us was that the millions of dollars of "tax relief" doled out to the richest Americans would stimulate the economy. He said the rich would hire people. This has not worked. And never have taxes been reduced in time of war. While billions go to Iraq, that place we never should have gone to anyway, we give tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans. This makes no fiscal sense.

A Kerry spokeperson, Jonathan Beeton, said, "George Bush can speak with authority about really rich people...That's his base, so I'm sure he knows what he's talking about. But that doesn't make it right."

Virginia has achieved battleground state status. I think of this as a feather in our caps. There is hard work ahead, of course, but it is gratifying to see the Bush campaign suddenly realize we are here and we're for Kerry!

VIRGINIA IS FOR KERRY!

[Click on the title above to go to the article about Bush's Virginia campaign appearance.]