YES new taxes!

The bridge collapse in Minneapolis (not to mention the levee failure in New Orleans) perfectly illustrates why conservative rule DOES NOT WORK. The conservative mantra is always "no new taxes," implying that any new taxes are anathema to the health of society and the economy. But precisely the OPPOSITE is true. A healthy society thrives on taxes in order to maintain roads, schools, healthcare and so on. Social Democracy is the ONLY way to smoothly and sanely run society. Socialism because taxes exist for the common good, and Democracy because personal freedom is paramount.

People in America are so conditioned to think that taxes are an abominable evil. No other country in the Western world is so violently opposed to taxes - indeed, people in places like England, France, Spain, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Switzerland embrace taxes because they know that privatization of public services is ultimately much more costly and less reliable.

So I ask you: where would most kids other than those from affluent families attend schools if not for tax-funded public education institutions?* You might say, "but our public schools suck!" Well, first of all, they do not wholesale suck, because there are some great things going on in public schools. And secondly, if they do suck in any way, that's due to the fact of them being UNDERFUNDED, because we'd prefer to spend more on bombing babies than educating them. Did you know that the Iraq War is costing $2 TRILLION? Yes, OUR taxes are going toward annihilating a country. So even though the conservatives CLAIM to abhor taxes, the fact of the matter is, they LOVE them, because how else would they subsidize their nihilistic agenda? What would YOU rather pay to watch - the intellectual nurturing of a child, or the blasting off of her limbs? Because the latter is exactly what is happening in Iraq.

Anyway, a while back, the governor of Minnesota refused to sign onto a bill that would increase taxes for maintaining roads and bridges, and has ended up paying a hefty price anyway. Six people have died. He has blood on his hands. Arrest him and sequester him, because he has not protected the well-being of his subjects.

According to this article, Bridge Collapse Spotlights America's Deferred Maintenance "the nation is spending only about two-thirds as much as it should be to keep dams, levees, highways, and bridges safe."

So now do you feel safer knowing that daily, new terrorists are being created in Iraq, using YOUR tax dollars, while our infrastructure is crumbling all around us? Look for more Katrina- and Minnesota-style fiascos to happen if the current trend of defunding public services continues.

*Besides, in a true social democracy, people would not own such egregious wealth as some do now, and we would not have such vulgar class disparities.