Sam and I just read on digg that some women are turning to prostitution to beat the current recession. An article by Michael Albo titled The Family Prostitute profiles several women who are turning tricks to feed and support their families.
That’s what you call applied economics in practice.
Sadly, our constant whining about paying taxes has plunged America into debilitating debt and is quickly turning us into a third-world economy. The old mantra that the free-market would keep us wheeling and dealing at a healthy economic clip has proven to be more error than fact. Look at how rampant speculation in oil futures has hurt us; look at how the deregulation of air carriers and utilities has plunged those businesses into chaos.
Sam and I are in total agreement with syndicated columnist Leonard Pitts (Sunday, June 26) when he says he considers it his moral and patriotic obligation, to pay taxes and provide a safety net for the “most broken and vulnerable of our people.” We agree with Pitts when he says it is time to quit whining about paying taxes, to quit saying that taxes rob us and are wasteful of our resources.
Taxes are NOT wasteful of our resources. They ARE our resources. We HAVE to pay for things.
Before we whine anymore we need to consider just this one item: the high cost of constructing and maintaining our country’s infrastructure – roads, bridges, sewers, water facilities and so on, to understand why we shouldn’t lower taxes. Ten years ago you could probably fill the tank of your SUV for less than $30, as gas prices were around $1.17 - $1.19 per gallon. Recently, gas was $4 per gallon and it probably never will fall below $3 again. Oil is found in so many of the products we use to construct and maintain our infrastructure, from pipes, cable and plastic sheeting to asphalt. Roads used to cost roughly $1 million a mile (including labor); now the cost is about 10 times that much. Copper and steel prices have escalated to a level that bad guys are stealing copper wire right off the pole and iron grates (used to protect trees, June 26) right off the sidewalks.
I totally believe the old economic theory that you can’t fight war and have your butter too. We’re fighting two wars at the cost of billions of dollars a day – a DAY! – and not only do we complain about paying taxes, we pressure our political leaders to cut our tax bills even more. Consequently, we don’t have a healthy enough economy to provide jobs for women who need to provide for their families.
On the other hand, very few jobs created by a more robust economy would pay $8,000 a week as one woman reported to Albo. How you gonna’ keep ‘em down on those low-paying jobs when they can earn so much money having sex?
Personally, Sam and I just wish the price of a coffee and donut wasn’t so high.
Taxes are NOT wasteful of our resources. They ARE our resources. We HAVE to pay for things.
Before we whine anymore we need to consider just this one item: the high cost of constructing and maintaining our country’s infrastructure – roads, bridges, sewers, water facilities and so on, to understand why we shouldn’t lower taxes. Ten years ago you could probably fill the tank of your SUV for less than $30, as gas prices were around $1.17 - $1.19 per gallon. Recently, gas was $4 per gallon and it probably never will fall below $3 again. Oil is found in so many of the products we use to construct and maintain our infrastructure, from pipes, cable and plastic sheeting to asphalt. Roads used to cost roughly $1 million a mile (including labor); now the cost is about 10 times that much. Copper and steel prices have escalated to a level that bad guys are stealing copper wire right off the pole and iron grates (used to protect trees, June 26) right off the sidewalks.
I totally believe the old economic theory that you can’t fight war and have your butter too. We’re fighting two wars at the cost of billions of dollars a day – a DAY! – and not only do we complain about paying taxes, we pressure our political leaders to cut our tax bills even more. Consequently, we don’t have a healthy enough economy to provide jobs for women who need to provide for their families.
On the other hand, very few jobs created by a more robust economy would pay $8,000 a week as one woman reported to Albo. How you gonna’ keep ‘em down on those low-paying jobs when they can earn so much money having sex?
Personally, Sam and I just wish the price of a coffee and donut wasn’t so high.
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