haditha
When I was still living in (and blogging from) the US, a frequent comment I heard from flame-throwing wingnuts was "Canada? Enjoy being taxed to death!" or similar sentiments.
Allan and I never understood it. We always wondered, where do these Americans live, who don't pay taxes? We paid federal income tax, New York State tax, New York City tax, in addition to sales tax on almost every purchase. Many US states don't have sales tax, and a few states don't have income tax, but the picture of the US as some sort of tax haven is awfully strange. Unless, of course, you're a major corporation.
So far, our taxes here in Ontario are lower than what we paid, all taxes combined, living in New York State. I repeat: lower.
For me, the question has always been, What do I get for my money? Universal health insurance seems like an excellent - and a stunningly obvious - use for taxes. Indeed, it's exactly what the purpose of taxes should be.
On the other hand, what do you get for your tax dollars in the US? The Nation editor Katrina vanden Heuvel gives us one view.
Allan and I never understood it. We always wondered, where do these Americans live, who don't pay taxes? We paid federal income tax, New York State tax, New York City tax, in addition to sales tax on almost every purchase. Many US states don't have sales tax, and a few states don't have income tax, but the picture of the US as some sort of tax haven is awfully strange. Unless, of course, you're a major corporation.
So far, our taxes here in Ontario are lower than what we paid, all taxes combined, living in New York State. I repeat: lower.
For me, the question has always been, What do I get for my money? Universal health insurance seems like an excellent - and a stunningly obvious - use for taxes. Indeed, it's exactly what the purpose of taxes should be.
On the other hand, what do you get for your tax dollars in the US? The Nation editor Katrina vanden Heuvel gives us one view.
As the Los Angeles Times reported on Saturday, this much is known to be true: On November 19, after a roadside bomb killed Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas, 15 Iraqi civilians – including seven women and three children – were allegedly shot and killed by a unit of US Marines operating in Haditha, Iraq. Then, this past Friday, a battalion commander and two company commanders from the same unit were relieved of their duties.Her blog entry here.
We also know that the Marine Corps initially claimed that the 15 Iraqi civilians were killed by a roadside bomb. But in January, after Time magazine presented the military with Iraqi accounts and video proof of the attack's aftermath, officials acknowledged that the civilians were killed by Marines but blamed insurgents nonetheless who had "placed noncombatants in the line of fire."
However, video evidence shows that women and children were shot in their homes while still wearing nightclothes. And while there are no bullet holes outside the houses to support the military's assertion of a firefight with insurgents, "inside the houses…the walls and ceilings are pockmarked with shrapnel and bullet holes as well as the telltale spray of blood."
Comments
Post a Comment