The tax episode wasn't as good, and I guess I'm somewhat biased on the subject, but there have been other Bullshit! episodes that I thought were well done even if I didn't totally agree with the conclusions (the smoking ban and gun ones, for instance). This one didn't seem to have much in the way of hard facts, aside from a few numbers. I suppose I'm fine with the general point that people need to speak up when they have problems with the government, rather than fearing reprisal. I don't think, however, that the tax system is the main concern in this respect. I won't deny that it has its problems, but there are much worse abuses of power occurring in our government than the complexity of income tax. And I didn't buy their argument that there was a time in our nation when anyone who didn't willfully break laws didn't have to fear the government. That honestly strikes me as the same kind of Golden Age thinking that they've criticized in other episodes. As long as there are people and power, there are going to be people abusing power. That's one reason why I'm in favor of added accountability in...well, most things. It seems kind of contradictory to me to oppose the IRS for their strong-arm tactics AND favor deregulation of businesses, yet plenty of people do. But that's another subject, isn't it?
Lies, Damn Lies, and Taxes
The tax episode wasn't as good, and I guess I'm somewhat biased on the subject, but there have been other Bullshit! episodes that I thought were well done even if I didn't totally agree with the conclusions (the smoking ban and gun ones, for instance). This one didn't seem to have much in the way of hard facts, aside from a few numbers. I suppose I'm fine with the general point that people need to speak up when they have problems with the government, rather than fearing reprisal. I don't think, however, that the tax system is the main concern in this respect. I won't deny that it has its problems, but there are much worse abuses of power occurring in our government than the complexity of income tax. And I didn't buy their argument that there was a time in our nation when anyone who didn't willfully break laws didn't have to fear the government. That honestly strikes me as the same kind of Golden Age thinking that they've criticized in other episodes. As long as there are people and power, there are going to be people abusing power. That's one reason why I'm in favor of added accountability in...well, most things. It seems kind of contradictory to me to oppose the IRS for their strong-arm tactics AND favor deregulation of businesses, yet plenty of people do. But that's another subject, isn't it?
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Winter Breakage
I'm going to write a little about the winter holidays, although really that was only a few days with regular work days in between them. I did take…
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Trimmings and Trappings
I've been meaning to write a life update, but I've had a lot going on as of late, and even when I didn't I found other things to do. Beth and I did…
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Driving Aloud
I've been busy for a while now, between going to my grandmother's memorial service and transferring a bunch of files from my computer, so I'm going…
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