Brenda wrote: > > I apologize if you think or anyone else thinks I have misconstrued what you >originally > said. I was simply trying to take things one step further in light of the overall > discussion.
Oh, I see. Thanks for being so clear about it. I was so focused on the "point", which I felt was not being heard, that I didn't pick up on the invitation to continue on. > It's not that I think you said that the Republicans are solely responsible for the > current tax system. I wasn't pointing to those things in order to refute that as >some > kind of "construed" point, but to say that although "lower taxes" is a part of the > Republican platform (words) both parties use taxes to their benefit in terms of >licking > the hands that feed them (action). Yes, but surely you'd agree that they use taxation in different ways. The goals are the same -- raise enough revenue and while doing it offend as few of the citizens as possible -- but it's not by accident that Republicans usually want less capital gains tax and Democrats usually want less tax on the lower and middle income groups. It's a reflection of each party's underlying philosophy. If it wasn't, then why the constant partisan tussle over taxes? > It's the reason why I believe you won't see a serious Democratic effort to remove >any > significant bit of the tax code that gives people the tax breaks you're referring to That doesn't bother me. There are probably things in the tax code that a conservative would not be happy about... the death tax for example. > I don't actually think that I have a pro-Republican bias. If you look back at most >of > my posts on this topic and others, I think you will find a common thread - I believe > the parties are very similar on a few issues when it comes to their actions and the > end result. And that the only way we, as Americans can change the result is to find > the things we have in common, no matter what our party affiliation or political bent. Yes, I recall you mentioning that many times. The concern I have is that, in trying to get to that common ground, real differences may be covered over rather than understood. To me, it's better to recognize differences between people, try to understand, accept, and appreciate them, or at least mutually agree to respect those differences, and go from there. Since the Republican Party became controlled by the conservatives, I see major differences between the political parties. I don't get the impression you completely ignore differences because if you did, this conversation wouldn't have continued. So I'm curious now about what you see as the similarities people can focus on in order to come together and make some changes. Debra Shea
