From: mrc@Tomobiki-Cho.CAC.Washington.EDU (Mark Crispin)
Newsgroups: seattle.general
Subject: Re: NBC News report on Jerry Brown
Date: 9 Apr 92 02:53:44 GMT
Organization: University of Washington
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Alexander Cockburn is a remarkable man; remarkable because he is so
reliably wrong on so many issues.

Not just NBC news, but even the ultra-liberal Seattle Times (Monday
issue) noted the flat tax would be a tax *increase* for the poor, a
slight tax cut for the middle class, and a *BIG* tax cut for the rich.
Even with tax shelters (of which only a limited number exist after
Reagan's 1986 tax reform), most of the rich are paying significantly
more than 13% of their income in federal income taxes.

Now, few rich conservatives can get too upset about a tax cut;
however, they tend to prefer a period in which the rich get richer and
the poor get richer (the Reagan years) than one in which the rich get
richer and the poor get poorer (the Carter years).  Has anyone ever
noticed that the statistics that claim that the 1980's were rotten all
have the 1980's starting in 1977?

However, the true disaster would be the VAT.  Yes, the VAT is common
in Europe.  That is why prices in Europe are so very much higher than
prices in the US.  The VAT is a sneaky tax.  True, it is levied in the
production process.  That's so the poor schmucks who end up paying the
tax -- the consumers -- don't see it happening.  They just see high
prices and wonder why people in non-VAT countries pay so much less for
everything.

Anyone who honestly believes that you can tax industry without that
tax being passed on in the form of higher prices is on drugs.

No gas tax?  Be real!  Gasoline is subject to the VAT too.  In VAT
countries you pay about as much for a litre of gas as you pay for a
gallon here.  Besides, no US government will never axe the gas tax; it
is the fattest source of revenue in this country.  Even though gas
taxes are supposed to be used solely for roads in reality it's a fat
goose that is plucked for all sorts or programs.

Let me also remind you that those boondoggle government programs Jerry
Brown refers to also include Metro.  No more free bus rides in
downtown Seattle; no more subsidized fares and bus passes.  Metro fans
may feel differently about it if they had to pay the true cost of
Metro.

Let's talk about universal health coverage.  Why do Canada's rich come
down to the US for medical treatment?  The reason is simple: they
don't want to wait for over a year with a life-threatening condition
waiting for Canada's socialized medicine to get around to taking care
of them.  It's a scandal that every Canadian newspaper covers at one
time or another.

Socialized medicine is great if you're normally healthy and only need
an occasional doctor's visit for an earache or a broken leg.  It is an
absolute disaster if you are critically ill.  From the perspective of
socialized medicine, it's better if you die if you are criticially
ill; that way you won't consume resources.

Finally, if you want an example of what President Jerry Brown would be
like, consider his handling of the Medfly crisis in California and
think of what that would be on a national or planetary scale.