Author Archives: Jessica Szilagyi

The Karen/Komen Stunt

 

I have avoided the Pro-Life/Pro-Choice argument because on both sides, most people are pretty set in their ways and there’s no sense in trying to convince people one way or the other. That being said, I’ve about had it with Karen Handel, Komen and Planned Parenthood.

A couple different aspects to consider:

Karen Handel: She is a quitter, so naturally, she would resign from Komen. She quit Commissioner for Secretary of State. She quit Secretary of State for her run for Governor. She also wasn’t the one to propose the defunding of planned parenthood (it was a decision made long before entrance into the organization) but she is suddenly the conservative hero for resigning. This is her M.O….on to something better. No one should be surprised.

The stance of Mrs. Handel, on behalf of Komen, during this debacle has been that Planned Parenthood cannot receive funds from SGK because while they are earmarked for services related to breast cancer testing and awareness, the organization than has available funds to perform and advocate abortion, something Mrs. Handel is vehemently and openly against.
However, in 2005, while serving on the Fulton County Commission, Karen Handel voted to funnel federal funds through the county to Planned Parenthood, but “not for abortion funds”. Isn’t this a direct contradiction of what she JUST said last week?

How many of you donated to Komen before this big mess?My guess, based on the wealth of the organization, is millions.

It just goes to show you: no one does research for organizations they offer donations to. Komen has granted funding to Planned Parenthood for years. Cuisinart,the NFL they all support Komen and you support those companies. And there are HUNDREDS of other organizations and corporations that do the same. Here are just some of the other Planned Parenthood contributors:

  • American Express
  • American Home Products (chef boyardee, Pam cooking spray, Advil, Chapstick, etc)
  • AT&T
  • The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
  • Buffett Foundation
  • Ben & Jerry’s
  • Bristol Meyers Squibb (ironically, the makers of Enfamil and Gerber foods)
  • Citicorp
  • Disney
  • Dayton Hudson (owner of Target)
  • eBay
  • General Mills
  • Hewlett Packard
  • Johnson & Johnson
  • Liz Claiborne
  • March of Dimes
  • Nationwide Insurance
  • Nike
  • Pepsi
  • Rotary International
  • Quaker Oats
  • Whirlpool
  • Whole Foods

Now what, folks? Many of the above have earmarked their funds to NOT be used for abortion, but like Mrs. Handel has stated, it frees up other funds to advocate abortion.
So, are you going to follow  through with boycotting all of these organizations as well? Are you going to cancel your AMEX., switch from Lucky Charms to Frosted Flakes, stop going to Disneyland? If you’re going to talk the talk and annihilate Komen, then walk the walk and be an equal opportunity hater. If not, understand how corporations and organizations work.

It was all a publicity stunt and both sides are milking it, as is Karen Handel. The losers in this story?  The people who are still uninformed.

The Real Detriment to Society

One of the things I’ve enjoyed most while writing this blog is exploring my own views. Trying to explain WHY I feel the way I do about certain issues has really forced me to delve into my own morals and foundations. I’ve always been conservative but I just continue to move further right as each day, regulation and policy passes.

As someone who has never tried it and has no desire to try it, I feel as though I can offer an unbiased, logical argument as to why the motion to legalize marijuana should be exercised.

Some may say this is against several conservative values. It’s not. Consider the TRUE foundations of what conservatism is supposed to be: freedoms and choices.

People seem to think that if something is ‘legalized’ that means everyone will do it. That’s simply not the case. The people who smoke marijuana will do so whether it is legal or not. Fact. So all we are really doing is creating a database of millions of extremely minor offenders and flooding our criminal justice system with pricey maintenance, paperwork and overcrowding.

The National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws (NORML) reported that in 1965, there were 2 marijuana arrests an hour in the United States. In 2008, there were ~100 arrests per hour. HOW RIDICULOUS. Did you know that the majority of marijuana arrests are related to other charges like loitering and speeding? Everyone preaches about ‘victimless crimes’ yet the government monitors them through jail time and probation like they are sexual predators. Why? Police and justice system resources could be allocated to more serious violent crimes instead of needlessly sending ‘offenders’ into the system for victimless crimes.

Now, some say that medically it’s detrimental. According to the National Commission on Marijuana, “No significant physical, biochemical or mental abnormalities could be attributed solely to their marijuana smoking…Neither the marijuana user nor the drug itself can be said to constitute a danger to public safety…” Regardless of the overabundance of research saying it doesn’t, let’s say that marijuana did cause a plethora of health problems…so does excessive alcohol use, cigarette smoking, many FDA-approved prescription drugs, McDonalds (and other fast food restaurants), pollution and sticking your head in an oven…but they are all legal and people do them. So please, government, don’t tell us you’re looking out for our best interests. And what happened to choices?

I’m surprised democrats aren’t jumping for joy to support this. The logical, financial side of legalization? Like everything else in the United States, we could just tax it. The lottery, cigarettes, alcohol…what’s the difference? Those are legal now and marijuana isn’t. (Recall that the lottery and alcohol were once illegal, though). They’d also be able to regulate it. Marijuana is a $36 billion a year industry. Illegal marijuana ‘trading’ right now funds gangs, a real problem in many areas of the country. MJLegal.org says, “We currently spend billions of dollars every year to chase peaceful people who happen to like to get high. These people get locked up in prison and the taxpayers have to foot the bill”. It’s expensive to keep up with roughly 900,000 ‘offenders’ every year!!

Now I’m not suggesting that we advertise on billboards or sell it at the local Publix and BP Stations or allow people to light up at Chili’s. But people should be allowed to do as they please on their own time in the privacy of their own property when they are not affecting others.

Marijuana’s actual impact on society does not justify a social policy designed to seek out and firmly punish those who use it. So it’s true, the real detriment to society is the War on Drugs. And it’s not just a detriment, it’s a complete and utter failure.

FDR Didn’t Want Big Government

I have decided to document all the ridiculousness, half-truths and outright lies my teacher feeds to me in class. From now on, I will highlight the quote and follow it with why it’s not true. I think we will all be amazed by how skewed and biased the classrooms really are these days.

Last week, we started class by discussing the State of the Union. If you read State of Ridiculousness, then you certainly know how I felt about it. My teacher wanted us to voice this. Turns out, I’m in the only one in class who watched the SOTU. Yep, that’s right. In a class dedicated to fiscal policies in a program dedicated to public affairs and policy, I’m the only one who watched. Granted my class is only 4 people, but consider the program!! That being said, my teacher attempted to explain how much Obama referenced the debt issue in his SOTU. It took my printing of the transcript for him to finally cave and admit that the debt ceiling was never mentioned in the SOTU. Why? Because it was a campaign speech.

-“FDR didn’t want to make the government larger…he had to for the well-being of the people”
And besides…I ought you liked big government? Now you’re trying to say that there it happened differently and it was an accident not a carefully calculated plan? Interesting. The largest government expansion in history was an accident.

-“We cannot blame Obama for the current financial problems. Before Bush II, there was a surplus. George W. came in and wiped out all of the money.”
-HALF TRUE….it’s true that there was a small surplus in 1999 and 2000, but the last TRUE surplus for the overall budget was in 1959. If you’re referring to the stimulus package, TARP and AARA, it is correct that George W. signed that into law, however, it originated in a very spendy Democratic Congress. Essentially, the Bush years contributed to the deficiet (mostly by fighting 2 wars) however, it is ridiculous and ignorant to fully blame or fully exonerate ANY president over the last 50 years, as they have all played a significant role.

“The second amendment was for the old days. Now we have the police department.” Actually, sir, that is NOT true. As of publish time of this blog, we had not revoked the Constitution in this country. As it stands, we have the fit to bear arms. Also, they may not teach you this where you come from, but the right to bear arms was actually created in the Bill of Rights to protect the American people from police and military personnel that infringe upon our rights.

My teacher also attempts to use The Bible against the conservative movement. Focus focus focus on the separation of church and state, but as he says “Check Bible and conservatives wrong”. Meaning, The Bible would lead us to want entitlement programs. No no no.

Now that my teacher knows that I’m “not a democrat” he uses me in examples all the time. “You’re a millionaire who has a factory and several unhappy workers because you’re rude and mean….” or “You own a company that was handed down to you from your grandfather and you’ve never had to work…” yes, let’s attack the 1%. Let’s attack those who work really hard. Wealth is bad!!! Reminds me of my favorite OWS quote. A protestor interviewed on Wall Street said “It’s so hard to find these corporate executives. They’re already at work when I wake up and they stay here until long after I go home at night.

I also think it’s truly ridiculous that I have a teacher who is clearly a socialist teaching the foundations of American fiscal policy. His accent is so thick, unless I tune in, I cannot understand him. Ausority (authority) and Assens (Athens, Greece) don’t quite add up for me when I can’t decipher the words coming out of his mouth. And if you don’t agree with the ideologies of America, you should at least not sit and attempt to indoctrinate young minds.

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Sandy Springs is going to take your stuff…

There are a lot of things I dislike about government but in my Top 25 of Least Appreciated Aspects of Government, eminent domain would probably be very high on the list.

Eminent domain is “an action of the state to seize a citizen’s property, expropriate property or seize a citizen’s right in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner’s consent”. It happens all the time. The government swoops in to build highways, public utilities and railroads. Sometimes eminent domain is also used for public safety purposes.

Now, the City of Sandy Springs is attempting to do this in an effort to build a City Hall. (yes, i just gave you the reasons for eminent domain. Did you see building a ‘a city hall’. Let’s get a couple of things clear…The original place is the old Target shopping center that’s been vacant for a good while now. It would be beneficial to have the current vacancy filled with something that isn’t ten feet down the road (I.e. another Target or Trader Joe’s). But Sandy Springs doesn’t want to stop at the Target. According to WSBtv, Will Smith’s Master Kleen dry-cleaner has operated at the corner of Roswell Road and Mt. Vernon Highway for 43 years but Mayor Eva Galambos is trying to attain the whole block. She said, “You don’t exactly want a tattoo parlor as the entrance to your city complex. So, some of it is we want something people can be proud of.” Really Mayor? What about the business owners that are proud of their shops, businesses and city?

It would be a different story if Sandy Springs was making reasonable offers, but they are lowball ing the heck out of owners. [Also, Sandy Springs brings in plenty of revenue via traffic tickets. Their cops are everywhere. They can afford to offer these business owners a reasonable price.] So just to fully understand this: Sandy Springs wants to low ball property owners in an already struggling economy, where property values are far below what these people paid, but the City wants to offer them even less than that and essentially force them to move their business elsewhere to build a City Hall that Mayor Galambos can be proud of…even though many of these businesses existed well before the City did?

What about the 5th Amendment in the Bill of Rights? Stating…” …nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” Do we really think the GOVERNMENT should be the people to decide what is just compensation?

There are some loonies out there that say we don’t really own anything because the government can come in and take part or all of things at any given time. The City of Sandy Springs gives a little more merit to that.

State of Ridiculousness

The President’s State of the Union is always painful to listen to, especially when we have a Democrat and everything is spend! spend! spend! I seriously wanted to smash the TV 85 times last night…once for every applause interruption. The only nice thing I can say is that Michelle Obama looked like she lost a couple pounds….which she needed to do. 🙂

The entire transcript can be found here. But let’s go through a few of his high (read:low) points:

“We gather tonight knowing that this generation of heroes has made the United States safer and more respected around the world”….heroes. Yes. Safer? Maybe. More respected? Doubtful. Over the course of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq we have only alienated allies or caused conflict in other countries.

“Americans had a chance to share – the basic American promise that if you worked hard, you could do well enough to raise a family, own a home, send your kids to college, and put a little away for retirement.”
-This still happens today, under the same circumstances you state, Mr “0”…if you work hard.This country was not based on handouts and up until the New Deal legislation, millions of people made it on their own without the help of the government. You are given the chance, what you do with it is up to you and ONLY YOU.

“We can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules.”
-We all know what he’s referring to….TAXES!! But his statement is ridiculous. If the goal is “fairness”, how is me paying a larger share of taxes for 20 people who don’t pay at all fair? How is my increased student loan interest fair when I will eventually pay more because others take the loans knowing they’ll never pay them back. How is it that my medical costs are higher even when I have insurance because they are overcompensating for the illegals who receive free care? THAT’S not fair and there’s nothing I can do about it (which is also not fair!).

“Ford is investing billions in U.S. plants and factories.”
-Not by any help from you O! They didn’t take the bailout money and they’ve always been dedicated to American values. Please don’t try and take credit for this.

First, if you’re a business that wants to outsource jobs, you shouldn’t get a tax deduction for doing it. That money should be used to cover moving expenses for companies like Master Lock that decide to bring jobs home….First, if you’re a business that wants to outsource jobs, you shouldn’t get a tax deduction for doing it. That money should be used to cover moving expenses for companies like Master Lock that decide to bring jobs home.”
-Son, PLEASE!! You talk about fairness and equality, except for businesses? Businesses should have the freedom to practice and produce wherever it is most cost efficient and shouldn’t be taxed more because of WHERE they are producing. You’re overstepping your bounds, Mr. Oblahblah. And stop redistributing money, let Master Lock fend for themselves.

“And if you want to relocate in a community that was hit hard when a factory left town, you should get help financing a new plant, equipment, or training for new workers.”
-Where is that money coming from? More subsidies? More taxes on the upper class?

He also announced the creation of the Trade Enforcement Unit and Financial Crimes Unit. Super. More units to do what other Departments are already designated to do (but won’t or can’t do)… Which in turn means more government jobs, more costs and more oversight.

Finally, and I’ve spoken about it before: higher education. “So let me put colleges and universities on notice: If you can’t stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down. Higher education can’t be a luxury – it’s an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford.”
-Not everyone is meant for college. Not everyone should have a higher education. Some are meant for trade schools and other focused jobs. This creates diversity. Giving away post-secondary education makes it less meaningful for those who work hard and pay for it. Also, The cost of tuition continues to rise because so much of it is subsidizes and reduced. What do you expect universities to do? They can’t operate for free. Next you’re going to tell me it’s important that everyone have a law degree, a Masters or a PH.D.

Basically, it was all a big campaign speech so while on the campaign trail, Obama can say “I TOLD REPUBLICANS TO DO _____ AND THEY DIDNT” or “America needs me to finish the job”. I can’t wait for the primary season to be over so that the nominee can debate and debate and debate Obama until he is blue in the face….because he hasn’t done squat. And the proof is everywhere. I do have confidence in his ability to be a one-term president.

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Today on the House Calendar…

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Some interesting bills on the House floor today….

Most intriguing and irritating to me:
HB 424 – “Superior Court Clerks’ Retirement Fund; death benefit for members; provide”.
This bill would extend the $5,000 death benefit that Superior Court Clerks receive to both active AND retired persons. The original legislation and existing code only designates the $5,000 benefit to those who die while serving. Now, the $5,000 benefit is payable to someone who has retired from the position and then passed away.

The problem with the Bill? It’s wasteful spending….they’re only doing it because the money is there. Further, if someone is retired, they are receiving retirement benefits/pensions and in the event of a death, the benefits –up to 50%– are transferred to the spouse. Why are we just giving away more money? “Because we can” is not an answer. Why not use the money on something a little more effective. Better yet…SAVE THE MONEY.

Some days I feel like they are just writing legislation for kicks and giggles…there are a lot of useless initiatives!! Some other Bills up today:

HB 295 addressing the Georgia State Employees Pension and Saving Plans and the transfer of accrued benefits.

HB 683 in regards to garnishment proceedings as a result of the Supreme Court of Georgia’s approval of the Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee Advisory Opinion in 2010.

HB 713 which is the Quality of Basic Education Act. Essentially, this Bill requires a career education study in grades kindergarten through the end of 11th grade. (?????)

All legislation, past and present can be found on the Georgia General Assembly Website.

I encourage people to read legislation BEFORE it hits the floor so you can have an impact and voice your opinion to your legislators.

Lazy, good for nothin’ 20-somethings

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I was reading an article on the Huffington Post about what parents owe their children and it was just joyful! With a failing economy and high unemployment, it seems that many college graduates are forced to move back home. The article discussed the intense pressure a lot of parents feel to pay for their children’s college, graduate school, cars, weddings and home down payments. Like I’ve said before, the comments on the articles are more discouraging than the actual article because the views of readers really shine through.

Here are some of the more disturbing comments:
“I will owe my kid everything. A baby doesn’t ask to be brought into this world. Why would anyone? Except for a privileged few, the mass of men live lives of quiet desperation. Parents force life upon their kids. It’s their duty to ensure the quality and happiness of that life. Whether my child goes to medical school or ends up living their life in an institution for the mentally challenged, I can and will gladly pay in full for it. It’s not a question of who owes what to whom. It’s a question of taking responsibility for one’s actions. Procreation is MY action. I can choose abstinence. I can choose birth control. I can choose abortion. Creating life is my decision – not my child’s, not society’s. Why should anyone else foot the bill for it?”

“Parents who love their children give their children as much help as they can. If your parents don’t help you, please Google: Ultra Emapthy. The very first Google listing is mine. Become part of a family where people help each other. Michael”

“Parents don’t think they “owe” their kids? Fine. Then kids don’t “owe” their parents seeing their grand kids ever. Parents don’t think they “owe” their kids? Fine. Then kids don’t owe their parents when they’re adults finding them hospice, or Senior Citizens homes, or taking them in if some how they can’t manage. Parents don’t think they “owe” their kids? Fine. Then kids don’t owe their elderly parents any concern if mom and dad get duped by scammers who pray on seniors. They’ve got their own financial worries. Parents don’t think they “owe” their kids anything? Fine. Then when parents die the kid can just as easily demand the state bury their parents at state expense. Kids don’t “owe” parents burial. Parents think they don’t “owe” their adult children anything? Well they should’ve thought of that before they had kids. Your kids don’t stop being your kids just because they’re 30 or 40.”

What the?? Most right-minded people don’t believe anyone should foot the bill for anyone else. They simply want PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY. Do you really need that iPhone? Or that Louis Vuitton bag? How do you feel good about purchases like that when you can’t afford rent, utilities or school?

Nowadays, “children” can stay on insurance plans until they’re 26…that’s EIGHT YEARS PAST ADULTHOOD!! And whether you want to or not, when you apply for graduate schools, your parents incomes and credit is factored in when determining financial aid and student loans. We as a society don’t encourage self-reliance…we encourage dependence. And it starts way too young.

When will my generation learn that you can do it all? When will people stop being so lazy and work their way through school and stop relying on mommy and daddy? When will social programs stop reinforcing gifts and entitlements? It circles back to the notion that people my age think they are above bagging groceries or working at Five Guys to make ends meet. They would rather move home and collect unemployment than work a job they are overqualified for.It’s one thing to be in transition or to be getting started. But getting on your feet doesn’t take 5 years on mom and pops dime! I can assure you that when the recession is over, you will still be behind the people who worked their asses off to keep the train moving.

Tackling Tim Tebow’s Character

I’m not a fan of the NFL- not because of the high salaries or the obsessive fans-but because of how so many of the athletes behave on AND off the field. And I normally try to stay away from blogs related to football, since I see and hear so much about it at home…but this is something that really bothers me: The Tackle of Tim Tebow’s Character .

His season is now over…but after a LONG, ANNOYING season of attacks, jokes [the tebowing website may be a joke, but its still mocking him and his beliefs] and anger about his faith in God. After Saturday’s loss, my Facebook was inundated with “Where was God during that game, Tebow?” and “Guess God didn’t have the Superbowl in his plans for you!”. None of this was anything new and none of it was anything I hadn’t read all season whenever Tebow “messed up”. It really got me thinking, though.

People annihilated Tebow because he thanked God for the ability to play the game. (This quickly spun out of control into accusing Tim Tebow of thinking “he was God” and “God made him win games”…neither of which were ever said.) Meanwhile, other athletes in the league can choke women, skip out on child support payments, smoke and possess massive amounts of marijuana, drive drunk, sexually assault college girls in bathrooms, and shoot themselves in the foot and it’s all swept under the rug. The NFL dishes out a small fine and the player is back to being a celebrity. But, Tim Tebow is crucified (no pun intended) for thanking God.

What kind of organization allows a strong, brave, outwardly faithful member to be mocked, week in and week out? When did we become a nation that mocks a person who prays? And what happened to all my liberal friends…where is the acceptance? The tolerance? Do different rules apply because it has to do with God, the Christian God, the faith in which this country was founded and evolved so as to ensure freedom of religion and speech and made it so each player can be paid $300,000+ yearly and you can pay $75+ a ticket each week or watch it on your fancy TV with the NFL package that you pay for monthly from your job in a capitalistic society? That God? I just want to know when the faithful became the bad guys….

What a messed up industry. What a messed up society.

Girl Scouts: Stay Away

Since I was a Girl Scout back in the 90’s, things have changed. A LOT. The Girls Scouts have been plagued with bad publicity for accepting funding from and partnering with Planned Parenthood, releasing statements through the Gay and Lesbian Alliance, formulating a “radical feminist agenda“, the “optional” use of God in the oath,  and more recently the inclusion of a transgendered child into a Colorado troop.

Now, before we move on…let me be clear about my irritation about the transgendered children in the Girl Scouts.
1. The child is 7 (as many of the newly inaugurated members are). Personally, I think that is extremely too young to be making significant life choices regarding gender and sexuality–things most children don’t know about at age seven.
2. IF for some reason, the parents of this children felt strongly that their child needed to dress and live as a girl, though genetically and physiologically a boy, why draw attention to the child by insisting this child partake in a GIRL’S organization.
These ideas make me wonder how much of this is a setup, how much of this is a publicity stunt on behalf of the parents and where the actors are trying to steer this fiery bus.

My opinions aside, the recent controversy has not gone without a response.

A California teen recently posted a YouTube video expressing her disdain with the direction of the Girls Scouts. Having been a member for 8 years, she is calling for everyone to boycott Girl Scout Cookies. Why you ask? It seems that the Girl Scouts are now allowing transgender children from kindergarten through twelfth grade to join the organization. “If the child identifies as a girl and the parents present the child as a girl, Girl Scouts will welcome the child”, the organization stated. Don’t you think this is making a mockery of the organization that USED to represent good community-based values? Still not convinced? Decisions are made on a case-by-case basis without proof or verification of gender. Would you like your little girl going on overnight camping trip with boys, or young men? And you know soon enough there will be male troop leaders, in an effort to be more accepting. Or better, males living life as females for troop leaders. How about sharing bathroom facilities (since these children are now identifying and acting as girls). All that aside, don’t you think this will open the door for a whole plethora of questions that your child may not have been exposed to? Her video is below:

If you search for the topic, you will see an extraordinary number of videos in response to this young lady’s message, with ones including attacks on her figure, her heritage and her values. Classy.

You can read more on the overall issues here.

It seems that Girl Scouts USA is just another progressive organization aimed at destroying family values, distancing children from faith and instead, indoctrinating young girls (and now boys!) with advanced and complicated values at way too early of an age. I’m sad to see that a previously positive organization has been infiltrated in this fashion.

Boycott the Girls Scouts. Boycott the Cookies. (Besides, Keebler makes ‘generic’ Thin Mints, Samoa’s and Tag-a-longs anyways).

Our Government Is Not Legitimate

Last night, I solemnly began my Public Finance class that addresses metropolitan fiscal issues, past, present and future. I thought the class was going to be bad, but I had no clue what I was in for. As my teacher, who has immigrated here from another country (note: this would be fine if he’s aid teacher was not shredding the liberties of America) spoke on socialism, big government and The need for every kind of social program, I began to sweat, choke and have heart palpitations.

He explained to us that the functions government are:
ALLOCATION- to levy taxes and assess fees. It’s important to assess fees when taxes fall short. (speeding tickets, tag fees, license fees, etc.)

DISTRIBUTION- to redistribute the levied monies so that there is no income and living gap. He referred to it as “income maintenance”. That was a new term for me, but I plan to continue using it out of ridiculousness.

STABILIZATION- This is vague and so I’ll leave it alone-for now. But basically, stabilization is the efficient working of government and it’s programs. ( LOL)

Sarcastically, I raised my hand and said “If distribution is a function, then we have no need for the nonprofit sector. Isn’t the nonprofit sector supposed to bridge the gap between public sector and the private sector voluntarily?” My teacher responded by saying that the nonprofit sector is AN EXTENSION of the federal government and when you pay nonprofits, you’re paying the 3rd arm of government. Why don’t you try telling that to all the private corporations and citizens who donate to nonprofits.

Now, in Political Science 101 you learn about the legitimacy of government. In a democracy, government legitimacy derives from the popular perception that the elected government abides democratic principles in governing, and thus is legally accountable to its people. So democratic principles are derived from The Constitution and the abill of Rights, meaning, thats where these democratic principles derive. Where are allocation and distribution in The Constitution?

Until the 16th amendment was ratified in 1913, we had no federal income tax. Our country went 124 years before we had an income tax. It was not in The Constitution and it was not a priority of our Founding Fathers. So tell me, why do we have it? According to my professor, we need income taxes to provide social programs. Okay, so what page in the Constitution does it say we shall provide social programs? Oh. It doesn’t? Hmm…so TWO of the three stated functions of the federal government are unconstitutional and illegitimate. Interesting.

That is the most I’ve ever learned in a graduate class. Thanks prof!!