Message to Super Committee: Reject Anti-Tax Extremism

[rug]

Video at link.

http://faithinpubliclife.org/content/feature/message_to_super_committee_rej.html

Faith Leaders to Super Committee Republicans: Drop Anti-Tax Pledge, Affirm Oath to Serve Country and the Common Good

To Representative Hensarling, Representative Camp, Representative Upton, Senator Kyl, Senator Toomey, and Senator Portman:

As members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, you have a moral responsibility to work in a bipartisan manner to restore our nation’s long-term fiscal health in a way that does not worsen the immediate economic struggles of American families. As pastors and people of faith, we pray that you will give special consideration to programs that protect the American people from poverty, hunger and economic insecurity.

You have all endorsed a “Taxpayer Protection Pledge” championed by Washington lobbyist Grover Norquist, which prohibits you from supporting revenue increases even when this rigid allegiance to ideology conflicts with fiscal responsibility and economic fairness. We believe this pledge to your political ally conflicts with a balanced, practical approach to deficit reduction. You are now faced with a politically difficult but morally clear choice. Do you consider the pledge you made to a Washington lobbyist more sacred than the pledge you swore on the Bible when you took office?

We urge you to disavow your allegiance to this irresponsible pledge and reaffirm your oath to represent all Americans, not simply the privileged few. At a time of widespread unemployment and economic hardship, the working poor and middle class have already sacrificed enough. New revenue should come from the wealthiest Americans, who currently have the lowest tax burden in half a century and control more of our nation’s wealth than ever before. Shielding the most privileged and powerful members of our society from shared sacrifice while targeting critical protections for families, seniors and the most vulnerable is morally wrong.
As members of an elite committee with

http://faithinpubliclife.org/content/news/fpl_in_the_news/Norquist%20Endorsers.pdf

[darkstar3]

1. Taxes are not a religious issue, and need not be made into one.

Hell, even Jesus supposedly thought that.

[rug]

2. They are a moral issue,

[darkstar3]

3. So many things wrong with that simple statement.

1. The argument can be made that taxes are, and that taxes are not, a moral issue.
2. We can't legislate morality, and we get pissed at people on the right for trying, so why frame the debate in that manner?
3. We have a secular government, which requires reasons that transcend religion in order to modify the law. At least, it would if career legislators were not so easy to corrupt. Religious reasoning of any kind is simply not sufficient basis for a tax code modification.

[rug]

4. They are a moral isue.

Furthermore, anyone arguing in favor of a tax system skewed in favor of the rich is a pig.

[darkstar3]

5. They are not. They are an economical and sociological issue, and a complex one at that.

And certainly anyone who argues in favor of the rich wrt our tax code is a pig. I personally am in favor of FDR style taxes. I never said anything otherwise. I don't know why you brought it up.

[tama]

15. How do you exclude

ethics from economics and sociology? Or from anything?

Marx: "Philosophers have only interpreted the world in certain ways; the point is to change it."

Critical theory and Frankfurt school: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurt_School

[tgearfanatic234]

6. I agree completely.

[LeftishBrit]

7. Good for them!

As a left-wing atheist, I will take opposition to the increasingly dangerous and powerful Economic Right, from whatever source it comes from.

[philly_bob]

8. Congrats to Faith Leaders for this.

Points out evil of the Norquist pledge, applies religious ethics to public matters.

DarkStar's point about taxes are not a moral issue is wrong from the Faith Leaders' view of ethics and is unduly confrontational.

[darkstar3]

10. "Unduly confrontational"?

Tell me, do you think we should allow the members of the religious right to dictate laws based on their interpretation of holy texts?

[philly_bob]

11. No, not the religious right. But the case in point is the religious left.

If their morality moves them to progressive stands, I'm okay with that. Everybody comes from somewhere.

[darkstar3]

13. And if we accept the religious reasoning as sufficient on our side,

what gives us any right to complain about the religious reasoning on their side?

It's hypocritical.

[trotsky]

9. "Jesus says we need higher taxes!"

"No, Jesus says we need lower taxes!"

"I'm right and you will go to hell for saying that!"

"No, I'm right and YOU will go to hell for staying that!"

I can't imagine why some people have a problem mixing religion and politics.

[rrneck]

12. Grover Norquist thanks you

for butting into the governments business. Since the right wing religious groups have a much better business model your "me tooism" gives the political right much more power than you could ever hope for.

By all means keep struggling for a growing share of a shrinking market.

[rug]

16. I doubt that.

The "governments business" is our business.

If anyone wants to butt in - for any reason - more power to them.

Loud, and perhaps more organized, right wing groups, religious or otherwise, are not a reason for left wing groups, religious or otherwise, not to engage.

The goal is to kick their ass, not to insinuate that you cannot fight them if you choose to rely on religious values to do so.

Nevertheless, by all means keep hamstringing a natural ally because you don't like their religion.

[rrneck]

17. Of course its our business.

It is NOT religion's business. And religion is one of the biggest businesses in this country. And the right wing theocrats have a better business model.

As long as the church is willing to take up the social services slack that is the responsibility of the government, Grover et al can continue to try to drag it into a bathtub. People shouldn't look to the church for social services. They should look to their government and demand them in the voting booth and in the streets.

The right is making piles of money through disaster capitalism by fracturing unity on the left with this sectarian foolishness.

[tama]

14. Why should ethical americans

pay taxes, knowing that most of the tax money will be used for military imperialism, corporate socialism, environmental distruction and other forms of corruption?