taxes, taxes, more taxes, taxes...

About a week ago, we had a discussion about taxes. We talked about our opinions on the taxing of high income and low income. Some said that the taxes should be equal for both and others said that people should be taxed based on the amount of their income. I think there are two ways of looking at it:

1. The taxes should be the same for both incomes. The people who have a higher income have worked their way there and earn their money and it should not be taken away from them because they are successful.

2. People who are at the high income level may have inherited their money. Also, the low income people are trying to better themselves and by making money and having it taken away from they, they cannot do that.

These two different views have caused a lot of controversy over they years because neither is right or wrong.

What are your views on this topic and why?

How do you think this issue affects ones political stance?

CROP WALK

Everyone has had an experience that made you think about how fortunate you are. Whether it be walking through the city and seeing a homeless person begging you for money, or maybe just looking outside your window and seeing nice cars in a happy neighborhood with kids playing with all their toys out in the front yards. Well, anyways, today I had one of those experiences. Through my church, I found out about a fundraiser that was going on in my community. I decided to try it out and see what it was all about and figured it would be for a good cause. I recieved an envelope that instructed me how to recieve and record donations. After talking to some people in the church, I learned that CROP stood for Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty. Wow, what a great cause. This morning, I arrived at the gathering place, turned in the donations I recieved, and walked around to collect more information about the organization. I heard someone speak about how he saw first-hand how beneficial the organization is to people all around the world, and his story really touched me. He spoke of the malnourishment he witnessed which got me thinking how much we waste and how little others have. The people who were involved with the organization expressed so genuinely how thankful they were that we were walking with them. It just seemed to me how incredibly simple my action was, but how greatly it affected others.

http://www.cropwalk.org/ see for yourself!!!

Here's a story on the website that i thought was INCREDIBLE:

Walking for water
"Recently, long-time CROP Walker Henry Jones left his home in Fullerton, California, on a trip to Kenya. Jones recalls his visit to a drought-stricken Maasai community in the Narok District where he “visited a new deep well bringing clean water to a village. Before, some women carried water for over 10 miles, and the water was making them and their families sick.”
As is the common practice throughout the region, the women use 20-liter plastic jugs, which they strap onto their head for the trek to and from the water source. This so impressed Jones that he decided to bring one of these jugs home to show his fellow CROP Walkers, so they too could imagine the time, effort, and physical toll so many people must endure in their pursuit of water. On Walk day, he filled the jug with water and had everyone guess the weight. People gathered around and tugged and grunted as they tried to lift the heavy jug off the ground. There were a wide variety of guesses, but only one winner, who guessed 50.1 pounds (actual weight was 50.3 pounds). This year, the Fullerton CROP Hunger Walk raised more than $60,000, surpassing all prior efforts in its 26-year history."

HOOSIERS

This weekend i went a visited my sister at college. She's a freshman at Indiana University. I stayed with her in her dorm for four days. After living with her, I really got a feel for what her life was like. I also met her roommate who is from Minnesota. Kim was one person at home when she was living with the family, and I noticed she was a completely different person away at college. Going out and buying groceries for her and Sara, alotting time each day to study at the Union, doing her laundry, she was out on her own. The dorm was insanely messy, because neither of them had time to set aside to clean it. They stayed up all night, either going out with friends or studying for classes. The food in their room was minimal and incredibly healthy (both of them are health freaks and only eat weird organic stuff). I basically lived their lifestyle for the four days, which is incredibly exhausting. When i got home, I slept the entire day and feasted on normal food. I love being home and appreciated a mother to do laundry once in a while and cook dinner every night, however I LOVED having days and nights to do with what I please. College is the transition into adulthood and I was exited to experience that. It scared me because I realized I would have to be all on my own doing things for myself without anyone else pushing or helping me, but it was also exciting realizing there's life beyond high school.

Has it gone too far?

So far, i have noticed that everywhere i turn there is something related to politics. I have to say, I'm finding it somewhat interesting how consumed people are with the election. Whether it is making fun of Sarah Palin or commenting on the color tie John McCain or Barak Obama is wearing, everyone has voiced their opinions. I have thoroughly enjoyed listening to commentary in american studies or outside of class because i have followed this election. However, I have started to find myself feeling sympathetic for the candidates. With all of the things being said about them on the radio, tv, websites, etc. I find it sad how exploited their lives are now. I found myself thinking the other day, what if my mom or dad brought our family into the spotlight as other political figures have. What would my life be like? I don't think i would be able to handle all the trash that would come my way. I wonder, since they are running for president, is every aspect of their lives our business because we have the right to know everything about the people who are representing us, or is this exploitation unnecessary?