Vermont News Guide

Like most of us, I have my shortcomings. But there is one thing that I am not and that is envious. I never envy anyone because I know that no one is without problems. My mother used to say to me as a child “little girl, little problems,” when I was upset about something. That was not very reassuring to me. No matter how old, how wealthy, how healthy we are, anyone can face great tragedy and everything is relative.

At one time the Kennedy family was among the wealthiest in the country, but I don’t know of one American who envied them. That family, in spite of their wealth suffered many tragedies.

There’s no class warfare in America. There’s only the difference of a few percentage points. The few 3 or 4 percent have all the wealth are able to live very comfortably off their investments, have off-shore bank accounts, and can afford expensive lawyers to find every loophole for their tax returns. It’s all legal. And then there are the rest of us.

The little 401k that we have if we’re lucky will likely not be enough to see us completely through retirement. The 3 or 4 percent have investments covering the globe and are able to live on dividends alone which, even then, amount to millions. They legally pay only 15 percent on that income!

I don’t envy them, I just want a fair playing field. Warren Buffet, and last week Bill Gates, have stepped forward and stated that our present tax structure is lopsided.

Those who oppose the elimination of tax breaks for the wealthy began using buzzwords such as “class warfare,” “envy,” and continue to state that millionaires are the “job creators.” If that is the case, where are all the jobs they were supposed to create with their tax breaks for the past 14 years?

Many of these same members of Congress repeatedly speak about cutting entitlements that include Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid in order to balance the federal budget. Would you call the salary and excellent health care benefits that they take with them when they retire or are voted out office, “entitlements?” I would.

If I’m fired from my job, which is what we do when we vote a politician out of office, I don’t keep my salary for one minute, let alone the rest of my life!

When we are busy enjoying our youth, we can’t imagine we will one day be a senior citizen. I thought life would always be good. Later I became aware of the slipping away of what was there for my parents. Unfortunately, I was unable to contribute to a 401K until I was 58. Since that time it has grown, lost quite a bit during the great fall of ‘09, and has rebounded. But it is not nearly enough to support me through a complete retirement.

I’m very fortunate that I enjoy my job. I know, because of my level of involvement in the community and the fun I’m having that I would never be able to just stop working. I’m involved with several committees, Rotary, I paint, am working on a book — stopping all of that would be like dropping off a cliff! The impact wouldn’t be pretty!

So I keep working, pay my taxes, my company continues to pay into Social Security, and the beat goes on. Those who have, get more and more, and the rest of us who work hard to the bitter end get less and less. The three or four percent in America earn over 400 times what they earned 20 years ago, and the rest of us earn a lot less.

Really, don’t you think it’s time for Congress to do something about this disparity? Again, I quote one of the four questions on the Rotary four-way test: Is it fair to all concerned?

...eugenic sterilization...

I want to thank everyone who responded to my column and radio program of a couple of weeks ago. Andrea called in (802-442-1010) and mentioned a mystery novel that included the topic of eugenic sterilization that her mother had read but she couldn’t recall the name. A reader, Betty Emery, has sent the name of the book and author: “Stolen Honey” by Nancy Means Wright, a Vermonter.

If you have a chance, tune in to WBTN AM 1370 “From my Corner” on Tuesday mornings. The program is live and I discuss my column and a potpourri of other things that pop up. You can call in with your question or comments. I would enjoy hearing from you.