Taxing Questions

It’s been a long time since I’ve written anything in this space. Not because I had nothing to say. I just didn’t know where to start.

I still don’t, really. But today, I’ll start with taxes. We’ve heard a lot about them in recent weeks. Federal, state and local governments are strapped for cash. They’ve been slashing budgets with a vengeance. Liberal/progressive types think we could stand to raise some taxes -- especially on wealthier Americans, who, they say, are not paying anywhere near their fair share. Conservatives just want to cut.

As a taxpaying American, I wanted to find out where I stand in this equation. So I did a little exercise this week. I dug out all the paperwork I could find and added up the taxes my household paid in 2010. It came to 26.27% of our total pre-tax income. Just over a quarter of each dollar we made went to taxes.

Pro-choice in the 21st Century

Back on the subject of abortion, I appreciate this op-ed that appeared last week in the Washington Post. Written by the former president of Catholics for Choice. Like I said a few weeks ago, a lot of us fall somewhere between the extremes on this issue.

Anchor Babies in Arizona

Sometimes when I feel a great need to write about a burning issue of the day, and I'm still thrashing about for the words that will best express my thoughts, I open up my morning paper and find that Leonard Pitts has nailed it.

Today's bull's-eye was on immigration. So I'll just hush and give you a link to Leonard's column.

My Opinion on Abortion

It’s complicated.

I don’t think abortion is a good thing. I can’t imagine, really, that anyone would. About the best thing I can say about it is that under certain conditions, it may be a lesser evil.

I know there are plenty of Americans who would disagree with that. Who think nothing could be more evil than terminating an unwanted pregnancy. Some of those people are my friends and relatives.

I take back what I said at the beginning of this post. Actually, I can state my opinion in very simple terms:

In a perfect world, there wouldn't be any unwanted pregnancies.

...and we wouldn’t be having this discussion.