Getting what you deserve

IBM is laying off people. I don't know how much the people on top get paid, but it's probably a lot, and I could probably find out, but I don't feel like it, because it's not relevant. It sucks for the people being laid off. It sucks that IBM has lost business. To paraphrase Dale Dauten, it sucks that the people in charge aren't clever or creative enough to find ways to keep people productive and make money. It reflects very poorly on them.

So, what are we to do? If you're outraged over the executive's behavior, boycott IBM. Dump their stock, refuse to buy mutual funds that own IBM, and raise a stink. OR, conversely, buy a shit-ton of stock, get other like minded people to do the same, and take over the shareholder's meetings. That's the point of a publicly held business.

What's not productive? Whining like a little bitch that the executives don't deserve/didn't earn the extension of the previous tax cuts. There's a lot of uninformed gabbling about taxes and rich people, so let me state my position, which I believe, is based on tax law, the constitution, and the 16th amendment.

What is the purpose of taxation? It is not to create fairness. It is not to punish the rich, punish the poor, reward the rich, or spread the wealth around. The purpose of taxes is to, get ready, I think I'm saying this well, so pay attention:

---Get the government the money it needs to do the things it needs to do.---

Get that? There is no legal, moral, or constitutional justification for taxation as part of a social agenda. If somebody earns their money illegally, arrest them, but taxing extra because you don't like how much money they made, or how they made it is just about the same as what you're accusing them of.

In a honest tax system, the more money you have, the more taxes you pay. Nobody earns or deserves a tax break or a tax hike. Tax policy should be set by the needs of the budget and the economy (and that's enough of a minefield there). Anyone who justifies tax policy by what's "fair" or by what people "deserve" needs to read the constitution, or maybe they need to have it read to them.

I said it before, I said it again, read about Bills of Attainder.