THE VIEW FROM HERE

Look back — Go forward
As a voting public we tend to have short memories. Too often we neglect looking back and considering the consequences of prior political decisions that didn’t work. The Trickle Down Theory, where benefits for the wealthy supposedly filter down to benefit the rest of us, has never worked. Still, once again the public is being told how necessary it is to cut taxes for corporations and the very, very rich.
Warren Buffett, one of the wealthiest Americans, points this out when he called for higher taxes on the rich. He said he paid taxes of 17-1/2 percent on his income while his secretary paid twice that rate on her salary.
Income inequality in the United States has flourished since the 1970’s. A report from November, 2011 states that 1 percent of the population earned 21 percent of the total income, and 10 percent of the population owns 73 percent of the total wealth. Today the rich are paying a historically low tax rate compared to taxes collected in the past. Looking back we find the top marginal tax rate was 91 percent during the 1950’s; 70 percent during the 1970’s; and even 50 percent during most of Ronald Regan’s presidency.
Looking back we find that President Clinton raised the top US marginal tax rate from 31 percent to 39.6 percent in in 1993 and the economy grew. When George Bush reduced the tax rate in 2003 there was very little growth except for the housing bubble and we all know how that turned out.
I get upset when I hear people say there is no point in voting, “My one vote won’t make a difference.” I remember a lecture I attended, given by our local resident, Dr. Christopher O’Sullivan, in 2003. He said, “It is perhaps my obligation to conclude by reminding us that the history of the expansion of freedom is not a story of the passive evolution of ideas from the founding fathers but rather a story of struggle; Of opponents of slavery in the face of violence; of workers for the power to organize in the face of repression; of women for the right to vote and secure personal rights; of the many for civil and human rights. And countless others who risked personal freedom and more to fight man-made systems of control and repression.”
Think about the value of looking back the next time you get in your car. That rear view mirror is there so you can look back before going forward safely.
Lucie Jensen is a Healdsburg resident.