h/t to Elizabeth Benjamin of the Daily News for linking to the NY Post story.
Who is Tom Golisano? Wikipedia notes that he is an American billionaire businessman, and:
He is a founding member of the Independence Party of New York. He ran for governor of New York in 1994, 1998 and 2002 as the candidate of the Independence Party. Although he lost each time, he increased his percentage of the vote. He spent a combined $93 million on the three campaigns. In 2002, Golisano challenged New York Governor George Pataki as the candidate of the Independence Party. By receiving more than 50,000 votes each time, Golisano brought the Independence Party an automatic ballot line for the succeeding four years.
excerpt from Golisanos’ OpEd piece in the NY Post:
Adios, New York
Taxed Out of the State
By TOM GOLISANO
I LOVE New York. But how much should it cost to call New York home? Decades of out-of-control budgets, spending hikes and relentless borrowing have made New York simply too expensive.
Politicians like to talk about incentives — for businesses to relocate, for example, or to get folks to buy local. After reviewing the new budget, I have identified the most compelling incentive of all: a major tax break immediately available to all New Yorkers. To be eligible, you need do only one thing: move out of New York state…
You may be right, but it is news to me, thx!
Actually Ralph Nader is behind the creation of the Ecology Party of Florida.
How bout the Frank MacKay fakey dakey Ecological Party of FLorida ?????????
Maybe he will join the Independence Party of Florida and help that group.
Wow. A pride of barking moonbats.
Steve and Jeremy, I am glad you recognize the greatness of the Catholic Trotskyist Catholic Worker movement, but Jeremy is right about taxation. Billionaires deserve to have most of their money taken with them; under the Catholic Trotskyist system, the entire world will be taxed the billionaires, so they will have nowhere to go. It will be glorious then.
“Where there is people who make millions and billions, there are jobs. People are hired and new companies are started. Where there are people who get over taxed because of their wealth they tend to leave to greener pasture a long with their businesses.”
Denmark’s unemployment rate is currently 2%. Norway’s is 2.6%. In the Netherlands, it’s 4.5%. All of these countries have significantly higher tax rates than the United States, which has 9% unemployment. Yet Americans tend to be much more resistant to paying taxes than Danes, Norwegians or Dutch. Perhaps it’s because those countries use tax revenues on programs that improve the quality of life for their citizens, while our tax dollars are used to reduce the Middle East to smoldering wreckage and pay off Wall Street for blowing a $12 trillion hole in our economy.
For more fun facts and figures about comparative GDP per capita, unemployment, happiness levels and more:
http://www.greenchange.org/article.php?id=4407
“Trent, it’s not mine, but it’s not theirs either. It is needed for the good of the society as a whole. Tom Golisano has a vote just like I do, and if he doesn’t like his tax rates he can vote for people who will bring them down.”
So, philosophically speaking, what IS yours or his, if not the fruits of his labor?
I want to move to Massachusetts their giving away free cars with AAA if your poor. What incentive are people going to work if they can get it off the government tit?
Trent, it’s not mine, but it’s not theirs either. It is needed for the good of the society as a whole. Tom Golisano has a vote just like I do, and if he doesn’t like his tax rates he can vote for people who will bring them down.
Where there is people who make millions and billions, there are jobs. People are hired and new companies are started. Where there are people who get over taxed because of their wealth they tend to leave to greener pasture a long with their businesses. Simple economics. Oh by the way, they tend to donate more too if they don’t have to give it to the govenment to waste.
Trent – if he thinks that it’s not his money, then that’s consistent with his views. He has control over his money, but not that of unelected capitalist billionaires.
Jeremy-
The “Catholic Worker” communities are TOTALLY independent of the Catholic Church. Indeed, they aren’t much liked in certain Parishes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_worker
You should seek out a community near you. They need the help…or the money. And then YOU will be in control over how the money is spent!
PEACE
“I have a lot more control over my tax dollars than I do over the money held by unelected capitalist billionaires.”
I didnt realize you felt like the money “unelected capitalist billionaires” own is actually yours?
John, I don’t consider it stolen. I have a lot more control over my tax dollars than I do over the money held by unelected capitalist billionaires.
Steven, I have a great deal of respect for what the Catholic Church does. They genuinely care about the poor, unlike a lot of so-called “philanthropists.” However, there are two problems with leaving welfare services to private groups. One, I don’t have any control over how they spend money, because I don’t get to decide which groups get the most money unless I’m rich. Two, they can’t guarantee that the disadvantaged will actually get the aid they need, because they can’t control how much total cash goes to philanthropy. The government can control this sum by increasing taxes (and, in my view, they should).
I believe that too small a portion of my tax dollars go to helping people in general.
You are correct. But a HUGE proportion of your taxes goes to the bureaucracy that portions out the pittance poor people get.
But private charities, such as Catholic Worker communities do a far better job of feeding the hungry and housing the homeless, at a far cheaper rate than any bureaucracy laden government entity. And they don’t use a “one size fits all” remedy.
And Catholic Worker communities are in every major city. Better yet, they use non-coercive methods to get their operating funds.
PEACE
so the whole point of voting is deciding the best way to commit theft and dispose of stolen property?
James, Paterson was elected to the Lt. Governorship, which is the same thing. He faced the voters and was elected statewide.
Steven, I believe that too small a portion of my tax dollars go to helping people in general. However, that’s a far larger proportion than the percentage of money in private hands that goes toward helping people in general — plus I have a far greater say over where it goes, by casting my vote.
In other words, he’s so selfish that he’s willing to leave the state he loves just so he won’t have to give any money to help its residents. What a classy guy.
Are you so naive to believe the propaganda that your tax money is to be spent toward helping people in general? Or even the poor and downtrodden?
No, Jeremy, your tax dollars only go to bureaucrats that sit around dreaming up new ways to prevent you from doing what YOU think needs to be done.
Like the local zoning board that won’t allow solar panels or small wind mills or even clothes lines! Or the local educrats that have one specific way to teach children, all other ways are outdated (phonics) or too esoteric (Montessori or Harrison Method).
However, I think we can agree that Golisano appears to be endorsing “flight” rather than “fight”. 🙂
PEACE
“Socialism works until you run out of other people’s money to spend.”
Also, Paterson was NOT elected to the governorship, in case you didn’t know.
A “patriot” pays taxes. A true patriot makes sure that the money that is being taken from private citizens, ostensibly for the “greater good” is being used wisely. I’d like to see Mr. Young show how well the money is being used in N.Y.
So long as you’ve been democratically elected in a fair election that I was allowed to vote in, be my guest.
Jeremy:
So why don’t I take your money from you, and start spending it either (a) to do things which are not important to you — or — (b) to use counterproductive methods to “address” issues which are important to you.
See how long it takes you to flee to somewhere I can no longer rob you.
In other words, he’s so selfish that he’s willing to leave the state he loves just so he won’t have to give any money to help its residents. What a classy guy.