Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Fishwapper editorials love art... that taxpayers pay for

Cultural Trust good for you and Oregon
The Oregon Cultural Trust is a very good thing for individual tax payers and for Oregon. Your gift to the trust, of up to $500 for an individual or $1,000 for a couple filing taxes jointly, will earn an equivalent tax credit on your Oregon tax return. That is a very good deal.

Tax cuts for the rich!

State drops the ball with botched arts awards
The folks responsible for the snafu -- the Oregon Arts Commission and the governor's office -- say they really do value the arts. But this was a busy year, what with the governor's election and getting the budget ready. So they'll double up and give two years' worth of awards in 2007.

And talk about poor timing. This month, folks are making their year-end donations to arts organizations and, if they're tuned in, making matching grants to the Oregon Cultural Trust. It wouldn't hurt to have some razzmatazz from the Capitol to remind everyone that Oregon has a terrific arts scene.

Who cares?

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

"The arts scene".

The ruling class, the upper crust wannabes, the bourgeoisie, the dilettantes and elitists, through their enthusiasm for "fine art," all imagine themselves to be superior to the working class.

They tell one another that they have an understanding of things that peasant and proletariat can never have.

And I say down with the "arts scene"! Only art that serves the people has any value.

Anonymous said...

freedom to choose someone else gives a gift, that still leaves you with your money. What's the problem???

R Huse said...

Anyone notice that since Kerry's "it was a botched joke" explanation, the use of the word "Botched" has skyrocketed in the media? Monkey see monkey do I guess.

Kaelri said...

Someone tell me if I've got this wrong... but isn't this just saying that if you give this money to the government now, then they won't take it from you later as taxes? So the donor ends up with the same amount of money, and so does the government, but the donor gets a say in what up to $500 of his taxes are used for.

Not a bad deal.

I suppose the only risk would be if every taxpayer gave the maximum amount to the Trust, but, as Daniel noted recently, that doesn't seem probable. So I dunno what you're worried about. I think the system's impressively democratic.

Anonymous said...

Who cares, I care. Every dollar that goes to this program means another dollar that has to be made up by the public in the budget. How about if we make the taxes we pay for schools deductable and then we can donate that money to the private school of our choice. I love art but legislating that new public buildings must dedicate 1% of the cost to art is nothing but extortion. This is just one example of how government has overstepped it's constitutional duty while neglecting it's original purpose to serve and protect it's citizens.

Anonymous said...

Tax cuts for the rich?


Robert Kiyosaki, famous author:

"The tax code is written for investors and the rich."

R Huse said...

Hmm, not sure what famous author Robert Kiyosaki is famous for, but it certainly aint tax analysis.

Our tax code punishes investment and savings like no other. This is why we have the lowest savings rate of any industrial nation.

Considering that virtually all the government tax revenues come from the top 10% of income earners, Kiyosak’s statement seems a little silly.

No, one group writes the tax code: the power hungry. This is why revenue raising is given a lower priority than behaviour control. Witness the death tax, capitol gains taxes, corporate taxes and the current provision under discussion.

Anonymous said...

Kiyosaki is best known for writing "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" the first of a long series of books upon which many people have built billions of dollars of wealth.

Considering that a greatg deal of the income at the top is NOT earned, your reference to "income earners" seems a little silly.

Did the trust fund kid "earn" his income? How about the guy who owns a gazillion dollars of stock?

R Huse said...

Use whatever word you want. Earned, inherited, or stolen the fact remains, those in the top 10% of income pay virtually all the taxes. Therefore either these are incredibly selfless individuals or Kiyosaki’s point that they write the tax code is inane.