Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Skools

Driving home I passed the sign outside my kid's elementary school that said "thank you school board." My first thought: great, I'm getting screwed.

I get home to find out that our brave new schools are passing out pamphlets about taking the Earned Income Tax Credit. Thankfully the brochure had a Spanish section because my English is a little fuzzy.

Here's some math: if the schools get 10% more funding will our children get

A) 10% better education
B) 10% more education
C) 10% more garbage sent home in the form of Spanish pamphlets

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why not have spanish in the brochure? If the primary language spoken in the home of the parents is spanish, wouldn't you want people to know exactly what the brochure says? Say the parents agree with you and think that the school is "wasting their money". If they can't gather the total implications of the brochure in english and they just ignore it, doesn't it hurt your anti-public education cause? Just a question, because it appears you think that just because people need something in their native tougue doesn't mean they don't speak english at all. Take this, I speak german and have lived in Germany for many years. Although I know a good deal of german (read, write and speak), I would feel more able to comprehend something writen in my native language. When it comes to anything important, I wouldn't want to do it any other way. You should really learn what language development and reading aquisition entails. It goes way beyond just having conversations at the supermarket.

Anonymous said...

Information on the "earned income tax credit" in Spanish? What? I thought "Mexicans" don't pay taxes Daniel? How do you say Fuck You in Spanish? Wish I knew.

Anonymous said...

In Miglavia, learning English is like learning to ride a bike, a few trys and you're off. In Miglavia, learning English should take about 3 days, max.

Anonymous said...

You mean this is about the Spanish language? I thought it was about border security.

Anonymous said...

In Miglavia, if you don't have something to whine about upon waking, then that is the qwest for the day....

Like a rat, Daniel scurries about sniffing out a whine-worthy topc. He searches each corner, every nook, every cranny. Scurrying about, he leaves no crevice of his little world unchecked. Some days, his scurrying is for naught. He shuffles home for his nightly slop of hamburger helper and canned peas. His beady eyes dart about, searching, searching. The ride home provides nothing. He consoles himself with the knowledge that surely his children's backpacks might provide him with his daily dose of whine. It is a constant treasure trove that never disappoints. Ahhhhhhh, relief. The beady-eyed little rat smiles and sighs, clutching the backpack's contents to his chest. At least there's always the Spanish language to kick around....

Anonymous said...

anon 10:48,

How does it feel to have an IQ in single digits? The earned income tax credit is for people who don't pay taxes. That's right; if your income is low enough you can get a tax refund even when you have no tax liability. Right out of Das Kapital.

Anonymous said...

Right out of Das Kapital.

Can you give a direct quote, please?

Anonymous said...

"From each according to his abilty, to each according to his needs." Is that in Das Kapital? If not, well, tough.

Anonymous said...

More proof of Republican incompetence and wishfullness: http://bp1.blogger.com/_h2AmgiehJyc/R5Ulfqw8ZZI/AAAAAAAAAFU/_jqqFIem6uo/s1600-h/obamascreenshot-2.png posting a discredited e-mail about Obama.

maliengus said...

That's crap. We claim an earned income tax credit and we pay taxes, lots of them, every year. Just ask my husband.

maliengus said...

Nevermind. Maybe I'm the one who should have asked my husband first. We don't claim the Earned Income Tax Credit, it's something else that we claim every year. I was mistaken, HOWEVER, my point is, and probably the point of Anon 10:48 is: you have to FILE your taxes to get it. Daniel wants us to think that "Mexicans" don't file taxes. So something isn't jiving here, is it? And, after checking, I learned that it doesn't ELIMINATE paying taxes in MOST CASES. Many people who qualify for EITC will still pay SOME taxes. Look it up.

So who has the single digit IQ now, Anon 640?

Anonymous said...

That is true. Most who qualify for the ETIC pay taxes. However, they will also often get refunds since they are the working poor and usually have over-witholding.

Anonymous said...

Daniel - first you whine because "they" don't pay taxes, then you whine because "they" do.

Is it about illegal aliens or is it about "Spanish." Because I don't see you whining about Russian or Farsi or Polish. These pamphlets were sent out in those languages too. I know they were sent out in Russian because I live in a community with many Russians. I know they were sent out in Farsi and Polish because I called my sister, who lives back east within a large ethnic community as well.
The majority of our immigrants (legal and illegal) do eventually learn English. The majority of newly minted US citizens are NOT fluent in English at the time of their citizenship test. In a great number of cases, they know just enough English to pass the test and that's it. Fluency in English takes a while for Gods sake! Yes, there are some that never learn it, but comparatively few, and usually it's the older immigrants. It is a very difficult language to learn. So what do they do in the meantime? You guys are the ones that are constantly whining about them not paying taxes. And then when information is presented to them that is likely to make it easier to understand about filing their taxes, you whine about that too? Do you want their tax money or not? Do you want them to know about our laws WHILE they're learning English, or should they wait until AFTER they've learned English. What is better for the greater good? I say, learn English and in the meantime, here's some helpful information in the language you currently understand. There are many, many citizens and legal immigrants who are actively and diligently learning English (that's why ESL classes are standing room only throughout the west) but what do they do in the meantime? Remain ignorant of the laws because Daniel Miglavs doesn't like Spanish? How arrogant. What a prick.

Anonymous said...

The Earned Income Credit is yet another ‘helping hand’ meant for those making less. The problem is, when we granted Amnesty to less than 3 million previously illegal aliens back in 86 (on average) each one brought up 5 ‘in-laws’ to also become ‘legal US Citizens.’

Coming from poverty, they’re now first in line to receive subsidized housing; free lunches / breakfasts; the Oregon Health Plan, Food Stamps, utility assistance, tax and tuition cuts… as well as the EIC. Where’s that leave the bulk of Americans? Paying for them!

So, we should grant Citizenship / Residency to up to 20 million more? Not only do they take the jobs Americans have always done, they drain the resources designed and paid for by those very Americans. And the only thing that actually catches these legal wannabees is our Social Safety Net!

Anonymous said...

Anon 501 said:

The problem is, when we granted Amnesty to less than 3 million previously illegal aliens back in 86 (on average) each one brought up 5 ‘in-laws’ to also become ‘legal US Citizens.’

Anon: Whether you like it or not, Ronald Reagan granted them amnesty. You guys are constantly harping on "the rule of law." Well, their amnesty was granted by a "rule of law," so accept it. Otherwise, you're just a hypocrite. Or does the "rule of law" only apply to the laws you like? You can't have it both ways.

Furthermore, of those granted amnesty, the vast majority of them are now U.S. citizens, not "legal U.S. citizens." There's no quotation marks around their citizenship. They are citizens equal to you and me. Their citizenship is not "pretend" so why do you diminish their citizenship by using quotation marks?

You went on to say:

Coming from poverty, they’re now first in line to receive subsidized housing; free lunches / breakfasts; the Oregon Health Plan, Food Stamps, utility assistance, tax and tuition cuts… as well as the EIC. Where’s that leave the bulk of Americans? Paying for them!

Your ignorant assumptions about the people who received amnesty in '86 illustrate precisely what is so distasteful about so many OFIR members and others who are involved in the illegal immigration situation. How do you know they're using any type of assistance? The majority of welfare recipients in this state and nationwide are white Americans. White Americans have always first in line for the dole. Not only first in line, but standing in the longest line. Always have been and always will be. The fact is most of these people are working, and working hard. Many of them work two jobs and six days a week. For many, it's not just their fault they're poor. Instead of automatically placing the blame on them, why don't you delve a little further and question why their bosses make six figures and CEO's make mega millions while the people who work for them are paid minimum wage and no health insurance. Who's really at fault here -- the hard working poor or the corporate gluttons who take advantage of them?

You know what? You may get your ass in a twist because your tax dollars are being used to help those less fortunate, but I dont mind my taxes helping the poor one bit. And guess what else? There are millions and millions of Americans paying taxes who feel exactly the same way I do. You act as if you are the only one paying taxes! Well, you're not. People who feel as I do don't mind paying taxes to help their fellow citizens, regardless of how they became citizens. So you just pretend your tax money is being spent on war and such and that will make you feel a lot better. Meanwhile, I feel good knowing that my tax money is giving a poor kid a roof over his head, a warm bed, a breakfast, a lunch, and an education so he can grow up and make something of himself. Im just fine with that, and so are millions of other Americans.

Anonymous said...

Oh...and legal "wanabees?" That's rich. If you're legal, you're not a "wanabee." It's never going to be good enough for you guys, is it?
It's not about border security or rule of law at all for many of you. Your stupid post illustrates it so completely. As long as your skin is brown it doesn't matter what your status is, does it. We will always just be wanabees in your eyes. You make me sick. I take pleasure in knowing that even if every last illegal alien were deported tomorrow, there are still 45 MILLION of us who are legal US citizens, no quotation marks, no "wanabees." Hope you're comfortable around brown people because not only are we here to stay, we're having babies way faster than anyone else.