Tax me already

I think of myself as affluent (though apparently my household income is solidly middle class). I know quite a few affluent people, and a few really wealthy ones. We need to be taxed more.

There are major problems in this country that can be solved by time and attention and money. There are enormous problems in the world, problems of human suffering, of lost habitat and environment and culture, of violence and disease and death, that can be solved by time and attention and money. There are problems that cannot be solved by those things, too. There are inspiring things, beautiful things, important long-term numinous things that can be accomplished by time and attention and money, like symphonies and space exploration and farm fresh tomatoes.

Liberal democratic government has been the greatest tool for the diminishment of problems and the creation of beautiful inspiring important things since the invention of capitalism. It needs money to run. It does a better job of deciding where that money (and time and attention) should go than anything else, particularly when it is dealing with issues that face whole systems, like climate change, disease eradication, or full employment.

I am not suffering at my middle class income. The people I know who earn $250,000 or more are not suffering at their upper class incomes, except perhaps in loss of personal time and attention to family. People pushed out of underfunded homeless shelters are suffering. People dying of dysentery are suffering. People denied kidney transplants are suffering. I am willing to forego some portion of my material wealth to try to help some people in need. I am willing to live on less, less space, less travel, less health care and smooth roads even, to help launch humanity into space, to discover how brains and quarks and coral reefs work. I would hope that those with even more than I have would be willing to do so as well, would welcome their opportunity to contribute.

Yesterday's run destination: around the block

Yesterday's menu:
breakfast: blueberry muffin
lunch: leftover pasta and meat sauce
dinner: carnitas burrito from Taco Plus