Respect for Janus

The Overrated Gentleman from Virginia - Publius, Obsidian Wings

I think 'Publius' catches the double-edged sword that is respect in politics. One, it seems, curries respect in the political realm for being moderate and yet decisive and generally being on the right side of things before everyone else. But it also means not going out on a limb or doing anything too drastic. While Senator Warner's talk on the need to investigate the allegations of torture and the possibility of withdrawing from Iraq gave him the appearance of speaking truth to power he never actually acted in that way. And for him, that was the politically smart move. Otherwise, that so-called respect he has garnered would have evaporated. Continuing to carry around the label of 'respected' means that you can do some things but not other things. And in today's political game, that usually means not doing anything that would firmly place you in the 'radical' realm.

Five-Tax Monte

The Big Con - Ezra Klein

I like the characterization of our tax system here. My parents are still complaining about the payroll tax cut off at $90,000. Something like that is easily one of the most glaring inequities in our tax system. I think any attempt to fix Social Security and shore up funds for Medicare will have to deal with the payroll tax cutoff. But I do have one caveat to mention. The so-called 'estate' tax isn't a death tax as the no-taxers would call it. It's an inheritance tax and I do think it is a viable and useful tax.