what some friends are saying

1. STEVE was making a complex argument about the need for much more governmental regulation of business and industry, and saying everyone knew there would be a disaster with these offshore drilling operations, there have been before now, and that the corporations involved in this will have to be forced to do planning against this kind of thing. They won't do it of their own accord. And they need plans for dealing with such disasters when they occur. He says only the government can compel them to it, they certainly won't do it themselves. Steve also argues that a bunch of people should be in jail. This includes people in the government who should have been regulating this industry properly, at the MMS.

2. SPARTY has sent along an article by David Sarota that argues for higher taxes, especially higher marginal tax rates, (which is levied on those with higher incomes.)

Excerpt: "Though the Reagan zeitgeist created the illusion that taxes stunt economic growth, the numbers prove that higher marginal tax rates generate more resources for the job-creating, wage-generating public investments (roads, bridges, broadband, etc.) that sustain an economy. They also create economic incentives for economy-sustaining capital investment. Indeed, the easiest way wealthy business owners can avoid high-bracket tax rates is by plowing their profits back into their businesses and taking the corresponding write-off rather than simply pocketing the excess cash and paying an IRS levy." CLICK HERE FOR THE SHORT ARTICLE

3. SCOT was making an argument that many people say the Catholic Church is not responsible for the child abuse discovered, but that it's a problem with a few bad priests. He says this has been going on a long time and all over the world, and that an organization which cannot get right the job of protecting children and disciplining those who hurt children has failed its most basic duty and has no claim on the behavior of the rest of us. "If they can't do that right, then they can't be expected to get anything else right."