183. What Trump's tax avoidance (or evasion?) tells us

-

Donald Trump, the incumbent US President and self-proclaimed billionaire, has paid negligible federal taxes for a number of years, as revealed by a New York Times exposé this week. Many of his supporters have come out in his defence, stating it is smart to use the tools available in the fiscal system to avoid tax, so long as it is done within current legality. Trump himself has often stated this self-serving view. The problem is that having a president who shirks tax obligations is a paradox. Tax is a manifestation of civic spirit, it is one of the tools we use to build a society. The president is a civic figure, the most important one, and the chief executive of the apparatus tasked with building society. What the NY Times revelation tell us, if we did not know already, is that the person charged by Americans with building their society is antisocial, the head of their civic society has no civic spirit. His individual behaviour is incompatible with the role the collective has given him 

Length: 1,001 characters

Location: Hereford, UK

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

311. Form over substance, signs of our times

-
A few days ago I started a Youtube channel designed to offer Twitteretter to its thus far limited audience in a new format, video, cognisant of the fact that many do not read these days, and of the importance of trying to reach those, maybe even more than reading audiences. As I marketed the channel, something curious happened. Curious, but I think significant. I received many comments on the appearance and set up of the channel and suggestions as to how to enhance it, gadgets I should invest in to improve my lighting and delivery, additional elements I may consider for better visuals, etc. No comments, however, on the content which, in my mind, is what matters, maybe not in many other channels, but certainly on Twitteretter. This seems to be what we have come to, a society concerned only with the wrapping, not with the content, superficially surfing reality on a sensorial wave, without a rational rudder to keep us away from the rocks. I will focus on the content, to the horror of many...
Read more

290. Vaccinate or not vaccinate, that is the question

-
After an unprecedented technological race, humanity has researched, developed and approved several vaccines against the virus which shook our society at the start of last year. The approval comes with record speed and may provide a welcome solution to the otherwise possibly unsurmountable social problems the pandemic is creating.   We now can continue to develop, to grow, to increase wealth (the distribution of which is not for this post) without unpalatable sacrifices of life. Alas, vaccination success will rely on its adoption, on a sufficient percentage of the population accepting it. Given the speedy development and approval, many are justifiably wary of its potential risks. Humanity will, once again, split down the middle, those who believe in institutions and in the fundamental virtue underpinning society and those who believe in conspiracy, exploitation and nihilist individualism as their only antagonist. It is not a matter of safety, but of outlook. My arm is ready, is your...
Read more

330. Democrracy or autocracy, what is better?

-
Let me start by nailing my colours to the mast. Democracy, all the way. The only system that can empower all citizens, protect minorities, enshrine civil liberties and avoid abuse of power. However, it has its problems. It is functional when leaders and parties place the interest of the citizenship above their own, govern for all and not just for their side. Otherwise, it swings wildly in cycles of power which are used by each faction to undo the progress made by the previous incumbents, fighting oppositions which oppose for opposition’s sake. The ideal for democracy to progress is for moderate groups to alternate power, keeping a somewhat general direction of travel, moderated towards their political leaning but built on their predecessors’ achievements. With today’s polarisation, this is not what we are seeing in UK, US, Spain and other countries and, when we do not, democracy becomes ineffective, gridlocked, and autocracies shine in comparison by their ability to get things done Len...
Read more