But the point is, there is no law that says that they can't pay the higher tax rate if they wish to do so. They can pay the higher rate.

Now, what Simmons said is that he'd rather give the money to charity than contribute to the "war machine," but I submit that it's a justification. You know what? Me too. I'd rather select just what my money will go to as well. And I could probably write an entire book on why that doesn't really work, and how bananas things could be if people were able to ala carte their taxes.

Either pay your taxes at your secretary's rate AND give more to charities that fall in line with your ideologies, which you can clearly afford, or don't. But don't bitch about it when you can absolutely do something about it. It's disingenuous.

Put me on the home-made gravy train (heh). It's one of the less-onerous Turkey Day tasks, although it's always a crapshoot for me, as I don't have an actual recipe. I just wing it with the fat & the flour & the broth & the spices. It usually comes out okay, and better than canned.

This weekend I will make cranberry sauce (probably with ginger & oranges) and maybe rolls. And today I should order a turkey. We'll have 9 people in total, which means a smallish turkey.

The down side is that I don't get either Wednesday or Friday next week off. I may take Wednesday off anyway so I can start baking...

wrod. I think Oprah Winfrey told her accountant not to use loopholes when she files, which I remember cause she said her accountant hated to do it, but that's just iirc.

But the point is, there is no law that says that they can't pay the higher tax rate if they wish to do so. They can pay the higher rate.

Can you? Wouldn't the IRS just send you a refund?

Yeah, you can. You don't have to take the refund. You can pay at the larger rate if you wish.

Either pay your taxes at your secretary's rate AND give more to charities that fall in line with your ideologies, which you can clearly afford, or don't. But don't bitch about it when you can absolutely do something about it. It's disingenuous.

Well, I agree with his argument that the rich should pay more taxes and I'm glad he made that argument. The fact that his own behavior is arguably inconsistent with his argument doesn't bother me much, as his own behavior doesn't affect the validity of his argument that the rich should be required to pay more taxes.

I dunno--maybe it should bother me more. It's just a gut-reaction (or lack of one) on my part, so I don't know if it's right.

But don't bitch about it when you can absolutely do something about it. It's disingenuous.

I agree that he (and Buffett et al) can and ought to put their money where their mouths are, but I do find some use in rich people saying, "No, really, tax me more, it's cool" as a counterpoint to the "Oh noes if we tax the rich peoples ALL THE JOBS WILL GO AWAY FOREVERS" hysteria.

I guess I'm super prickly about Simmons since he keeps showing up at OWS camps and saying and doing stupid shit.

It's one of those things where I feel, you know, GET OFF MY SIDE.

I'm not asking anyone else to join me in my annoyance. Just venting.

I can finally eat a wrap, but a real sandwich with two pieces of bread is still too much for me.

I can eat more bread than I used to, too - don't know why. Still can't eat a lot. Pepperidge Farm makes Very Thin Sliced bread. It's very thin. 2 slices is less bread than in one regular slice. I started using this for sandwiches. It's nice to be able to eat a sandwich again!

Oh, I totally feel you, Allyson. Smonster has a point, though.