2018

Not sure if I still know how to use this site but will try.
Not long ago had a discussion with my Grandson-in-law, (whom I shall refer to as GIL)won't mention any names Josh, we discuss things, we don't debate, mainly because he would probably wipe up the floor with me.  Anyway what we were discussing was the tax that the City of Seattle planned on placing on large companies to take care of their homeless problems.  At the time the tax was going to be quite high, they since passed a lesser tax but still pretty damn high.  My GIL  thinks its a great idea because Amazon, the company that will pay the most tax, makes a ton of money, so therefore it should pay the most.  Maybe so, but I disagree.  I don't know anything about Mr. Bezos', he's way above my pay grade, but what I have been able to ascertain he started this company and made it into the tremendous success it is.  I don't use Amazon, I like to feel something before I put out my hard earned cash for it. I don't know how hard Mr. Bezos' had to work to make his company as successful as it is but I'm sure he had to put a tremendous amount of foresight and effort into it. As I understand it the tax that has been enacted is based on net profits of a Company earnings over $20,000,000 per head of employees in Seattle, that's one hellva lot of money.  Probably won't hurt Amazon too much, but in my view that is not the point. My point, if I may, is why should Amazon be punished for being successful.  They are not the one's that caused the homeless problems.  There are probably lots of reasons, one of which may be the way the local Governments have reacted to the problem.  They have failed to enforce the laws of the City, County, State and Federal Government that have enabled people to flout the law and live their own way without any consequences.  They tie the hands of their own law enforcement so Police Officers are unable to enforce laws that are on the books.  Of course in today's society, for those in power, to ignore or even just disobey the laws of the State and Nation, for example Gov. Inslee's executive order doing away with the Death penalty, or the Attorney General declaring the State of Washington a "Sanctuary State", why should an ordinary citizen obey the laws. Even our Judges are ridiculous, for example the Judge that declared an Automobile ones home and therefore the police have to treat it as such, can't make them move or search or enforce laws already on the books.  Amazon's profit margin is probably pretty good, but how about the Company that operates on a very slim profit margin what is this law going to do to them if all of their profits have to go to feeding and housing the homeless? And where does it stop, anyone who thinks that they don't make enough money to be threatened by this tax better think again, because it won't be long til the threshold of that tax will go down and eventually reach all of us. Never met a tax the politicians didn't like. 
Now that I have got that off my chest, why do I feel the way I do.  I was raised in a family that did not have very much in the way of money or good.  My Dad was 100% disabled from the First World War, my mother had 12 children, of which only 5 lived (for honesty's sake I was the youngest, guess I broke the mold).  I don't believe my Dad held a steady job for much longer than a year or two at the most.  Mom worked at the Bon Marche (now Macy's) part time for over 30 years.  We were never homeless.  Didn't always know where the next meal was coming from, but don't ever remember going hungry. My Dad suffered from Shell Shock, what is now commonly referred to as PTSD, he, along with Mom and all my brothers and sisters turned out to be alcoholics, but all of them were successful in their careers. Dad was a racist, extremely bigoted.  He had a name for all ethnic groups, none of which were flattering.  Even though we had very little in the way of material goods we never, ever accepted any type of Charity.
If this works I will post more later on.