This was my point. I had always fooled myself into believing only a small minority of Americans felt that strongly about "values". After Tuesday, I realize that it's the majority of the country that feels that way. This realization has scared me, and once I'm done with grad school, I'll be looking for a job overseas.
Current minimum tax rate is 10%, on incomes from $0 to $7,000. Then it steps to 15%. Some low income workers will qualify for Earned Income Tax credit, but most don't. FICA and Medicare combine at 7.65%, which is a regressive tax. Add in state tax, as appropriate, and the working poor are liable for a marginal tax rate of at least 22.65%. The low income folks don't pay taxes are the ones that don't file or claim all their incomes.
You probably need to find out who hired Mel Brennan, they seem to like hiring fools educated beyond their intelligence. He claims to be in Scotland, I think.
I like how you called my position untrue and went on to talk about something else, but I can't really argue the point myself as I was just repeating what I have been hearing. I mean, it's not like the Fed govt would ever require something of the states and then not fund it, right? Yea, that would never happen. I don't like NCLB for totally other reasons no matter who was involved in making it happen. I believe in accountablity and standards, but when it forces teaching of tests, is our children learning? I think not. I wish you could expand on you "performance-based incentive program" because you seem to be linking good performance with more funding. I would think that if your kids are not passing these standard tests, you should get more funds to help address the short-falls. It seems that schools want 100% passing grades for all the wrong reasons. Hey kid, your making this school look bad and holding up our special funding.