Letter to our Senators

Yesterday I wrote a letter to our Senators in California re: the "bonus tax". The current legislation in the House is, in my opinion, one of the worst pieces of legislation I've ever seen. The primary reason is that using the tax system to punish individual citizens for choices made by a company they work for is ridiculous. My opposition to the legislation is not because my wife works in finance nor because I am generally a conservative. This is legislation should make all American's shudder. Today it is a targeted tax against people who work for specific finance companies, tomorrow who knows...tobacco companies, non-environmental companies polluting the environment, oil companies, abortion clinics, casinos, liquor stores and produces, R-rated and above movie studios, overpaid athletes, pharmaceuticals, private universities, non-organic farmers...you may say some of these are a bit ridiculous, but any of these can be targets of an angry public and in turn the politicians willing to appease the mob.

The text of my letter to Sen. Feinstein and Boxer is as follows:

I urge you to vote no to any bill with a targeted tax on individuals in the finance industry. The bonus tax bill that recently passed in the House has no benefit except to appease an angry public, a public reacting on emotion and not in the best interest of the future for this great country. The impact of the tax will force companies not to seek or accept government assistance in the future, reduce the competitiveness of these companies, and weaken the free markets of this country upon which much of our success has been built upon. The highly talented individuals who happen to work at the targeted companies and did not contribute to the current financial mess will move to non-public companies with less transparency or foreign financial firms not targeted by vindictive (Pres. Obama's word) legislation.

Our country has been founded on the ideology of individual freedoms. Targeted taxes is an assault on an individuals freedom and an individuals desire to achieve the American dream. Throughout our history thousands upon thousands of Americans have fought and lost their lives to protect our country. Let us not tear it apart from the inside out at this critical juncture in time. Let us not begin to divide ourselves based on income just like we had previously divided ourselves on issues of race and gender.