Carl Parker's archive

Fear of government?

Of late, in conversations with my conservative leaning friends, I have detected a greater frequency of the use of the term “socialism.” From our extensive conversations, I am somewhat skeptical as to whether some of these friends really know the true definition of socialism. Webster, Wikipedia and others simply describe socialism as a method of government by which the government controls the means of production and distribution of wealth. As to distribution of wealth, the current tax system that favors the rich over the middle class is clearly a method of distributing wealth.

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Why are my property taxes so high?

In the early 1960s in Texas, homeowner paid lower property taxes on their homes than homeowners in 45 other states. Currently, Texas property taxes are among the highest in the nation. There are several reasons for this change.

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Encourage citizens to vote – or not

Lack of participation at election time is counterproductive to the efficient operation of a democracy. Theoretically, the more people who vote and participate in the selection of our leaders, the better the result should be. There are even some fledgling democracies in the world who make it mandatory that their citizens vote. While I doubt if such a proposition would fly in the United States, our various levels of government should not engage in activity that would discourage or diminish the number of people voting.

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Fight for those already born

When I was growing up, I had a considerable amount of contact with my aunts, uncles and cousins. We lived not far apart, and my first cousins were more like my brothers and sisters than cousins. Growing into my teen years, I became more aware of my religion mainly due to the fact my mother, being a strict Baptist, had attempted to raise me as such. Because of differences in the denominations of many of my relatives, many of our visits would erupt into a great theological argument.

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Where have all the jobs gone?

People in companies with all the money have been dubbed “job creators” by the conservative faction in America. In the past two years, corporations in America have reaped record profits in the billions. They are doing better financially now than they ever have in the history of this country. Yet they do not seem to be inclined to create new jobs.

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