| How Much Does Your Vote Cost? By Jim Correale (Published in the East Boston Sun Transcript on August 3, 2001.) How much does your vote cost? Apparently George W. Bush has determined that $300 should cover it, for that is the amount of the tax refund that many Americans are receiving this summer. My check arrived on Monday. Printed at the bottom was a tag line, much like the phrase you'd see in a movie ad: "Tax relief for America's workers." It should say: "Purely political attempt to win your favor." Bush and his Republican cohorts would like us all to believe that they are on the side of the working man and woman. Please. Most Americans are not that gullible. The White House is occupied by a pair of former oil industry executives, and the cabinet is a who's who of board members of Fortune 500 companies. Their only goal is to feather their own nests. The day after I received my refund, newspaper reports said that the government would have to borrow $38 billion to pay for the tax cut. So much for the argument that Uncle Sam is returning excess money to citizens. Meanwhile, Bush moves forward with plans for an outrageously expensive, completely impractical and, almost certainly, totally unworkable missile defense system, sweeping aside whatever treaties and good will of our allies may be in his path. The man is a bull in a china shop. The country cannot afford to pay for such a project while funding other more important government services and, at the same time, giving each of us a refund that is the monetary equivalent of a pat on the head. Members of the GOP are betting that we will all open our mailboxes and say, "Wow! Free money! Those Republicans are so understanding of the needs of working Americans!" The hope is that we will all remember that when entering the voting booths in November of 2002. Historically, the party of the sitting president loses ground in Congress in midterm elections, so there is a real chance that Republicans could lose the House as they have the Senate. As I'm sure is the case for almost everyone, my vote is not for sale. I believe that my taxes should be used for important federal programs, and I resent the White House playing political games with such things. Therefore, I will take my refund and donate it. I am giving it to Crossroads Family Shelter in East Boston. Some will say that I am making the president's point -- that individuals can contribute to whatever organizations they choose -- but how much of the money will really end up being used that way? Not enough, I'm afraid. I ask that each citizen receiving a refund do what I plan to do: find a social service agency that can use the money to help others and contribute the amount of your tax refund. Certainly, no one enjoys paying taxes, but doing so is part of our responsibility. One cannot argue that there is immense waste in the massive federal bureaucracy that we have constructed; however, there are many good and important services that are provided as well. This tax refund is a shameful political maneuver by an administration that will stoop to any level to forward its own selfish agenda. Do not allow it to succeed. |