A taxing column - The Jewish Standard

I always find Rabbi Boteach’s columns amusing, for as he tries to promote what I suppose are his spiritual beliefs as applied to everyday life, he also manages to insert his politically conservative lokshen as well. I do agree with much of what the rabbi has said in his column in the Nov. 18 issue. But when, in the same column, he decries “Draconian austerity measures” and then calls for getting rid of “expensive social programs,” it’s somewhat confusing, to say the least.

What the rabbi neglects to question is why millionaires pay less taxes than I do; why large corporations pay little or no taxes at all; and why the most profitable companies in history, the oil companies, receive subsidies paid for by our taxes. Instead of suggesting changes in our tax codes to alleviate the deficit, it seems the rabbi wants to remove social programs that many people depend on due to age, infirmity, or poverty level. Does anyone really think these people actually want to be old, sick, and poor? Why not get rid of the expensive programs for the rich instead?

Rabbi, before suggesting what to cut from where, I suggest you take a walk down the hill from where you live and see how the rest of us live.

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