Twitter: @rodgermitchell; Search #monetarysovereignty
Facebook: Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
Mitchell’s laws:
●The more federal budgets are cut and taxes increased, the weaker an economy becomes.
●Austerity is the government’s method for widening the gap between rich and poor, which ultimately leads to civil disorder.
●Until the 99% understand the need for federal deficits, the upper 1% will rule.
●To survive long term, a monetarily non-sovereign government must have a positive balance of payments.
●Those, who do not understand the differences between Monetary Sovereignty and monetary non-sovereignty, do not understand economics.
●The penalty for ignorance is slavery.
●Everything in economics devolves to motive.
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For most of our history, many states held marriage between blacks and whites illegal. Finally, in 1967 (!), the Supreme Court ruled such laws unconstitutional.
Now the fight is about gay marriage, which the Supreme Court has almost, but not quite, ruled on.
Proponents of gay marriage talk about love and morality and fairness and children. For instance:
–If two people are in love and wish to marry, why should they be denied this happiness? Whom does it hurt?
–The federal government has no laws against two people of the same sex living together nor even of having sex together, so why should they be denied marriage?
–Why should gays and lesbians be treated as second class citizens, by not receiving the same legal benefits and protections that straights receive?
–What evidence exists that children raised by a gay couple have an inferior childhood, by any measure, to children raised in a straight marriage?
Opponents of gay marriage talk about the bible, tradition and promiscuity. For instance:
–God and the bible oppose gay marriage
–Gays are more promiscuous than straights
–Gays choose to be different when they should choose to be normal
–Marriage is for procration
–Gay marriage can lead to polygamy, bestiality and the spread of homosexuality to children and susceptible adults.
In short, those opposed are motivated by the “yuck factor.” Gay marriage feels wrong, so it must be wrong. Those favoring gay marriage are motivated by fairness, and “we’re not hurting anyone.”
But, there is one point that seems to be overlooked in all the endless hyperbole: Why does marriage endow couples with financial benefits?
For example, here are some of those marriage benefits, summarized:
NOLO
Federal Marriage Benefits Denied to Same-Sex Couples
Whether married or not, gay and lesbian same-sex couples are denied many federal benefits that are available to heterosexual married couples.Social Security Benefits
Spousal survivor benefit. A surviving spouse may be entitled to receive retirement benefits based on the deceased spouse’s earning record.
Spousal retirement benefit. A person whose calculated benefit is lower may take half of his spouse’s higher benefit.
Lump-sum death benefit. A surviving spouse gets $255 from the federal government to help pay for funeral arrangements.Tax Benefits
Filing joint income tax returns with the IRS offers advantages over separate returns.
Creating a “family partnership.” Married couples can divide business income among family members, resulting in big tax savings.Estate Tax and Estate Planning Benefits
Estate and gift tax exemption. Federal law exempts a certain amount of money from federal estate and gift taxes on property left to a surviving spouse.
Estate Tax “Portability.” Married couples can combine their personal estate tax exemptions.
Heterosexual married couples can create life estate trusts, including QTIP trusts and QDOT trusts.
The heterosexual spouses of deceased veterans are entitled to a myriad of benefits, including health care, death pensions, educational assistance, home loan guarantees, vocational training, and bereavement counseling.Federal Employment Benefits
Many of the employment benefits that the federal government provides to its employees and their families are tied to marriage status: Health insurance for spouses, and wages, worker’s compensation, health insurance, and retirement plan benefits for the surviving spouse of a deceased federal worker, the right to use sick time to care for a spouse or a child, the right to add a partner to a long-term care insurance program, and the right to use medical facilities at posts abroad, be evacuated for medical reasons from posts abroad, and be included in family size for housing allocations.Immigration Benefits
A non-U.S. citizen may obtain legal residency, and later citizenship status, when married to a U.S. citizen.
So the question is: Why all these government benefits of marriage? Or more accurately: Why does the government discriminate against single people?
That is the real question, never asked, much less answered.
(And why are single people not as angry as gays at this discrimination?)
Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
Monetary Sovereignty
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Nine Steps to Prosperity:
1. Eliminate FICA (Click here)
2. Medicare — parts A, B & D — for everyone
3. Send every American citizen an annual check for $5,000 or give every state $5,000 per capita (Click here)
4. Long-term nursing care for everyone
5. Free education (including post-grad) for everyone. Click here
6. Salary for attending school (Click here)
7. Eliminate corporate taxes
8. Increase the standard income tax deduction annually
9. Increase federal spending on the myriad initiatives that benefit America’s 99%
10 Steps to Economic Misery: (Click here:)
1. Maintain or increase the FICA tax..
2. Spread the myth Social Security, Medicare and the U.S. government are insolvent.
3. Cut federal employment in the military, post office, other federal agencies.
4. Broaden the income tax base so more lower income people will pay.
5. Cut financial assistance to the states.
6. Spread the myth federal taxes pay for federal spending.
7. Allow banks to trade for their own accounts; save them when their investments go sour.
8. Never prosecute any banker for criminal activity.
9. Nominate arch conservatives to the Supreme Court.
10. Reduce the federal deficit and debt
No nation can tax itself into prosperity, nor grow without money growth. Monetary Sovereignty: Cutting federal deficits to grow the economy is like applying leeches to cure anemia.
Two key equations in economics:
1. Federal Deficits – Net Imports = Net Private Savings
2. Gross Domestic Product = Federal Spending + Private Investment and Consumption – Net Imports
#MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY
#Monetary Sovereignty - Mitchell 
It has been asked, if not in so many words.
I said recently at
http://neweconomicperspectives.org/2013/06/justice-scalias-despairing-effort-to-disguise-domas-badge-of-inferiority-of-gays.html
“The larger question is why government is interested in marriage at all.”
And on this very blog, “Government ought to stick its nose out of marriage.”
It’s a view I’ve held for many years, since the “marriage penalty” was put into the income tax.
As for why single people as a group are not up in arms, maybe it’s because they are just as content with their situation as are married people (or, at least, the 50% of married people who don’t divorce). Gay couples, and gay singles for that matter, may feel (justifiably so) that they’ve been disrespected by their government, by some of their neighbors, and some even by their families, and many may be very unhappy with their lot, thus moved to publicly protest.
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Not sure why single people would be content paying more taxes than married people.
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Not all of them do. Two singles with nearly equal incomes could pay less than a married couple with the same total income, if they all have deductions limited by a % of income (e.g., medical). If everyone takes the standard deduction, their taxes would be essentially equal. A single person with the same income and deductions as a married couple would pay more tax, but in most instances that married couple would be working two jobs to make the same money; not quite apples to apples.
So, basically, differences in taxes are mostly due to differences in circumstances other than marital status.
The estate tax could be a big deal, depending on what year you died. But, then, that isn’t a tax on the single person, it is on his heirs regardless of their marital status.
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And, not to invent another marriage joke, I don’t think anyone would get married just to reduce taxes, and I don’t think that is a major motivation for the gay marriage movement. It’s kinda like getting an arm amputated to correct a hangnail.
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Maybe Batshyt Bachmann can weigh in on this…
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Rodger asks, “What evidence exists that children raised by a gay couple have an inferior childhood, by any measure, to children raised in a straight marriage?”
The evidence is obvious. Males and females have different “auras” that complement one another in yin / yang fashion. Children require the presence of both the male-father and female-mother psyches for optimal emotional development. Children without this pairing face extra emotional hurdles. For example, the absence of fathers is one factor that worsens crime, despair, and poverty in Black ghetto areas.
This is a fact. Denial will not change it. We may pretend that homosexual couples are the same as heterosexual couples in every respect, but it is nonsense.
Logically it is one thing to say that “A and B should have equal rights,” but it is another thing to claim that, “A and B are identical.” When it comes to males and females, or hetero-and homosexuals, the latter claim is a lie.
My own view is that what consenting adults do in their own home is their business, and no one else’s, as long as they do not harm or threaten harm to anyone outside the pair.
As for homosexuals being allowed to raise children, I am opposed to it, but that’s just my opinion.
Incidentally, if we legalize homosexual marriage, then we should also legalize polygamy.
On a related note, I think prostitution should be legalized too. Why is it legal to take money for sex if you are being filmed having sex, but illegal if you have sex in seclusion? It’s madness.
Of course, all societies are insane, and much strife arises from the never-ending campaign to uphold the lies and the madness. It is insane to deny the facts of Monetary Sovereignty, for example.
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Mark, that wasn’t exactly my question. That was one of the questions some gay marriage advocates may ask.
While I agree that the child-rearing record for single mothers isn’t as good as the record of couples, that is not the same as gay marriage.
The point of the post was not to advocate for gay marriage, but to wonder why single people are being screwed by the government.
And as for male and female “psyches,” I don’t think you, as a no-nonsense, fact-based guy really buy into that psychobabble.
You’re just having fun with me.
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Huh? Men and women are not different? Okay, this is one topic where your opinion and mine are diametrically opposed. Actually there are many topics in which our views are at opposite extremes, but I don’t waste time arguing for my position, since I think the basic thrust of your blog is too important.
UNRELATED…
Austerity is theft. It is the acceleration of inequality. It consists of fiscal elements (increased taxes and reduced federal spending) and “reform” elements (increased privatization and reduced regulation for the rich). (Plus increased regulation and monitoring of the not-rich.)
Today John Cable (British Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills) announced the privatization of the UK’s centuries old mail service, Royal Mail. This will be the biggest privatization since the British railways in the 1990s.
Postal rates will skyrocket, service will be cut, and thousands of postal employees will be terminated.
The USA can’t be far behind.
Every individual who denies the facts of Monetary Sovereignty contributes to this theft. Every idiot who screams “inflation!” helps the rich get richer at our expense. Every maggot who says that MMT is “nonsense” is dedicated to inequality. Even MMT people who claim there is “no proof” that politicians are paid to promote austerity – they too promote poverty.
Thus, most people deserve to be enslaved.
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My problem with psychologists is they too often say their intuitive generalizations apply to specific cases.
I have the same problem with mainstream economists.
Oh, by the way, your prediction about selling the post office may be right on target.
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Mark, do you really believe anyone gives a crap about your opinions regarding homosexuals, their child rearing ability or whether they should marry? You honestly believe you are superior to most persons. Well, little man, let me set you straight, you are not. You are an intolerant fool.
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I would say we are speculating on what will happen to children of gay couples. I think it’s too early to tell. After enough time we can gather the data on what happens to these kids. Time will tell, speculation will not. There’s a Ph.D dissertation waiting to be written if it already hasn’t.
I think government favors marriage due to it’s impact on the economy–home buying, furniture buying, appliance buying, etc., raising future taxpayers, needing to work and pay taxes. Single people are happy-go-lucky, got it made, and don’t need any legal shoring up.
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Marriage was around long before government got involved in it. It was there when there was no separation between church and state, when the king was also the leader of the church, in Europe. I don’t know whether there was favoritism then of married couples over singles (unmarried couples were mainly “in the closet” back then, I think, whatever their sexual orientation).
All the legal provisions mentioned in this post are related to relatively new, American institutions. The provisions for married couples were quite logical when those institutions were created. In those days, marriage almost always meant a working husband and a stay-at-home mom. Marriage was “until death do us part”, almost every time. Many of the provisions were designed to protect women who had no separate source of income.
As relationships have evolved, some of those provisions now seem discriminatory, not only against gay couples, but against singles as well. It is a stretch, though, to say that government set out to consciously discriminate. I think, rather, that the law is simply lagging the changes in social mores, as it always does.
A large number of Americans still believe in the “Ozzie and Harriett” model of marriage, and it is painful for them to see it change, and so they resist. They will not prevail. It will just take a while. Big changes don’t happen overnight.
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