By Dawn Stanger, Vermont Workers Center Steering Committee Member

Is it a new idea to tax the rich more than other Vermonters? No. But.... isn't it a good idea?

The President wanted us to shop like crazy after 9/11, while workers were getting laid off with the highest-ever level of personal debt. Now Vermont is cutting state services because of the recession. Why can't we seem to understand that capitalism is cyclical, and save for downturns? After all, who benefited from that boom? Not us workers. Just what are Vermont's economic 'values'?

The idea of cutting state services when they're most needed is just plain stupid. Vermonters often don't get paid enough or have health insurance from their jobs. The state really subsidizes employers who won't pay livable wages. Over the last decades, corporations have shifted their tax burden to us. 1% of Americans now have more wealth than the bottom 40%. CEOs make, on average, 531 times what workers make. 40% of Bush's tax cuts go to those who earn more than $350,000 a year.

I think we all better take a long, hard look at our democracy. We need our government to control these wealthy interests, not to pander to them.

Listen, I load trucks for a living. When ENRON pays less tax than me, something's rotten. Cutthroat, dog-eat-dog practices have become part of our business culture, not just at Enron, but worldwide. Rich people just buy favorable legislation now- privatization, deregulation, all those "ations" that screw the rest of us. We've seen "trickle down" scams before and we're just not gonna buy it again.

Listen; is it fair to tax childless Vermonters for schools? I believe it is, though I don't have any kids. Education lessens crime, kids invigorate my town, and, it's just, well... ethical. It's a public good. What kind of patriotism is it, that the rich don't feel an obligation to pay more? I say tax capital gains at a higher rate than earned income, not lower. After all, how many hours do you work to earn interest? Does the work ethic only apply to welfare recipients?

You can tell me again and again there's no class war in the U.S..... I'll still say it's time for the rich to pony up. You know, Argentina was following U.S. economic policies when her citizens decided they could no longer 'go along' with the economic system crushing them. I say tax the rich, rescind any budget cuts, and raise the level of services during hard times. We must all rise together. Workers want bread, but we still want roses too.

I'm Dawn Stanger with the Vermont Worker's Center, and that's the way I see it.