Storytime Tapestry Newsletter

The newsletter devoted to spreading love and cultural awareness around the world.

March 18, 2008

 Today’s Announcement

 Don’t forget to order your copy of Angels Watching Over Me, the story of an ordinary woman facing less than ordinary challenges.  Angels Watching Over Me is a story of family love, sacrifices, poverty and an undying faith that makes heroes out of all of us. Here is the link in case you have forgotten it: http://www.lulu.com/content/964306

Important notice: Storytime Tapestry is a free e-zine, however donations are always needed to help with the operating expenses of running the newsletter and to keep Storytime Tapestry the quality newsletter you are so accustomed to.   You can make your donations to paypal at: winterose@videotron.ca, or if you would prefer to use the mail system contact the publisher at the same email address: winterose@videotron.ca

Today’s Stories

WARREN BUFFET: SHIFT THE TAX BURDEN TO THE WEALTHY

Duane Bates

This morning, March 3, 2008, Warren Buffet, one of the wealthiest persons in the world, is the guest of CNBC.  The Oracle of Omaha is discussing a wide variety of subjects, including the distribution of the Federal income tax burden.  Once again, he has questioned the fairness of the Federal tax burden, pointing out that he pays a rate of about 17% while all the people that work for him in his office pay over 30% when Social Security taxes are included.  He believes that the tax burden should fall heaviest on the group of taxpayers, like himself, that have received the greatest benefit from the opportunities afforded them by America. Here are the numbers that support his position.

Below is income and tax statistics for 2005, the latest year for which detailed information is available, based on actual IRS tax returns for that year.

                                     (DOLLARS IN MILLIONS EXCEPT FOR AVG INCOME/RETURN)

                                    Tax Filers                           Tax Filers               All Tax                             

Bottom 75%                           Top 25%                Returns                     

Total Income              $2,438,503                              $5,069,455                  $7,507,958

Total Fed Tax             $   130,944                                   $   803,797                       $   934,741          

Federal Tax %                           5.4%                                    15.8%                 12.5%

 No. Of Tax Returns            99,518,727                              33,458,728                  132,977,455

Avg. Income/Return         $24,508                                    $151,517                     $54,461

The average income for the bottom 75% of tax filers in 2005 was $24,508.  The 99,518,727 tax returns in this category covered slightly over 200 million Americans, men, women and children, two-thirds of the entire population.  For the 66,305,818 tax returns in the bottom 50% of tax filers, the average income was $14,572.

If we would had eliminated Federal Income taxes on the bottom 75% of tax filers in 2005, they would have had almost $131 billion in additional income in that year, providing them with funds to purchase healthcare, save for their retirement, or educate their children.  Based on Buffet’s suggestion, that $131 billion would have been added to the tax bills of the top 25% of tax filers, raising their average tax rate from 15.8% to 18.4%.  By comparison, their tax rate in 1980 was 19.1%.

Removing about 100 million Federal Tax returns would allow us to reduce the size of the IRS, cut back on other Federal programs like food stamps and other welfare programs and save our hospitals millions in medical care that is currently written off because people do not have the money to pay for health care.  It would also reduce the number of bankruptcies, 50% of which are caused by healthcare costs.

 Duane Bates

batesduane@yahoo.com

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23228640

 ~**~**~

  Women against Violence

 Janice Bumbalough Marler

Let me tell you a little about myself, I am a former police office, and a God loving Christian.  I have seen it all.  I have taken class after class on battering, emotional abuse, physical abuse, and rape.  I could go on and on...  I learned that the abuser picked this up at home.  I learned the abuser, without counseling, will continue to abuse. 

I have witnessed abuse over and over again as a police officer.  One lady had been beaten so badly her left eye was almost out of its socket; we took her report, contacted the shelter, and was able to get her the medical attention she needed..  When it came time for her to press charges, she dropped them and went back to her abuser. With Gods help you can leave and not look back.  For some reason the victim feels she/he deserves this kind of treatment, or, they feel there is no place for them to go.  Lack of education, child care, transportation, and funds keep the victim in that environment.

Recently I wrote a poem called ‘D.I.V.O.R.C.E.’   I didn’t write the poem about me; I wrote it because my daughter is going through a divorce.   She had been a victim of abuse for over thirty years.  I pleaded with her to get out before it destroyed her entire family.   I prayed and prayed for her and her situation.  After thirty two years she made that decision. 

My daughter and her family have suffered at his hands far to long.  She is fortunate.   There are a lot of women who continue to return to their abusers only to lose their lives.   The abuser has to have complete control of his victim.  My daughter has a close friend that is a social worker; they work together with ‘The ARC’ in Ohio.  She has canceled my daughter and I believe she was instrumental in my daughter’s final decision.  Her sister has been a great encouragement to her too.  They are her rock; her children have been her rock, and God has been her solid rock.

She is a God loving woman, a gentle woman, kind, soft-hearted, and I could go on and on about her attributes.  

Did you know that the controlling abuser chooses women like her?  They seek out those they can easily control.  When the abused woman gets her ‘back bone’ the abuser goes into a rage.  They wear two faces, one for the public, and the other at home;  The abuser will never change unless they seek help.

If you or anyone you know is a victim, please, please steer them in the right direction and give them channels they can forge.  We can’t tell a woman in this situation what to do but we did give them the tools to work with. 

Janice Bumbalough Marler

poetrybyjan@nc.rr.com

Poetry Corner

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Irish Poem

Tim Kevin

Aye Lass' show me the Depth
Of your devotion to the Cause
An I'll show you the Length I'll go
To win your lovely Prize without pause
-
I'll take on all the lads in Kilkeny an Galway
And challenge them too in Cork an Tipperary
Run them off in Kildare, Mayo an Limerick too
After winning the day in Monaghan an Kerry
-
Yes darlin' we'll campaign to win it all
I'll meet ye in Dublin when the funs to begin
Dressed in your finest for this assignation
That I hope to carry off without me fallin' in
-
by ..... The IrishWarlock
Copyright c 3-17-'08
All Rights Reserved

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Readers Feedback

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Here is our Storytime Tapestry Angels: Also, I would like to thank those of you who chose to be a silent angel and gave an anonymous donation to keep Storytime Tapestry up and running.

Clara Westerfer, Mark Crider, Rosanne Catalano, Paula Booher, Kay Seefeldt, Mariane Holbrook, Mary Ellen Grisham, Louise Nomani, Sharon Bryant, Angela Walker, Hart and Helen Dowd, Keith Ready, Ginger Morgenstern, Ellie Braun-Haley, Surinder Jandu, Bob Shaw, Carol Meeks, Charlotte Hilliard, Marilyn Sink, Victor Buhagiar, Clarice Hinson, Conrad