Category Archives: Taxes

The worst failures of American urban planning

This post looks at macro-scale urban planning failures to identify what this retired planner believes are/were the worst blunders that have taken place in American urban planning, as a profession. Keep in mind that urban planning includes a lot of … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, architecture, Bus transportation, cities, civics, Civil Rights, commerce, culture, demographics, density, diversity, downtown, economic development, environment, geography, government, health, historic preservation, history, Housing, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, injustice, land use, placemaking, planning, racism, rail, rivers/watersheds, social equity, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, Taxes, traffic, transit, transportation, urban design, urban planning, walking, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Your live in a tax haven when…

Late March/early April here in the States seemed like the perfect time of the year for this satirical post. Enjoy! There are nonstop flights to Switzerland, Grand Cayman, Luxembourg, and Monaco, but no place else. More Wall Street brokerage firms … Continue reading

Posted in branding, Cars, charities, cities, civics, civility, commerce, consumerism, culture, economics, fun, geography, globalization, government, history, humanity, land use, marketing, movies, placemaking, politics, satire, Taxes | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Your community is a tax haven when…

There are direct flights to Switzerland, Grand Cayman, and Monaco, but no place else. More Wall Street brokerage firms have offices there than on Wall Street itself. Gordon Gekko is mayor. Streets are paved with gold and silver bullion. There … Continue reading

Posted in air travel, cities, civics, civility, commerce, consumerism, economic development, Economy, globalization, government, infrastructure, land use, movies, placemaking, politics, satire, spatial design, Taxes, transportation, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

If the three windbags (Limbaugh, Hannity, and Beck) ruled the earth

I and whole lot of other people would move to another planet immediately. Cape Girardeau, Missouri would be named world capital. Women would be instantly second class citizens. Egotistical would be mandated as a positive trait. Facts and the truth would be … Continue reading

Posted in censorship, civics, civility, Communications, deregulation, diversity, entertainment, feminism, government, Guns, humanity, politics, racism, satire, Sexism, Taxes, Television, Women | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Scenes from Occupy Lansing – 10/15/11

Quite a day at Michigan’s state capitol building as the Occupy movement arrived at the steps of the people’s house at 10 am. Despite very chilly winds, a crowd of 1,000+ joined organizers to hear speeches, set an agenda, and … Continue reading

Posted in censorship, civics, Climate Change, deregulation, diversity, economics, Environment, feminism, gay rights, government, homelessness, Love, peace, pictures, politics, pollution, poverty, Privatization, States, Taxes, unemployment | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

A’int it da’ truth

Posted in Alternative energy, Cars, civility, Climate Change, deregulation, economics, education, Environment, politics, pollution, Renewable Energy, Taxes | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

What would a Republican recruitment video look like?

I had that thought the other day while thinking of a woman I spoke to during my calls for OFA. Laurie has had incredibly poor fortune the past few years. She and her husband both had health emergencies in 2008. … Continue reading

Posted in civics, deregulation, diversity, government, homelessness, immigration, peace, politics, poverty, racism, Science, Sexism, Taxes, unemployment | Leave a comment

We can’t pick and choose where tax dollars go

Believe me, I wish we could decide how our tax money is spent. But as far as I know, abortion is the one thing we can say for certain that our tax money doesn’t fund. If I could choose, I … Continue reading

Posted in civics, economics, Taxes | 3 Comments

The spectrum of empathy

I’ve become really interested in empathy since reading George Lakoff’s “The Political Mind.” So I was fascinated to read “The science of empathy” by Simon Baron-Cohen. He suggests we think of empathy as a spectrum, with people we typically consider … Continue reading

Posted in civility, education, Love, politics, poverty, Taxes | 2 Comments

Taxes are a form of insurance

While everyone, including me, has grumbled about paying their taxes from time to time, that does not mean they are unnecessary.  Taxes play a vital role in the provision of services at all levels of government. Personally, I like to … Continue reading

Posted in economics, government, Taxes | Tagged , | Leave a comment