The Clean Edit of My Last Post

NOTE: For those of you with tender sensibilities, here's the Airplane Movie Version (the "radio edit" if you will) of my last post.

Growth for Justice, a progressive liberal "think" tank, bought a full page ad in the Strib today to convince you that you are [CENSORED]. Signed by about two hundred well-noted advocates for the spending of other people's money - including Ted and Walter Mondale, Mike Cerisi and [CENSORED] - this ad tries to convince us lesser life forms that, despite all indications to the contrary, we aren't taxed enough. Some highlights:

WE CAN AFFORD TO PAY MORE STATE TAXES. AND WE CAN'T AFFORD NOT TO.

[CENSORED]

We're not investing as much as we used to -

[CENSORED] Oh - there's more:

- as a share of personal income, state and local government is about $3 billion smaller than a decade ago...

[CENSORED]

It's still a vast, bloated, bureaucratic goliath.

Let's skip the list of "investments" these socialists think are "needed" to make a "better" Minnesota:

In the Real Prosperity strategy, the 2% of Minnesotans with the highest earnings would pay about 2 cents more per dollar earned...

[CENSORED]

...We are among the people who would pay more than most under this plan, and we believe that is appropriate.

*Ahem*:

[PICTURE EXCISED]

Like I said: that's easy for you to say when RJ Reynolds is making the payments on your Manhattan penthouse. You people are living in LaLa Land. [CENSORED]

You know, how about we split the difference. Why doesn't the legislature just amend the tax forms to allow generous rich folks like yourselves to pay (happily) what you think is an appropriate amount over and above your actual tax liability. [CENSORED] we'll even tolerate you bragging about it.

[CENSORED]

And why do I think that this "plan" doesn't spare the, um, less than "rich"? Oh, because it wouldn't:

Most Minnesotans would pay a penny - more or less -

[CENSORED]

...and families struggling to make ends meet on less than $45,000 a year would pay virtually nothing.

"Virtually" nothing?

[CENSORED]

[CENSORED]

(Doesn't lose a bit from the original, does it?)