Limits Are Only For the Poor

The Michigan state Senate approved a bill that would establish a lifetime limit of 48 months for receiving welfare benefits. It is estimated that 12,600 families in the state will be affected immediately.

Republican Governor Rick Snyder is expected to sign the bill into law as soon as it arrives on his desk. The 48-month limit will be applied retroactively, meaning affected families will lose an average of $515 a month beginning on October 1.

The bill in its rough form was previously passed by the lower house and will be presented to Snyder after some “technical” edits. It will then go to the House for approval when the session opens on July 27. A spokesperson for Republican House Speaker Jase Bolger said that approval will be just a formality. “This has been a priority of our caucus since day one,” he said.

The signing of the bill into law will make Michigan one of the US states with the most draconian conditions for families hardest hit by the economy.
~ from Michigan Welfare Benefits Cut to 48 Months by James Brewer ~

Why is it that limits of this nature only seem to be applied to the poor? Why is it that the least powerful and most needy have targets painted on their backs? You know the answer to these questions. Greed rules!

If states and the federal government are primed to place these sorts of limits on the poor, why don't we do the same for the rich? Here are some ideas that embrace the same 48-month limit.

• Lower taxes on the richest 10% - Grant them some egregiously low tax rate like 5%, but it can only be claimed for 4 tax years over the person's lifetime. The rest of the time they must pay the going rate without any deductions.
  
• Property tax abatements - Award them to any company that wants them, but they can only claim the abatement 4 times per century. The rest of the time they can pay property tax like everybody else.
  
• Drop the corporate income tax rate to 0 - Again, any corporation could take advantage of this program, but only 4 times per century. The rest of the time it will stand as a flat tax of 35%.

Whaddya say, Corporate America? You like limits now?