AAA, Universal Health Care,Taxes and...Happiness?

Coincidence or Cause & Effect

Social Underpants and Happiness

Who knew?  Sunday's Chicago Trib listed the countries with a AAA credit rating.  After perusing the list, it struck me that the "T-Pack's"  talking points blaming the debt on too much money in the social safety net and a rabid need for more tax cuts should be challenged using the AAA countries as "evidence".  

After using the Google Machine, seems these countries have either Universal Health Care, or a dual system with strict price controls.  Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Isle of Man, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK all have a "better" credit rating than the US (at the moment) and overall, a better health care system.  Coincidence?

This begged the question, what about taxes?  After perusing http://www.taxrates.cc   Most AAA Nations tax Corporations at a much higher rate.  Doesn't look like any of them have a 5% rate that the 'holiday supporters' are asking for.  Hell, even Hong Kong and Singapore seem to have common sense tax policies. Corporate America - your under-tax pants are showing.  Stop tugging on them and tell Alec to call the dogs off.

Further, these Nations have progressive tax rates for their citizens.  Unlike the fuknutz taxation policies of the US - or lack there of - it seems the AAA Nation's wealthiest citizens pay their fair share.   Coincidence?  Didn't a Nobel laureate & POTUS talk extensively about....revenues?

Adding to this little noggin' scratcher, earlier this year much ado was made of the "10 Happiest Countries."  It seems that Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland were all on that list, too.  Hmmm - curiouser and curiouser.  

Of course, paying taxes does not make people happy.  However, believing taxes are fair, equitable, and used for social good does make it more palatable.  Unless you're a member of the T-Pack or the GOP.

To paraphrase Lewis Black - taxes do not make the GOP or the T-Pack happy - taxes make them cry. 

Somewhere along the line in the discussion spun by the radical, kooky right,  taxes have become inseparable from the great evil of old school socialism.   Let's call it "The Theory of Very Bad Social Underpants."  If Socialism - or the 21st century's enlightened versions of Democratic Socialism - is "very bad" why the hell do they have better credit than we do and what the hell are they so happy about? 

Just sayin'...