Another great fall day

Am I going on too much about how much I love this weather? I love days when I can be outside and not sweat : ) As I was walking today, I thought about how thankful I am for where we live. I am not a huge fan of our apartment, but it is three blocks away from Jon's preschool, two blocks away from the grocery store, about a half mile away from our town square, post office, bank, and about a mile away from the library, park, and recreation center. So even though I don't have a car during the week, I can get pretty much everything done that I need to. Over the summer, I just got used to being drenched in sweat, and now I am really, really enjoying walking around this little town. Jon has also learned the word 'outside,' and understands what 'we'll go outside after your nap' means, so we are frequent visitors to the park. This time last year I was still depressed about not living in Memphis, so I didn't enjoy myself very much. But I'm making up for lost time now. When we first moved here, I think I felt that I had lost my little neighborhood in Midtown, and how could I ever get that back. I just needed to rethink my definition of neighborhood. The same amount of space that is Midtown Memphis is pretty much the entire town of San Marcos. As I walked home for the grocery store this afternoon - having to take a couple of breaks, because I really bought more than I could comfortably carry - I had a flashback to lugging groceries from Schnuck's to our apartment in Memphis the year we didn't have a car. So this post started as a note about how beautiful it outside and came around to another realization that San Marcos is becoming home.

Definition of Regressive Tax and why Megan does not like it

With the 2012 presidential election season upon us, I thought I'd just chime in a bit on the ridiculousness that seems to be catching on, namely Herman Cain's regressive tax plan. Let's review the difference between a regressive and a progressive tax. A regressive tax, also known as flat tax, or "fair" tax, taxes all income earners at the same rate. A progressive tax taxes income earners at different rates based on their level of income. A lot of people say that progressive taxation is not fair because you are punishing success. May I explain how I see regressive taxation as being unfair, or at least harmful to those who we really need to try to help?

So, if we all pay the same percentage in income tax, let's just say...oh...9.1%, that means that a family who earns $200,000 a year will pay around $18,200 in taxes, leaving them around $181,800 disposable income to spend on health care, housing, food, utilities, fun, etc. Now look at a family who earns $40,000. They will pay $3,640 in taxes, leaving them $36,340 disposable income to spend on health care, housing, food, utilities, etc. As someone in the latter category, I can tell you that $3,640 would be a significant tax increase compared to the present tax code. We spend our disposable income on our health coverage, rent on an 800 square foot apartment, food, utilities, gas for our one used car, and student loans. Our luxury spending would probably be preschool for our almost 2 year old and fancy cell phones. I'm not including internet as a luxury, because I work from home, so internet is a work expense. All that said, I think that when it comes to the impact on daily life, a "fair" tax impacts the lower income negatively compared to the higher income, since raising taxes on low-middle and low-income families affects their ability to buy adequate food, health coverage, and housing. I may go out on a limb and say that raising taxes on millionaires affects their ability to buy vacation homes, pass wealth on to their heirs, and...I honestly don't know what the rich do with their money. A gallon of milk costs the same for someone making $7.50 an hour and someone making a million dollars a year, however, it is a greater percentage of the former worker's disposable income.

Cain's plan would also get rid of all tax deductions except charitable giving. The charitable deduction benefits basically the wealthy, since many low income and low-middle income families who give an equal percentage of their income away to charitable organizations do not give the minimum amount to qualify for the tax deduction.

Herman Cain admits that some would see their taxes increase with his plan, although he seems to think this is only based on what they spend. This tax policy would increase the income tax rate that low-middle and low income earners pay as well as most likely double their sales tax. Cain's answer to this is to tell people to buy more used goods instead of new goods. My husband asked if restaurant food is considered used goods... Our family could not buy more used goods than we already do. We cannot buy used food, used diapers, used soap, used health care, used internet service, or used gas. We already live in a used condo and drive a used car.

Jonathan tells me not to get so worried, because he doesn't think Cain will move forward, and even if he did happen to win the election, there is no way this tax plan would pass. What worries me is that so many people seem to think that a slick campaign message is more important than the substance of that message. I have mentioned to many friends that I am more than willing to pay more in taxes if it means that public programs and safety nets are kept in place. I will say that I am willing to pay more in taxes, but not if it means that the wealthy get a tax break while I get a tax increase. That is what seems unfair to me.

Counting

Jon and I were reading a book yesterday, and I counted out five birds for him. When Jonathan came home from work, Jon wanted to show him how he could count:

"Two, three, two, three, two...two birds!"

Hello Fall!!

After a long, hot, dry summer, I cannot tell you how excited I am that Fall is finally here! I took three walks today! Well, one to drop Jon off at preschool, one to pick him up, and then one early in the evening just 'cause the weather is so beautiful : ) I have had all of the windows open today, and I am even wearing a long sleeved shirt. Yes, I wear long sleeved shirts when it is in the 80s! That is what a summer of 100+ degree days has done to me. To put it in perspective, I have a new friend who just moved here from New Jersey, and she has commented on how excited she is to get to still wear shorts in October...and I think it's cool : ) I cooked pork tenderloin with apples and onions for dinner last night, and the whole apartment just smelled like Fall.

Hope everyone is enjoying Fall where ever you are!

One firefighter

In my last blog post, I wrote about Jon's new words. I think I'm just so happy, because I thought this kid was never going to start talking! It seems like everyday he says more new words, and I am very excited to see him learning. Of course, it is also much easier to communicate when both of us talk! His newest words are 'yay,' 'hi,' 'no,' 'now,' and 'bye,' although he pronounces it 'die.' Jon hasn't so much gotten down the 'b' sound - all of his 'b' words come out as 'd' words. Normal, anyone? So throughout the day, I hear "die tar" (bye guitar), "two cat yay!" and much more. He has the number two down, and sometimes three, but that's about it. Today he was playing with a car, and here was our conversation:
Megan: One car, Jon (holding up one finger)
Jon: Two car? (holding up two fingers)
Megan: No Jon, one car.
Jon: Two car? (holding up two fingers)
Megan: No sweetie, one car.
By that time, he just gave up. A little later he did indeed have two cars in his hands, at which point he exclaimed, "two car, yay!"

So here is one firefighter: (eating a cookie)

Happy Birthday!

We celebrated Jonathan's birthday last night with dinner out and a birthday cake! (Note: eating actual birthday cake with birthday cake ice cream is TOO MUCH!) We tried out a new restaurant for us, Japaneiro Latino. I had to take a picture because I thought the name of the restaurant was hilarious. I was expecting some Japanese Latin fusion, and they did have some interesting sushi rolls. The one I picked out was topped with crawfish, something I had never experienced before. Jonathan ordered two rolls that were almost too beautiful to eat, but he ate them anyway ; ) Jon pretty much ate rice. We ordered some tempura for him, but he wasn't really interested. He spent most of the dinner coloring.





Now Jonathan's entry is going to be overcome by proud mom news. Jon's vocabulary has really blossomed lately! I was a bit worried about his words, and I was hoping that preschool two days a week would help. He has added 'shoes,' 'bye,' 'two,' 'orange,' and 'nose' to his vocabulary just in the past week or so. This morning while I was changing his diaper, he pointed to his nose and said nose for the first time. I gave him two high fives for that, and of course he had to say 'two.' At his last pediatrician visit, she asked if he was putting two words together, and he wasn't : ( but now he says "two shoes" and "Mama shoes" or "Dada shoes" so we think that he is headed in the right direction. Of course his favorite word is 'guitar' - or as he says it 'tar.' I really wanted to get him an IKEA kids kitchen for Christmas, but I think we might be getting him a guitar.

Back to Jonathan now! Big Happy Birthday to the best husband and daddy in the world : ) We love you very much!

First Day of MDO/Preschool

Jon started Mother's Day Out/Preschool yesterday! I only cried a little bit as I walked out of the building. The director was standing out there greeting parents, and she assured me that Jon would be okay and I could call later in the day if I needed to. I told her I wasn't worried about him, I knew he would have fun. It's just another one of those steps closer to growing up. Jonathan reminds me that Jon will leave one day, and I try to tell him that I'm not going to bar the door or anything. I don't want to be one of those parents who never wants her kids to be out on their own, but I do think it's okay to get a little sad about your baby getting bigger.

He - of course - had a great time, ate all his lunch (the teachers wrote in bold, underlined script that I need to pack more for him to eat), got very dirty (why did I send him in a white shirt?), took his nap, and didn't hit/bite/push anyone (yay!).

And I think I got a great picture for his senior yearbook : ) (...sniff, sniff)