Political Implications Of The Cognitive Surplus

Do we really have a cognitive surplus? This is pretty convincing.



Maybe, just maybe, we have just enough cognitive surplus to create a community driven Next Right. Not only would it would be interesting to find out, we could conceivably create activist envy.

Locavore

What is a locavore? It’s a part of the concept of local purchasing and local economies and a preference to buy locally produced goods and services. Those who prefer to eat locally grown/produced food.

There are twenty-six farms in Hampden County alone and there are 34 Buying Clubs or Community Supported Agriculture (CSA’s) in Massachusetts, http://www.organicconsumers.org/which generally use environmentally sustainable, biodynamic growing techniques using no pesticides, herbicides, or chemical fertilizers of any kind. They see their farms as a living system, where its elements work together to build and maintain soil fertility. Through a balanced crop rotation and a strict composting and cover cropping system, they leave the land better than they found it.

Personally, I buy all of my spring, summer and fall produce locally and I’m considering sponsoring a Locavore Challenge to area residents, (see the 100-Mile Diet below).

A locavore is someone who eats food grown or produced locally or within a certain radius such as 50, 100, or 150 miles. The locavore movement encourages consumers to buy from farmers’ markets or even to produce their own food, with the argument that fresh, local products are more nutritious and taste better. Local grown food is an environmentally friendly means of obtaining food, since supermarkets that import their food use more fossil fuels and non-renewable resources.

“Locavore” was coined by Jessica Prentice from San Francisco Bay Area on the occasion of World Environment Day, 2005 to describe and promote the practice of eating a diet consisting of food harvested from within an area most commonly bound by a 100 mile radius. The word "Localvore" is sometimes also used. The New Oxford American Dictionary chose locavore, a person who seeks out locally produced food, as its word of the year 2007. The local foods movement is gaining momentum as people discover that the best-tasting and most sustainable choices are foods that are fresh, seasonal, and grown close to home. Some locavores draw inspiration from the 100-Mile Diet or from advocates of local eating like Barbara Kingsolver. Others just follow their taste buds to farmers' markets, community supported agriculture programs, and community gardens.

Another effect is the increase in food quality and taste. Locally grown fresh food is consumed almost immediately after harvest, so it is sold fresher and usually riper, as it would be from a home garden. Also, the need for chemical preservatives and irradiation to artificially extend shelf life is reduced or eliminated.

So, why am I writing about this on a Republican Blog? Because I believe we should encourage our Massachusetts lawmakers to actively oppose legislation, which burdens family farms with an estate tax, which in some cases will prevent that farm from remaining in a family and may be forced to close. 2010 will see the tax completely repealed, while in 2011, the tax will be reinstated at a federal exemption level of $1 million per person. The reason for this flip-flopping is that Congress didn't have the votes to permanently push through such a tax cut, so it settled for a temporary fix that passes the buck of settling the matter to the future lawmakers.

The Massachusetts estate tax is “decoupled” from the federal estate tax system. So that any tax demanded from the IRS is viewed as a credit by Massachusetts. While the Massachusetts credit for tax paid in another jurisdiction appears to prevent multiple state death taxes from being imposed on the property of a Massachusetts resident decedent, it does not prevent Massachusetts from effectively taxing a resident decedent’s property located outside of Massachusetts.

Under the current Massachusetts estate tax, the amount of the tax payable by the estate of a resident decedent is equal to the amount of the credit for state death taxes that would have been allowable by the resident decedent’s estate computed under Internal Revenue Code. For example, a Massachusetts resident decedent who owned Massachusetts real estate valued at $5,000,000 and Florida real estate valued at $5,000,000, calculates his estate tax starting with a gross estate of $10,000,000.
Assuming no deductions, the Massachusetts estate tax is calculated as follows:

Taxable Estate $ 10,000,000
Less: $60,000 per IRC § 2011(b)(3) (60,000)
Adjusted Taxable Estate $ 9,940,000
Times: Effective Tax Rate 10.74%
Total Massachusetts Estate Tax $ 1,067,600

There appears to be evidence that this is unconstitutional.

Let’s do all we can to preserve our family owned farms in Massachusetts, first by trading with them and then by giving our lawmakers a little home-grown direction.

Opinions expressed on this site are those of the relevant contributors. Not all committee members necessarily share those opinions.

Discrimination to smokers in Mass

For years and years, politicians have always been trying to stomp out smoking in this state. We've heard all the rhetoric. I've taken my D.A.R.E. classes. We've seen the endless amount anti-smoking advertisements on television and magazines, and, now, we're seeing a $1 tax increase on our packs of cigarettes in this state. Force through taxation. How disgusting. It's probably as disgusting as the act of smoking itself.

Now, this either will motivate a person to either quit smoking all together or smoke even more because he/she is outraged by such a ridiculous increase. Whether you feel that smoking is terrible or relaxing is simply one's own opinion, but people should make their own choices and face the consequences of them. If you decide to smoke, you face the higher risk of getting lung cancer and other diseases. If you decide not to smoke... well... you still face the risk of lung cancer and other diseases. Don't ask me. Nature works in strange ways.

Anyways, I don't believe this new tax increase on cigarettes will solve anything or bring much more revenue to the state. People will find ways to avoid paying such wacko prices to enjoy a smoke. You can order cartons from out of state for much cheaper online, or one can simply take a road trip to New Hampshire once a month and stock up on their favorite brands. Some people will actually grow tobacco themselves! I can only sense backfire in this new step.

However, smokers should never be punished for wanting to enjoy tobacco in the comfort of their own homes. Gas and grocery prices are climbing oh so rapidly and now politicians want to make problems worse by making the very thing that gives (temporary) relief from such burdens more expensive. This is nothing more than abuse to the consumer.

I am a smoker, but do not recommend it in any way shape or form. It is a person's choice to smoke or not. One can beat the anti-smoking message to people, one can tax the living daylights out of cigarettes, and one can even outright ban cigarettes from the state but you will always have smokers, because like children, once you say, "You can't have that." to someone, it will only make that person more curious and want to try it even more. It's time we step aside and let people take personal responsibility for their actions and stop punishing individuals through taxation.

Now that I've got myself worked up, I'm going out for a smoke!

Benjamin Dickmann

Opinions expressed on this site are those of the relevant contributors. Not all committee members necessarily share those opinions.