The Prince and The Pauper
We’re in the midst of reading Mark Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper and came across this bit in Chapter 16 earlier tonight:
“Be gracious to us, O sweet King!”
“Trample not upon thy beseeching worms, O noble Majesty!”
“Pity thy slaves, and comfort them with a royal kick!”
“Cheer us and warm us with thy gracious rays, O flaming sun of sovereignty!”
“Sanctify the ground with the touch of thy foot, that we may eat the dirt and be ennobled!”
“Deign to spit upon us, O Sire, that our children’s children may tell of thy princely condescension, and be proud and happy for ever!”
I guess it’s true. Some things never change. I just read this combo (separated by just a paragraph) on a mensnewsdaily.com post:
At the end of 2010, the Bush tax cuts will expire and tax rates will go up across the board. Even the 10% bracket will rise to 15%. There will once again be a marriage penalty on two-income families. A phaseout of itemized deductions and personal exemptions will return. The child tax credit will drop to half. The death tax will return at 55%. The capital gains tax will rise from 15% to 20%. Tax on dividends will increase from 15% to 39.6%.
Mercifully the government has provided a way for you to get a massive amount of your net worth out from under the growing tax burden…
Yes, please my liege, do kick me again. And thank you for your mercy.
