PAYING HOMAGE ON APRIL 15TH: REMEMBER THE INTEGRATOR, THE EMANCIPATOR, AND OH YES, THE CALCULATOR

One
of the more multi-anniversaried days on the American calendar is April
15th.  In 1947 that day marked the beginning of Jackie Robinson’s
major league career, integrating baseball and enhancing our country,
and alas, this date also marks the date of Abraham Lincoln’s death, in
the year, 1865, due to some very pro-active politics of the time. 
And, of course, on (or about) April 15th, our taxes must be calculated
and paid.  One of our favorite anecdotes regarding the certainty,
if not the equity of taxes in today’s USA involves a fairly solvent
Democrat arguing with a middle income Republican.  The Democrat
put it this way; although we disagree sharply on the fitness of this
president and this version of the GOP party, we do share a unique
political and economic symmetry which is echoed on tax day: 
namely that each election, I vote your (the middle classes’) economic
interests as a Democrat and you (as a Bush Republican) vote mine. 
Happy returns to all.