Cry me a freakin' river

The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan (March 01, 2009) - The View From Your Recession

A reader writes into Andrew Sullivan:

I work for a small, 5-year old non-profit arts organization in Illinois. A couple of our usual big donors have indicated we should be prepared for smaller donations this year, and possibly none in the next couple of years. The are mentioning Obama's tax plans and their need to save money now in anticipation of that. A lot of my colleagues in the not-for-profit world are really scared right now, and we are not happy with Obama. We hear the rhetoric that the government is going to have a reserve to give to non-profits that will make up for some of the lost donations, but the fact is, we have never received federal aid, and likely never would (assuming the organization could even make it that far). Organizations are going to be killed under Obama's plan. I may have voted myself out of a job, and voted a whole community of kids out of art-making opportunities. Frankly, this sucks.

Too bad. I'm sorry you may lose your job. But I'm also sorry millions have already lost their jobs...and their health insurance. If Obama's tax hike on wealthy families causes your non-profit some financial discomfort, it will be because our nation is finally righting an embarrassing wrong from over the last 100 years. While all of our developed competitors and allies offer health insurance to all their citizens, we do not. Obama's tax increase will finally assure health care to all Americans. If a few kids have fewer arts opportunities as a result, you want me to what? Cry for you? DON'T WAIT AROUND TOO LONG.