Rosalie Maggio

Things I Wonder About…

What would happen if, when we paid our taxes each year, 50% of whatever we owed went to the government, but we could allocate the other 50% however we liked? We could check off our priorities on a list of ordinary government services: education, infrastructure, defense, social services, healthcare, etc. You could dedicate 10% of your taxes to one thing, 25% to something else, and 15% to yet another area you want to support. Just kidding about the last. I think in this way, we’d have a country that spent the people’s priorities. by the way, I still think a flat tax rate for all those earning over a certain amount (and ENFORCED, by golly) would be good for everyone. Imagine, you could do your own taxes.

What would the world be like, or the United States be like, if every human being had the RIGHT to basic food, shelter, clothing, education, and healthcare? Would we not save money in the long run? Is it okay for some people (and many of these "people" are children) to sleep in the streets? What could possibly justify that? I like simple, and it seems that it would be simple to say that everyone has a right to the basics. Beyond that … well, you can stay at that level or you can go as far beyond it as you like. It’s like the tax code–once you start splitting hairs about so much of a deduction for this or an allowance for that, we’re soon in some kind of alternate universe where even the experts can’t always decode the code. The bureaucracies necessary to maintain the tax code and the so-called welfare system have grown eyes and limbs and tentacles that boggle the imagination. I think we could save tons of money by simplifying. If you’ve ever had to deal with the social service system, you know what I’m talking about.

My Favorite Quotation

Many years ago, they asked Socrates, "When will justice come to Athens?"

Socrates replied, "Justice will not come to Athens until those who are not injured are as indignant as those who are."

A Few Autobiographical Notes

Born in Texas.

Graduate of St. Catherine University, St. Paul, MN, with a major in French, minors in history, theology, and philosophy.

I’ve been married longer than I have not to David Koskenmaki, an athletic, mountain-loving Finn who runs, hikes, skiis, canoes, kayaks (built his own), bikes, and is either coming off a five-month walk from Mexico to Canada or planning a Grand Canyon rafting trip. When you can get him indoors, he reads voraciously, plays the piano, takes dancing lessons, and is the go-to guy for home repairs. He’s got an inventive mind — thus the holder of 30-some patents, and he’s always into something new. You can tell where he’s been by looking in the garage — an old ice fishing augur, the arrows he made himself for bow-hunting, the snowshoes and cross-country skiis next to the Telemark skiis, the contraption he made so he could cut his own hair. You get the idea. He has never bored me.

The most fun I’ve ever had in my life was being the mother to three rather fascinating individuals. I’m tempted to tell you about them, but in the interests of keeping in their good graces, let’s not and say I did. They have further enriched my life by bringing in some rather wonderful new family members.

I never get enough of spending time in France and Italy, particularly Sicily. After spending two full summers and a year in France during and after college, I returned many times to research the life of Marie Marvingt. My grandparents were born and were married in Camporeale, Sicily, and most of us have spent time in Sicily, visiting contemporary relatives and ancient ruins–also some contemporary ruins and ancient relatives. I once fell into a grave in the local cemetery. Sister Mary took my picture down among the bones.

Philosophy of life? All of us belong to the same family–your loss is my loss, your joy is my joy. And: Cultivating a grateful heart. I once read that the more grateful we are, the more we have to be grateful for. I’m a believer.

For Listeners

Robin Morgan (everyone knows who she is) has a thought-provoking, entertaining, and seriously illuminating radio show at http://www.wmclive.com. You can listen to podcasts with cool people, such as, oh, me. Here we talked about quotations and here we discussed biased language. One of my favorite podcasts is Robin talking with President Jimmy Carter.