Ok, its tax day. Today I send in my final payment for the 2001 tax year.
It’s not that I am opposed to all taxes. I’m just opposed to my money being wasted and being treated as if its from an endless supply and not something that was dear to me and that couldnt have been made use of should I have got to keep it instead.
Instead of me keeping what I earned, the entitlement minded govt has decided that others are more worthy of my efforts than I.
So I hope all those billions spent on useless pork projects, studying some random traffic pattern in some city, some sculpture for some city park, and all the other stuff that seems to get focused on the states with the Congressmen on the appropriations committee really brings someone some happiness. Don’t tell me its helping to create jobs, thats a sorry excuse. If the city really wanted those things they can tax their own citizens for it. But no, the fed has to take our money, take their cut, then send some of it back to the states, and spend the rest in some program designed to make people dependent on the govt instead of on themselves.
And I hope that those individuals that are the direct recipients of my dollars appreciate them, though from how I see you spending them I sort of doubt it. If you are on public assistance, you shouldnt be able to afford things that I cant afford for my kids. Let me tell you what a warm, fuzzy feeling i get seeing you come into the convenience store with your 3 or more kids (none of whom look like they have the same father) who proceed to ravage the candy, chip and soda aisles while you pick up a 12 pack of beer and a carton of cigarettes. Gee, I bet my kids wish I had the hundreds of dollars for Air Jordans that they will outgrow in a few months. But since you can buy them all their snacks with my money (as well as your groceries too) I guess you can afford the beer, cigarettes, and Air Jordans on your salary. Oh, and just let me add how happy I am that in order to protect your fragile self esteem you no longer have to use the actual food stamps, you get a debit card so it looks like you pay with your own money. Except it doesnt look that way, when all the “sin” items are segregated to be paid out of your envelope of cash money the state gave you. Maybe you are the same woman that my wife overheard while making a business appearance in the welfare office (she works phone systems) give her reason for needing my money as “I quit my job because I hated it”. Well, thats good enough for me. Should I write you a check so you can buy your 7 year old some more designer clothes?
Today is April 15. According to the federal, state and local taxes I pay (don’t forget all those hidden taxes like 30 cents/gallon on gas) i STILL haven’t got to keep one dollar I made this year. It is just over a month away before I get to keep any.
And some say I’m too rich and should pay more taxes.
A case can easily be made for building a federally funded interstate highway. It’s a Good Thing.
But then, there are about 10,000 Bad Things Which Are a Waste of Money for every Good Thing the government does.
Examples:
The National Endowment for the Arts.
I don’t get a free ride, artists shouldn’t either.
The Department of Education.
The most useless Department ever created by the federal government. Education has and will continue to be handled well by the states. The federal government, through taxation, has now made states dependent on them for educational funding.
The completely asinine military budget.
My completely uneducated wild ass guess says we could adequately defend this country with half of what we’re paying for the DoD.
Social Security.
Investments should be voluntary. If you fail to plan for your retirement, that’s your own damn fault. I’d rather purchase a high yielding CD than continue to dump money into a fund which will likely be bankrupt when I’m 65. I wouldn’t mind so much if Social Security were voluntary.
Interstate Commerce is one of the few things that the Federal Govt is permitted Constitutionally to govern. Creating and maintaining roads facilitates commerce, which gives us a chance to make the money as a return on our investment. The taxes on this commerce funds the roads, this I have no problem with. However there are a few roads that are being built that run past Congressmen or their friends’ farms and such that serve no real utility to the population at large. Those would fit into the “pork” I rant against, while an Interstate would not.
“I wouldn’t mind so much if Social Security were voluntary”
Hell, I wouldnt mind if the money was just used for Social Security. The money goes into the General fund. Its just another form of federal income tax. All the nonsense we hear from both parties over SS is just smoke and mirrors. There aren’t many good guys on this issue in either party.
This is what I really love about social security: I can work for decades, but if I retire a couple of years before the govt deems acceptable, I will get a huge hit against my social security funds. By the time those of us in our 30s are able to receive the funds, we will have to work until we are 70 or more to be fully qualified. Don’t even think of slowing down and actually enjoying your life if you want to get your benefits back.
And just forget the stock market, put the money in individual treasury bill accounts and we will all be able to retire with a nice tidy sum. But no, we need to crawl on our knees to get that monthly check, no chance of getting it all at once and just enjoying it.
i consider taxes the price i pay (besides living in the same country as people like hudley) to live in the USA.
i am so sick of listening to people whine and pule about taxes. listen, pal, its called democracy. you cant pick and choose. just because you cant use it doesnt mean other americans cant either.
if some portion of the budget, like military spending, bothers you so much, get busy and try to do something about it. protest, vigil, write your congressman, organize.
hell, there are a couple quakers in the monthly meeting i attend who downsized their lives, careers, and finances so much (low paying jobs, thrift store clothes, 35 year old cars) they dont have to pay taxes, as a protest against military spending. now thats having the courage of your convictions, unlike the ‘pork-ranters’ whose idea of protesting is to post to a frickin message board. go watch tv; its where you get all your ideas from anyway, i’ll bet.
lastly, if i had a choice between big government or big money running the country, id pick big government any time. at least there is SOME semblance of checks and balances in government. we dont have a chance against big money.
If it makes you feel any better, the market takes income taxes into account in setting your salary, rent, etc. For example, if income taxes suddenly dropped a lot, your rent would go up, since there would be a lot more disposable income out there driving up rents.
So, the true amount by which income taxes make you worse off is less than you think.
"lastly, if i had a choice between big government or big money running the country, id pick big government any time. "
You think there is actually a difference? you must think that the Democrats really are the party of the people, despite all that big corporate money they get from the same guys that give to the Republicans. Both parties give that money back to them in the form of these pork projects I rant about. No one complains about well spent taxes (not many anyway). Its the waste, misuse, and just plain disregard for the effort that goes into creating those taxes that i resent. The dept of Education lost something like $6 Billion a couple of years ago, no one knows where the money went. Should I be happy to have contributed my money to that amount? Of course not.
Do government agencies look at their budget and rejoice that they won’t need it all this year, and so can give it back to the taxpayer? Hell no. They look for any excuse to get it spent so it doesn’t get deducted from next year’s budget.
What I’m pissed about is that the answer, according to the pols, is MORE spending, not BETTER spending. Why is it the more we spend on the dept of education (not to pick on them, but there they are) the worse our kids scores get?
And I do get involved. I protest the proposed income tax here in TN. I get involved in politics, both with the Libertarian and the Republican party, to support candidates that believe in a limited role for govt (increasingly hard to find in the Republican party, non-existant in the democrats). What do you do?
*Originally posted by hudley *
**
And I hope that those individuals that are the direct recipients of my dollars appreciate them, though from how I see you spending them I sort of doubt it. **
I’m on social security disability. I receive $130 for food each month. I can not use my food stamps to buy anything other than food-not even things like toilet paper or tooth paste.
I receive $560 a month in cash. This is less than the rent on my apartment-and no, it is not the ritz. I am 27 and financially dependent on my parents. I might as well be 7.
** If you are on public assistance, you shouldnt be able to afford things that I cant afford for my kids. Let me tell you what a warm, fuzzy feeling i get seeing you come into the convenience store with your 3 or more kids (none of whom look like they have the same father) who proceed to ravage the candy, chip and soda aisles while you pick up a 12 pack of beer and a carton of cigarettes. Gee, I bet my kids wish I had the hundreds of dollars for Air Jordans that they will outgrow in a few months. But since you can buy them all their snacks with my money (as well as your groceries too) I guess you can afford the beer, cigarettes, and Air Jordans on your salary. Oh, and just let me add how happy I am that in order to protect your fragile self esteem you no longer have to use the actual food stamps, you get a debit card so it looks like you pay with your own money. Except it doesnt look that way, when all the “sin” items are segregated to be paid out of your envelope of cash money the state gave you.**
As I said, anything that is not food is segregated-band aids, asperin, napkins.
** Maybe you are the same woman that my wife overheard while making a business appearance in the welfare office (she works phone systems) give her reason for needing my money as “I quit my job because I hated it”. Well, thats good enough for me. Should I write you a check so you can buy your 7 year old some more designer clothes? **
Before any one asks, this computer and my isp are from my father. He got both while he was working as a computer consultant. He upgraded to a better model, and I got this pc. He failed to read the fine print and got stuck with msn as part of a 'discount' package.
I am a manic-depressive, with ADD, and some OCD. My first semester in college, I got a 3.85 gpa. Then, the pills stopped working. I fought as hard as I could. It got harder and harder to concentrate, to remember, even to get out of bed. I held on for 3 more semesters. My last semester gpa was 2.0 .
That was a few years ago. Things have gotten worse. I hate this life.
But when some one like you calls anyone on welfare lazy, and says that we all waste the money and live in luxury-why that just makes all the hell I've gone through worthwhile.
[sub]Um, I’m getting a rather hefty refund from both federal and state, so filling out my forms today was a pleasant surprise. And I do quite well after taxes. I’m sorry. [/sub]
*Originally posted by hudley *
**
And I hope that those individuals that are the direct recipients of my dollars appreciate them, though from how I see you spending them I sort of doubt it. **
I’m on social security disability. I receive $130 for food each month. I can not use my food stamps to buy anything other than food-not even things like toilet paper or tooth paste.
I receive $560 a month in cash. This is less than the rent on my apartment-and no, it is not the ritz. I am 27 and financially dependent on my parents. I might as well be 7.
** If you are on public assistance, you shouldnt be able to afford things that I cant afford for my kids. Let me tell you what a warm, fuzzy feeling i get seeing you come into the convenience store with your 3 or more kids (none of whom look like they have the same father) who proceed to ravage the candy, chip and soda aisles while you pick up a 12 pack of beer and a carton of cigarettes. Gee, I bet my kids wish I had the hundreds of dollars for Air Jordans that they will outgrow in a few months. But since you can buy them all their snacks with my money (as well as your groceries too) I guess you can afford the beer, cigarettes, and Air Jordans on your salary. Oh, and just let me add how happy I am that in order to protect your fragile self esteem you no longer have to use the actual food stamps, you get a debit card so it looks like you pay with your own money. Except it doesnt look that way, when all the “sin” items are segregated to be paid out of your envelope of cash money the state gave you.**
As I said, anything that is not food is segregated-band aids, asperin, napkins.
** Maybe you are the same woman that my wife overheard while making a business appearance in the welfare office (she works phone systems) give her reason for needing my money as “I quit my job because I hated it”. Well, thats good enough for me. Should I write you a check so you can buy your 7 year old some more designer clothes? **
Before any one asks, this computer and my isp are from my father. He got both while he was working as a computer consultant. He upgraded to a better model, and I got this pc. He failed to read the fine print and got stuck with msn as part of a 'discount' package.
I am a manic-depressive, with ADD, and some OCD. My first semester in college, I got a 3.85 gpa. Then, the pills stopped working. I fought as hard as I could. It got harder and harder to concentrate, to remember, even to get out of bed. I held on for 3 more semesters. My last semester gpa was 2.0 .
That was a few years ago. Things have gotten worse. I hate this life.
But when some one like you calls anyone on welfare lazy, and says that we all waste the money and live in luxury-why that just makes all the hell I've gone through worthwhile.
DocCathode, thanks for speaking up. Although I’m sure hudley’s rant is against able-bodied people buying things he/she doesn’t think they deserve, I can see why the OP would be hurtful for anyone receiving benefits.
Mr. Legend and I paid a great deal in taxes this year, and I don’t think either of us resents that. As essvee said, we’re willing to pay the price to live in this country. The thing we both resent is how difficult it is to figure out just how much we’re supposed to pay. We’ll pay the money; why do we have to endure hours of labrynthine forms with unintelligible instructions just to find out how much to make the check out for?
No, I didn’t say that ALL on assistance are lazy and living off the system. I am not saying that there aren’t people deserving of our help. However I am saying that much of what we pay in taxes is wasted, and I gave examples of how. They were all real examples.
However I believe that people should have a choice regarding charity. Most people are generous, though now since the govt takes half our money we can’t afford to be charitable.
I am sorry for your plight, and I hope things turn for the better.
And you are correct that only food items are eligible for food stamps. I thought I made that clear when in my example I said she paid for the cigs and beer with her own money since the candy and such was paid for by me.
However a person dependent on public assistance should not be spending the money on luxury items. If I saw someone at the grocery store buying a sack of rice, a sack of beans, hamburger meat, chicken, fresh vegetables, and such with food stamps I’d feel like my taxes are going to a good cause. But when I see someone buying live Maine Lobsters with food stamps (trust me, you can) thats a whole nother story.
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