Tax Day

Well, it has happened again. The Federal Government in all of it's radiant glory has set aside this day every year to rape and pillage the citizens of this country.

Taxes are a part of the price we pay for our freedom in this nation. And our tax money is put into an account somewhere so the Senators and Representatives that we elect can decide just how and where to spend it, for our own good of course. Things like the Robert Byrd Memorial Highway,library, rest stop, train station, museum, intersection, etc; scientific studies to prove or disprove the "5 second rule", $800 toilet seats and hammers, and of course to pay the thousands of people who have to generate the millions of pages of paper daily on Capital Hill.

The amount of money that is wasted on a daily basis in DC is just staggering. Every bill that is voted on has had so much pork attached to it that I am surprised that it doesn't squeal when the Prez tries to sign it.

And it isn't just one side of the aisle that loads up on the special interests. I have decided that there can never be a good politician. Good people don't want to be dropped into that viper's nest and everyone else is on the take. That whole thing about "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely" is just too true. And I think it actually starts before they are even sworn into office. I personally think that the lobbyists throw a party for all of the freshmen congressmen the night before the ceremony and tell them how things really work in this country.

Now don't get me wrong, I love this country and the things it stands for. We have the ability to live up to our personal potential that people from all over the world envy. Some even hate us for our freedoms. But in the last 40 years or so, we have gotten away from the good things that America stands for.

We have an income tax that is anywhere from 6 to 20% of our adjusted gross income, we have a sales tax of between 5 and 12% of the purchase price of anything we buy(in come cases that includes groceries), most states have property tax(personal and real estate) that varies wildly by state but lets say it is a moderate 2%, some states (about half of them I think) have a state income tax that runs 1-5% or so of your income, then there are all of the fees for licenses for bloody well everything. My all time favorite is the one where you have to count last years tax refund as income for this year. Needless to say, we are taxed to death so congress can vote themselves a raise every year.

If the founding fathers could look at the current tax code and all of the different layers of tax and regulation that are imposed upon us, they would be appalled. We pay a higher percentage of tax today than we did when we threw the Boston Tea Party. And we did it to ourselves by wanting the government to give us everything so we wouldn't have to work for it ourselves.