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Thursday, October 20, 2011

Taxed To Exhaustion

I don’t know, but am I just getting old? The problem is that sometimes I just get the feeling that the whole world has gone mad.


A case in point: Taxes. No one I know really likes the IRS. Well, I can see why. We’ve created a monster. And, like all monsters it is out of control. Its tentacles are everywhere, too. We just can’t seem to get a hold of it either.


Mr. Herman (999) Cain suggest a new kind of flat tax, which he says is the simple approach. Problem is, it’s so fuzzy in the details that no one seems to be able to figure it out. So, I guess, we will just have to leave that up to him to explain in hopefully the not too distance future.


Then, there is Mr. Barak (Nobel Peace Prize) Obama, our president, himself, who wants to tax the super rich, and corporations. Well, that’s fine and dandy with me; but a better idea, I believe, would be to give them a tax break if they will promise to reinvest what he suggest as a tax into jobs. Otherwise, all we are doing is taking money away from someone who knows how to create jobs (the corporations) to someone who only knows how to waste it or give it away (the government). 


Oh, my, need I explain? If so, let’s start with the fiasco in Afghanistan. I hope I am wrong, but mark my word. Once we step out of the country the Taliban and their cohorts will come galloping back in from across the Pakistani border to link arms with those brothers that remained to join together for a triumphant march into Kabul. Hope I am wrong, but I doubt it.


And, while I am on the subject of waste, whatever happened to that hullaballoo about all that loss of money in that government funded eco-friendly $500,000 dollars fiasco called Solyndra?


But, hold on, friends, that solar panel company isn't the only business to go belly up after benefiting from a piece of the $800 billion economic stimulus package passed in 2009.

At least four other companies have received stimulus funding only to later file for bankruptcy, and two of those were working on alternative energy. Just click here, if you would like to read more.


So, forget about the bridges to nowhere and passenger-less airports. We have enough fodder to feed this example mill for decades to come.


So, this leads us to the question. Are taxes all bad? The answer is: No, taxes are not all bad. We all agree on that. What we can not seem to get a handle on, however, is how we spend those taxes. So, let’s concentrate on that.


So, I say, let’s quit fussing about all the taxes, and start holding our politicians’ feet to the fire on how we spend them. I know that we have a lot of needy people around the world. And, God knows, that I want to help them. But, I’ve been there. I know where a huge bulk of that money is going. Do I have to tell you?


But, we don’t have to go abroad to see that. Medicare, right here in the good old USA, is a prime example of waste. Texas is a case in point. One dentist in Texas pocketed $13 million dollars for putting orthodontics on welfare children who in most cases did not need it. If you think this is an exaggeration click on this.


So, let’s start with cleaning out the crooks in the system, and start whittling down there. Perhaps that will free up enough tax money to start paying our school teachers more, and improving our education system. Of course, that is just a start. There is much more we can do.


We can save money by insisting that all government contract negotiation be truly competitive and not finding loop holes to give the lion’s share to companies like Halliburton and Exxon Mobil and similar mega corporations. All this talk about small businesses is just that—talk, in my opinion.


When is the last time you heard of the government enforcing the anti-monopoly statues still on the books?


So, unless we are willing to clean up the mess, cutting taxes is a farce. Cut waste, cut out lying to us, cut out greed both in and outside of government, then we will have a clearer vision of just how many taxes we need to cut or keep.


Robin Hood plays well as theater, but in Washington our country would be better off if it were a no show.

However after saying all of that, I must admit that I just voted to have the taxes on my house increased. Want to know why? I have a simple answer—the school district needed it to better educate my grandchildren.

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