What occurs to me is that like most people, I hate paying taxes. Yet, I can't help but wonder how we would all have any services provided if we didn't pay taxes. So let's talk about it. I pay property taxes which pays for schools, garbage pickup, street repair, lighted streets, police patrolling, street cleaning, recycling, tree maintenance and public park maintenance. None of these things could I do for myself. I pay an assessment for local sewer, which I certainly can't and wouldn't want to take care of myself. There are probably other things my local taxes are used for, but I can't think of them right now.
I pay taxes to the state, which goes for many things, similar in content to what the Federal government uses my taxes for. I also pay a sales tax, a separate cigarette tax (yeah, I still smoke), a liquor tax (occasionally), car registration fees, and other fees which don't come to mind right now.
I pay income tax to the Federal government, as well as all the other add-ons which show up in products and services I purchase, like the Federal gas tax, Social Security, Medicare, unemployment, disability and again, other fees and taxes some of which none of us really knows or even thinks about.
I am no different from most people when it comes to taxes. But what may be different is that I don't think taxes are such a bad thing. Don't get me wrong. I'd rather have the money, but I also look at how the money is being used, and by and large, my money pays for things which I think benefit all of us. Now, there's an argument to be made here, I know. So let's have it.
Right now, the Federal government brings in less than it spends. In the past decade or so, the Federal government gave two major tax cuts, financed two wars, and created a new Medicare program to pay for drugs for the elderly. The Federal government bailed out our financial system and the automobile industry. No wonder we have a budget deficit and national debt. Prior to this massive outpouring of generosity, the budget was balanced and the national debt was being reduced. That's important to remember.
Yet, the Republican Congress and recalcitrant Senate Republicans have stepped aside from their responsibility to govern, and have made regaining the White House their singular agenda. The problem of having financially solvent governments at all levels is having enough money to operate on, and enough restraint to remember its not their money being spent. The solution is not more taxes or less spending, its both.
If you don't think you're paying for this depression, you're wrong. There are 30 million people who would like to be working more than they are. That's a lot of tax revenue. Many of those people have collected unemployment, which came from state revenue, then Federal revenue, for those who went past 26 weeks. The governments may have helped with medical bills, food, child care for them also, as well as others. While the unemployment rate remains up, no improvement in our housing values is likely to happen. My house is way down. How about yours?
What needs to happen is a tax increase, not just on the rich. Folks, we're in this together. We also need to get rid of the free ride corporations have, and other tax breaks for special interests. I mean all of them. Look at it this way--when you're bleeding to death, bandaids don't work, and a transfusion is a waste. What we need is to stop the bleeding, first. We need to restructure what we are paying for, then ease into cuts if they are necessary. We need to use all resources, including tax money, to put people back to work. That includes training of chronically un- and underemployed. When the programs have been set up and offered, then we can say if you don't want to work, it's on you.
There will always be those who miss the bus, who will never get on it. There are those who for reasons beyond their control will always need help. And that's when the governments must step in. I don't have a problem with the government getting tougher, but not on an ideological basis. This is a society supposedly based on Judeo-Christian ethics. To me, that's do unto others, love thy neighbor. Maybe it's time to remember that. It's not a sound bite, but a way of life. And the way we need to live. We're in this boat together, and either a rising tide lifts us all, or we're all sunk.
If you don't agree, take a shot. I can take it.
Thanks for stopping by.
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