Tax Day Tea Parties
So yesterday marked the day when Americans are required to pay their yearly taxes to the gov’t. This money goes to support schools, our roadways and other public services (police force, firefighters, etc).
While I agree that things I use, I should pay for… I have a larger problem with the current tax structure. We’ve all had the experience where something our hard earned money went to, didn’t pan out as expected but shouldn’t that be on things we make bad decisions on, gambles that don’t turn out as expected. I just don’t think getting nothing for something should be an option when it comes to my money.
Take the police force for example, my personal experience with them has been limited (thank goodness). But a few months back we had our car broken into, within sight of the police station. We called and expected them to show up, there were finger prints everywhere so even if we didn’t get our items back at least that person could one day be caught. The police never showed. We waited for over two hours and watched countless patrol cars pass by but the dispatch either never figured out where we were or didn’t care. We were across a bayou from the station so we couldn’t just walk there. In the end I was highly disappointed in the performance of this ‘service’ that I am required to pay for.
I love our country, and I realize that paying my dues is a requirement to live her. However, I do want to demand more – everyone that has a job knows how hard it is to struggle to make ends meet at times, how much easier it would be to sit back and take a hand out rather than hustle to make that extra dollar. What disappoints me was highlighted yesterday, 47% of Americans do not pay taxes. Read that again. 47% of Americans do NOT pay taxes.
That means that an increasingly greater percentage of each dollar I earn goes to supporting those that either aren’t willing or aren’t capable of finding work. Let me be honest, I don’t ‘want’ to work but I knew that to be a member of society I needed to find a way to add value to this country. I pushed myself through not one, but two higher education degrees to insure I would always have the ability to find work and to provide a method to take care of myself. That’s why I get so confused this time of year, why am I being punished for being successful? Why am I required to hand over more and more of what I struggled to achieve? What’s stopping those that are waiting on the sidelines for a handout, from getting into the game right where I did, the beginning? What’s stopping them from getting the education necessary to eliminate all excuses?
I know there are many responses to those questions. In some ways I’ll grant you that recently there has been a push to make it even more difficult for those on the lower end of the spectrum to get ahead, but that only further proves my issue. The current situation fostered by our elected officials is one of a wolf in sheep’s clothing. They pretend to come through with a ‘help out the little guy’ process, but in reality their efforts only foster a decreased desire to get in the game and a huge handicap to any that still want to try.
I can’t help but think it’s intentional.
While I agree that things I use, I should pay for… I have a larger problem with the current tax structure. We’ve all had the experience where something our hard earned money went to, didn’t pan out as expected but shouldn’t that be on things we make bad decisions on, gambles that don’t turn out as expected. I just don’t think getting nothing for something should be an option when it comes to my money.
Take the police force for example, my personal experience with them has been limited (thank goodness). But a few months back we had our car broken into, within sight of the police station. We called and expected them to show up, there were finger prints everywhere so even if we didn’t get our items back at least that person could one day be caught. The police never showed. We waited for over two hours and watched countless patrol cars pass by but the dispatch either never figured out where we were or didn’t care. We were across a bayou from the station so we couldn’t just walk there. In the end I was highly disappointed in the performance of this ‘service’ that I am required to pay for.
I love our country, and I realize that paying my dues is a requirement to live her. However, I do want to demand more – everyone that has a job knows how hard it is to struggle to make ends meet at times, how much easier it would be to sit back and take a hand out rather than hustle to make that extra dollar. What disappoints me was highlighted yesterday, 47% of Americans do not pay taxes. Read that again. 47% of Americans do NOT pay taxes.
That means that an increasingly greater percentage of each dollar I earn goes to supporting those that either aren’t willing or aren’t capable of finding work. Let me be honest, I don’t ‘want’ to work but I knew that to be a member of society I needed to find a way to add value to this country. I pushed myself through not one, but two higher education degrees to insure I would always have the ability to find work and to provide a method to take care of myself. That’s why I get so confused this time of year, why am I being punished for being successful? Why am I required to hand over more and more of what I struggled to achieve? What’s stopping those that are waiting on the sidelines for a handout, from getting into the game right where I did, the beginning? What’s stopping them from getting the education necessary to eliminate all excuses?
I know there are many responses to those questions. In some ways I’ll grant you that recently there has been a push to make it even more difficult for those on the lower end of the spectrum to get ahead, but that only further proves my issue. The current situation fostered by our elected officials is one of a wolf in sheep’s clothing. They pretend to come through with a ‘help out the little guy’ process, but in reality their efforts only foster a decreased desire to get in the game and a huge handicap to any that still want to try.
I can’t help but think it’s intentional.
