death and taxes
man, they weren't kidding when they said that the only sure things in life are death and taxes. let's just say that this crazy kid of mine better be helping out with that, because i am sick and tired of giving to uncle sam in april after all that i already give throughout the year. alex would blame it on the mexicans and liberals. but no matter who is taking my money, they sure are taking a lot of it. maybe i didn't give as much as dick cheney, but it still hurts. as a matter of fact, i found a great video on the internet (linked below) that describes EXACTLY how i feel each april.and for all of you college students or minimum wagers, i don't want to hear your victory stories of how you got money back. save that for someone who cares. soon enough, you'll be feeling the knee in the package.
posted by pablo
27 comments
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Post a CommentThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
no coincidence dukes. the man creeps on you as soon as he sees you making any cash.
like diddy said, "no money mo problems"
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yepiz - i am going the opposite way. started more conservative and moving more liberal in my old age. and i think, in part, it has to do with the fact that i have more money...i can help more people.
financially speaking, i agree in theory that if you (not YOU specifically, everyone) had more in your pocket you would give more. but in reality, i don't think that is the case. maybe i'm wrong, but i would guess that the percentage of money that you give relative to your income would remain pretty close to where it started, although the amount increases.
people are not less inclined to be greedy just because they have more money. in fact, it makes you more greedy.
Alex--
we don't give less because of taxes because we give according to our earnings before taxes are taken...so Pablo is right-we give the same or more no matter what we are taxed.
is this a bad place for these two words... "housing allowance"
or how about this...
"opt out of social security"
hmmm.
Did you ever notice that when you put the words "The" and "IRS" together, it spells "THEIRS?" ~Author Unknown
The taxpayer - that's someone who works for the federal government but doesn't have to take the civil service examination. ~Ronald Reagan
How does the government spend your money (where does it go - click here)?
Did you know the average American will work 116 days this year just to earn the money s/he has to pay in taxes? All the money you earn until April 26 goes to the government. click here and here
Oops, my bad. The average Californian has to work until April 30 to finish paying the government. see here
dang steve, that's depressing.
In his book, For Good and Evil: The Impact of Taxes on the Course of Civilization, Charles Adams says only one country in the world has the right idea about taxes: Switzerland. The Swiss have kept their government under control pretty well because they have had the wisdom to keep the taxing power and the spending power under separate agencies.
In America, the U.S. Congress taxes AND spends. So we lack checks and balances where we most need them. Moreover, the Swiss federal government can’t raise taxes without a popular majority, which is usually denied. The Swiss taxpayer, unlike the American, has learned to defend himself.
Bet you can't guess what I'm going to say next...
We can get involved in changing things by informing our friends, and voting wisely.
Or maybe you would just rather pray that Thomas Frey is right!
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It may not be that simple. And what do candidates mean when they claim to be conservative? Bush is/was a conservative, but his fiscal policies haven't been the best. Schwarzenegger claimed to be a fiscal conservative, but many fiscal conservatives think his policies haven't been the best. Yes, what these two people can do is affected by others (congress, assembly, etc), but we probably need to pay more attention to candidates' plans and proposals when they are campaigning.
Maybe it means voting Swiss! j/k :) Maybe it means more than just voting. If everybody had to write a check to pay their taxes, instead of having the gov't take it out of each paycheck before people see it, our taxation system would change. We didn't even have a permanent income tax until 1913. There are better ways of funding gov't.
But MOSTLY we need smaller gov't. That concept should drive our vote, or at least serve as co-pilot, IMO.
Sonia,
I think you & Pablo would give even more than you do (to charity and individuals) if you had to pay less in taxes, and I think you would be happier about what your money is accomplishing.
steve - maybe i would. who knows? but you know what, the general population would not. they'd just have nicer cars.
that was my point above. in some ways, this is a nod to the social liberals. although it should be the responsibility of individuals to help others, and although conservatives like to say that they would rather have the money in their pockets to decide who it does and does not go to (i.e abortion clinics, etc), the reality is that in the end, the money goes right back to themselves. taxes "force" people to help others in need.
and i know we need reform...yadda yadda...i am talking about a principle here. people are greedy...PERIOD.
The average American now works twenty years for the government simply to pay his taxes. (Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty, by James Bovard, p. 289.)
Granted, we are greedy, but not as greedy as our gov't. No gov't program is going to solve the problem of greed -- including greed on the receiving end of gov't handouts. Only Jesus can change our hearts.
And let's not forget that God says, "Anyone that is unwilling to work, should not be fed by others." 2Thes3:10 (unwilling is different than unable) This would reduce our tax bill tremendously if applied.
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the key is the balance between the govt helping people that genuinely need help, and not over taxing the taxpayers.
tough balance though. impossible to reach.
CLARIFICATION FOR ALL:
Just so you know, I do not believe politics and the American gov't can or should be expected to accomplish Christ's kingdom work. The Amer. gov't system invites all citizens to participate, and I think Christians should participate. Human gov't will not and cannot solve the problems, such as greed, selfishness, prejudice, malice, or any other sin problem that causes the problems manifested in society (i.e. social problems). Gov't can bandage the wounds, but only Jesus can heal.
And I think praying for our gov't is more important than voting and contacting gov't officials. But prayer does not remove the need for participation.
Pablo,
I'm having a little trouble understanding some of your comments in light of your original post. Some of your comments make it sound like you're glad we get to pay high taxes.
For anyone, not just Pablo, how do you reconcile high taxes, helping those in need, and the gov'ts track record of horrible waste and many of the expensive programs that cause more problems than they solve?
back to the lighter side of taxes
To: Internal Revenue Service
Department of the Treasury
Washington, DC 20001
Enclosed is my Form 1040, together with payment. Please take note of the attached article from USA Today archives. In the article, you will note that the Pentagon paid $171.50 each for hammers and NASA paid $600.00 each for toilet seats.
Please find enclosed in this package four toilet seats (value $2,400.00) and six hammers (value $1,029.00). This is in payment for my total tax due of $3,429.00.
Out of a sense of patriotic duty, and to assist in the political purification of our government, I am also enclosing a 1.5 inch Phillips head screw, for which HUD duly recorded and approved a purchase value of $22.00, as my contribution to fulfill the Presidential Election Fund option on Form 1040.
It has been a pleasure to pay my taxes this year, and I look forward to paying them again next year in accordance with officially established government values.
Sincerely,
Another satisfied taxpayer
(source: unknown)
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When NASA first started sending up astronauts, they quickly discovered that ballpoint pens would not work in zero gravity.
To solve this problem, NASA scientists spent a decade and $12 billion developing a pen that writes in zero gravity, upside down, underwater, on almost any surface including glass and at temperatures ranging from below freezing to over 300° C.
The Russians use a pencil.
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Filling out your own income tax return is something like a do-it-yourself mugging.
i am not for ridiculously high taxes, but i am not against being taxed either.
like i said, it seems that "focing" people to contribute to social programs is in the best interest of our society as a whole. i DO NOT believe that people would do it otherwise.
although i also believe that the way we spend our money is not very efficient, which is why they keep wanting to increase taxes. in an ideal situation, there would be gov't programs that would help people in need that are funded by the citizens at large, but would be regulated for fical responsibility. that doesn't happen very well here (do the math on welfare for example).
the comment regarding the work of the Church is correct. i am not expecting the gov't to fill the role of the Church. but at the same time, we see jesus saying things like "give to ceaser what is ceaser's and give to god what is god's" and that governments are appointed by god (loose paraphrase). jesus understood the role of the gov't...he instituted/supported it to some degree or another.
there is some good that can be done through gov't. but the Church needs to operate as if that didn't really exist. in other words, a christian does not have the luxury of saying "i won't help that person because the gov't will do it." we still need to go above and beyond in the quest to love people.
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come to think of it, maybe I am a "sociolist"...wait, that is that?
taxation is a tricky thing. if i was giving 60% to a system that supplied all of my needs and wasn't wasteful, corrupt or inefficient, then i probably would not have a problem with it. the problem is, can that really occur? probably not.
realistically, you wouldn't mind either. everyone needs health care, everyone needs education, every one needs _______ (fill in the blank). i pay for all of those things now. what difference does it make if i pay for it with a check or the gov't pays for it? as long as the gov't is responsible, it would work.
i don't trust our gov't to be responsible by the way...
and regarding our current state of taxes...BELIVE ME when i say that the way they tax me and sonia, i could buy california from mexico again. so i am no stranger to it. do i think that they are too high? yes, because of the current state of disarray in fiscal responsibility. i am giving lots of my money because they aren't spending well. under the circumstances, i support lowering of taxes. i vote against every bill that is "for the children" (aka more school money) because their lack of resources has nothing to do with lack of resources. it has to do with wasteful spending and idiots like sonia's old superintendent that cried to the city council that he was embarassed around other superintendents because he made less money...a measley $110K to their $135K. pu-lease!
would i be a socialist in an ideal world...heck yeah. welcome to the early church baby!
>>i could buy california from mexico again
Maybe we are?! Maybe that's why our taxes are so high?! Somebody ought to look into it.
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