Paying Taxes and Going Broke, It's the American Way
Guy T. Sturino
October 15, 2005
What?s the big deal with paying taxes? After all, it is our government. And the things we want have to be paid for somehow. Whether it?s garbage collection at the local level, or defense of the nation, there is a cost. And, what?s so hard about budgeting within our means. The 90% of us who have to work for someone else to get enough money to make ends meet certainly know how to get it done. Well, most of us anyway. So why can?t our Congress get it done?
The answer should be obvious. Most of our Congresspersons and Senators are not in the bottom 90%, and they have never had to learn to budget like the rest of us. When someone always has money remaining at the end of the month, no matter what they?ve bought or given away, a budget just isn?t necessary. What we have is a Congress that spends our money the same way they spend their own.
What they do is called ?Pork Barrel Spending.? What we?ve been doing is ?Slopping the Hogs with Taxpayers Dollars.? The result is that we?re broke. We owe more than we can pay to people who may someday use our debt as leverage against us. But whose fault is it really? Come on ? don?t be shy, you know the answer to that one.
That?s right. The fault lies with that person in the mirror. The question is, how long will we go on being blinded by self interest? How long will we go on voting for those who have contributed to reducing our treasury to the verge of bankruptcy? Those folks spending our money were put in place by us. They got their jobs with our votes, driven by our interests. What were those interests anyway? Does anyone remember? It certainly appears that we have all been so wrapped up in getting everyone else to do things our way on specific issues that the leadership quality of fiscal responsibility just didn?t matter. What was it that was so important?
Let?s see now ? the overriding issues have been gun control, abortions, welfare, gay rights, affirmative action, ? the list is endless. We elected those who supported our pet causes ? that is the right thing to do. But there must come a day when, while we are asking candidates about our pet concerns, we are also telling them that if they want our vote they must pledge to be fiscally responsible. Where are the candidates who will speak for these issues AND promise fiscal responsibility? If we start looking for them, they will show up almost out of nowhere. It?s called politics. But it will only work if we let it be known that we won?t have it any other way. No one is going to do it for us. It is our responsibility.
We have to insist that the people we vote for pledge to maintain a pay-as-you-go budget, and never spend the earnings of our grandchildren. What is even more important is that those we elect must pledge to shift the major burden of taxes away from the wage earners and place it on the broad shoulders of those who harvest their money off the backs of the working class.
Let today be the day we begin to accept our responsibility for our future. Money doesn?t grow on trees. At least it doesn?t for the vast majority of Americans.
Our fate is in our hands.
The answer should be obvious. Most of our Congresspersons and Senators are not in the bottom 90%, and they have never had to learn to budget like the rest of us. When someone always has money remaining at the end of the month, no matter what they?ve bought or given away, a budget just isn?t necessary. What we have is a Congress that spends our money the same way they spend their own.
What they do is called ?Pork Barrel Spending.? What we?ve been doing is ?Slopping the Hogs with Taxpayers Dollars.? The result is that we?re broke. We owe more than we can pay to people who may someday use our debt as leverage against us. But whose fault is it really? Come on ? don?t be shy, you know the answer to that one.
That?s right. The fault lies with that person in the mirror. The question is, how long will we go on being blinded by self interest? How long will we go on voting for those who have contributed to reducing our treasury to the verge of bankruptcy? Those folks spending our money were put in place by us. They got their jobs with our votes, driven by our interests. What were those interests anyway? Does anyone remember? It certainly appears that we have all been so wrapped up in getting everyone else to do things our way on specific issues that the leadership quality of fiscal responsibility just didn?t matter. What was it that was so important?
Let?s see now ? the overriding issues have been gun control, abortions, welfare, gay rights, affirmative action, ? the list is endless. We elected those who supported our pet causes ? that is the right thing to do. But there must come a day when, while we are asking candidates about our pet concerns, we are also telling them that if they want our vote they must pledge to be fiscally responsible. Where are the candidates who will speak for these issues AND promise fiscal responsibility? If we start looking for them, they will show up almost out of nowhere. It?s called politics. But it will only work if we let it be known that we won?t have it any other way. No one is going to do it for us. It is our responsibility.
We have to insist that the people we vote for pledge to maintain a pay-as-you-go budget, and never spend the earnings of our grandchildren. What is even more important is that those we elect must pledge to shift the major burden of taxes away from the wage earners and place it on the broad shoulders of those who harvest their money off the backs of the working class.
Let today be the day we begin to accept our responsibility for our future. Money doesn?t grow on trees. At least it doesn?t for the vast majority of Americans.
Our fate is in our hands.
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