Whenever we've had a tax break, it was hardly noticeable. I suppose a similar tax hike would be equally negligible in the grand scheme of things. But apparently the phrase "tax hike" is viewed as the political kiss of death.
Before ripping apart any established programs, I would be happy if the government made sure it was reaping all the revenue it is currently due. Hire more IRS investigators to identify all tax cheats. Make sure Medicare fraud was nonexistent. Go after all the telemarketers who bother me even though I am on the Do Not Call list, and fine them to the max. Make sure Social Security checks are not being sent to dead people. Crack down on criminals who make their millions by fleecing innocent taxpayers. Discourage the lawyers who initiate those ridiculous class action suits for every last little thing. In other words, before making the honest taxpayer suffer, catch and prosecute the dishonest among us, and divest them of their ill-gotten gains. If they did that, people would at least feel like they were getting something for their tax dollars.
When I balance my budget, I don't try to do it in one fell swoop. Rather, I do it in thousands of little ways: making my own coffee, eating meals at home, cutting coupons, turning off unused lights, mowing my own lawn, cleaning my own house, coloring my own hair, not using the credit card if I can't pay off the balance each month, buying clothes that don't go out of style in a year (or wearing them even it they do.) I could go on, but you get the picture: pennies add up!
The politicians want to take the easy way out and find one big target like Medicare or Social Security to decimate. Balancing the budget should be a 24/7 way of life, not just something that comes up every four years. Before I retired, my former boss used to say "It's not how much you make, it's how much you keep." The government is letting too much money go down the drain.
Friday, July 8, 2011 at 6:56PM
Reader Comments (1)
Whenever we've had a tax break, it was hardly noticeable. I suppose a similar tax hike would be equally negligible in the grand scheme of things. But apparently the phrase "tax hike" is viewed as the political kiss of death.
Before ripping apart any established programs, I would be happy if the government made sure it was reaping all the revenue it is currently due. Hire more IRS investigators to identify all tax cheats. Make sure Medicare fraud was nonexistent. Go after all the telemarketers who bother me even though I am on the Do Not Call list, and fine them to the max. Make sure Social Security checks are not being sent to dead people. Crack down on criminals who make their millions by fleecing innocent taxpayers. Discourage the lawyers who initiate those ridiculous class action suits for every last little thing. In other words, before making the honest taxpayer suffer, catch and prosecute the dishonest among us, and divest them of their ill-gotten gains. If they did that, people would at least feel like they were getting something for their tax dollars.
When I balance my budget, I don't try to do it in one fell swoop. Rather, I do it in thousands of little ways: making my own coffee, eating meals at home, cutting coupons, turning off unused lights, mowing my own lawn, cleaning my own house, coloring my own hair, not using the credit card if I can't pay off the balance each month, buying clothes that don't go out of style in a year (or wearing them even it they do.) I could go on, but you get the picture: pennies add up!
The politicians want to take the easy way out and find one big target like Medicare or Social Security to decimate. Balancing the budget should be a 24/7 way of life, not just something that comes up every four years. Before I retired, my former boss used to say "It's not how much you make, it's how much you keep." The government is letting too much money go down the drain.