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Tuesday, March 11, 2003

My husband and I had parents and teachers who taught us the work ethic. We did not go to work with the idea that we would get rich, but with the idea that someone gave us a job and that we were to do that job to the best of our ability. That is, after we had fulfilled our responsibility to get the best education we could. From the first paycheck, the taxes we had to pay were shocking, then as years went along the social security taxes became really "taxing" along with the increase in state and federal taxes. (There is no way we will draw out what we put in.) These days, we and the children we have reared, all of whom were taught our work ethic and who carried it out, are slaves to the huge majority who pay nothing. Add to that the inequities in property taxes..(We had to move frequently so we were always paying far more than most of our neighbors) and you have a diminishing work force getting very fatigued with the bill paying responsibilities of this nation and insane government bodies which have spent our hard earned money securing political positions and political power for career politicians. It is a recipe for disaster. We are working on our taxes for this year and though we are middle class, our taxes are complicated and we know that many of our fellow citizens know nothing about all of this but will receive money for our efforts. We desperately need a flat tax and one which everyone participates in to some extent. That act alone would bring back some measure of health to our system of government. Of course, folks, if the government doesn't get the money it needs through taxation, it just prints money which creates inflation and that is the most devastation tax of all. Then we have the 2% tax on our gross national product which goes into the pockets of trial lawyers and I am sure unnecessary regulations, some of which are just insane but which cause a tax on everything we buy. Sometimes, I think it is not war which should be our major concern...

I cleaned out my closet the other day & as I always do I took the clothes that don't fit anymore to the Goodwill. When I walked in the girl behind the counter was reading a People magazine or Cosmo or something. Then for no reason she looked at me & in a sing song voice said "Pres Bush takes from the poor & gives to the rich". Needless to say I unloaded on her.