Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Taxes, We All Hate ‘Em


If you like paying taxes, chances are pretty good you’re laundering money! So the notion of one political party assessing higher taxes and another championing lower taxes is kind of a red herring. The real question has to be: does what you have left after paying your taxes buy you more or less than you used to be able to buy?

Sounds simple, doesn’t it? But whoever asks such an obvious question? You should! After all, if the government can pay for its excesses without raising taxes, that should be a good thing, right? Not if what happens has a worse impact on your lifestyle than paying a bit more in taxes!!! If a country has to borrow, pay lots of interest - particularly to foreign governments - instead of fixing highways or funding more schools, if the value of your dollar falls in relationship with most of the rest of the world so you have to pay more money for internationally-valued stuff (like oil, clothes, electronics, food), then maybe that sneaky government is making you pay a hidden tax, while all the time they are taking credit for not raising the rates. Let’s call them on it!


It gets more interesting when you think of those interest payments as the debt of a wild and crazy youth – nothing in it for the adult who emerged – instead of investments in our future. After all, when you owe a lot of money, who cares as long as you are making a pile and your investments are soaring?!


But when those who generate the value are under-skilled, when the educational system doesn’t train them for the future, when our infrastructure slows the movement of trucks and cars, sucking up wasted gasoline and delaying commerce… well, you get it. To be “all that we can be,” we need to repair our infrastructure, modernize it and make sure our citizens are competitive, generating real earning power.


So next time a politician tells you how they haven’t raised taxes or even cut them to the bone, ask yourself: “Did they create a hidden tax for me? Does my dollar really buy what it used to be?” Don’t let them hide behind the form… look behind them to find the substance!


I’m Peter Dekom and I approve this message.

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