So
much to write about,
so little time.
What do we have time
to focus on this
week? The economy?
Nope, that’s being
talked to death.
Corruption? Where
can we start?
Unqualified
politicians? Not
enough time.
How about taxes?
That’s a good idea
and one we can all
identify with. It
seems to me that
about 200 and some
odd years ago, we
protested taxation
without
representation.
Having sat through
last weeks vote on
the stimulus bill
which no one in
Congress had the
time to read…isn’t
that what happened
in front of our very
eyes?
The bill, as I
understand it, was
about 1100 pages in
length and came out
of committee about
fifteen hours before
it was voted upon.
Obviously no one in
this country had a
chance to read the
thing in it’s
entirety before it
came up for a vote.
So, how can anyone
say that the bill
was passed with any
level of
understanding and
comprehension? They
can’t. So how can
any politician
honestly tell us
they are
representing us in
this largest of all
tax bills?
I don’t think they
can. The current
mentality seems to
be something along
the line of … “We
must do something,
even if it’s wrong.”
I don’t agree. The
free market will
naturally correct
itself, if left
alone. People will
buy and sell things
when the prices for
those things reach
the correct level.
Just because you buy
a house does not
mean that the house
you bought is
guaranteed to go up
in value by 20% each
and every year. This
is foolish thinking
and has gotten a lot
of people into
financial trouble.
Once the housing
market stabilizes
and gets to the
realistic true value
of the properties,
then the market will
start to expand and
grow once more.
Pouring more money
into it, does not
solve the problem.
As I understand it,
the bill that was
passed this week
also had a provision
in it to assist
homeowners whose
houses were worth
less than they owed.
Under the bill that
was passed, the
government would
come in and help
those homeowners
obtain a reduction
on their monthly
payments in order to
allow the homeowner
to stay in the
house. My question
is this. If we
reduce the monthly
payments, the
mortgage companies
take longer to get
paid for their
original outlay when
the house was
bought. Our mortgage
payments usually
include property
taxes to our local
counties. Will those
be reduced as well?
I don’t think so.
So, if the homeowner
can’t afford their
payments and their
taxes, will this not
lead to more and
more counties
suffering financial
difficulties and
having to ask for
governmental
bailouts? It’s like
buying a car and
putting it on a 120
month note, just to
keep the payments
low. At some point
in time the
maintenance costs
exceed the monthly
note to the lender.
None of us can drive
a vehicle for ten or
fifteen years
without having to do
some maintenance on
it.
One other issue on
taxes this week. The
government is now
testing a plan to
tax our driving by
the miles driven. It
seems more and more
of us aren’t driving
as much as we were a
few years ago, or
we’re buying
vehicles that use
less fuel, so the
amount of dollars
coming in from
gasoline taxes has
dropped off. The
answer to this would
be to tax us on the
actual miles we
drive each year.
Let’s see, suppose I
own a gas guzzler
and I pay $2,000 a
year in gasoline
taxes. Then I buy a
hybrid and my new
efficient vehicle
only requires enough
gas to generate $500
in gasoline tax the
next year. But, then
here comes the
government and they
tax me for the miles
actually driven in
my vehicle so my tax
bill goes up another
$1500 a year based
on my mileage. How
is it I’m ahead of
the game and
rewarded for trying
to do the right
thing and buying a
more expensive gas
efficient vehicle? I
thought the purpose
of buying one in the
first place was to
increase my mileage
and save myself some
money. This doesn’t
look like it rewards
me for doing the
right thing.
I suppose it could
be worse, just look
at New York. Over
there they are
proposing a 4%
increase in tax on
anything downloaded
from the internet,
4% increase in taxi
fares. A 4% increase
on the cost of cable
for your house, an
18% increase on the
cost of a soft drink
and worst of all a
double of the tax on
beer.
Stayed tuned folks,
we’re all in this
together and we must
not waver or surely
we’ll all go down
together.
