The Poem is at the bottom, it's about our government's true love...taxation.
In case there are still doubters, I am NOT a fan of our tax system. Not that I don't think that we all need to do our part to support the government, I am not against paying my portion. The problem is that no one knows what their portion is or even should be. If you make more, you pay more. OK, but how much more? No one knows. I bet you don't even know how much you will pay to the government this year. Even if you are savvy enough to look at your income tax filings each year and figure approximately how much they will pay in taxes in the future, that is only half the story. There are still many hidden taxes that the government collects like sales tax, and gasoline tax, and tax on your insurance premium, and B and O tax, the list goes on and on. These hidden taxes are so common that we don't even pay attention to them any more.
This is the perfect scenario for a politician looking to raise taxes. If you don't know what you pay now, and don't know what you are paying in the future, how can you know or object to an increase. Even better, by hiding the tax in the cost of our everyday purchases, the government gets to blame private enterprise for the increased cost. If not directly as with oil companies, then indirectly by simply taxing items like bread and milk and even insurance. Make it a percentage sales tax and the income from taxes goes up with inflation. I can see it now, income taxes rise, so the insurance companies I represent raise rates to offset the increased cost of their payroll and sure enough I will have a line out my door demanding to know why the price of insurance went up even though my clients weren't in an accident of any kind. As the middle man, my payroll and other expenses go up disproportionate to the increase in my income and now my clients are paying more and I am making less.
Imagine if the government acted like a private enterprise. Let's say that they took the annual budget, divided that amount by the number of people ages 18 and up in our country and sent all of us a bill for the same amount...payable in mid-April. How difficult would it be for our government to pass a tax increase or to increase spending if you knew that your annual tax bill was going to be 10% higher this year? If my customers behavior is any indication, there would be marches on Washington demanding to speak to congress about why their bill went up this year. I know that it is unfair to make everyone pay regardless of whether or not they made any money...then again I took a net loss last year in my business, but still managed to pay several hundred dollars in B and O income taxes to the City of Keyser. How does that work? My income is negative but my income tax is positive? It wouldn't so the government uses my gross income instead of net income.
I know that is an extreme example, but it leads to one of the fairest solutions available, the FAIR Tax. If you haven't read about it, you should. Then again, it would make it almost impossible for the government to raise taxes in the future and politicians would end up holding each other accountable for the projects that they earmark to their friends.
As promised....the poem. I did not write this it was sent to me
Tax his land,Tax his wage,and Tax his bed in which he lays.
Tax his tractor,Tax his mule,Teach him taxes are the rule.
Tax his cow;Tax his goat,Tax his pants,Tax his coat.
Tax his ties,Tax his shirts,Tax his work,and Tax his dirt.
Tax his tobacco,Tax his drink,and Tax him if he tries to think.
Tax his booze,Tax his beers,If he cries,Tax his tears.
Tax his bills,Tax his gas,Tax his notes,and Tax his cash.
Tax him good and let him know
That after taxes, he has no dough.
If he hollers,Tax him more;Tax him until he's good and sore.
Tax his coffin,Tax his grave,and Tax the sod in which he lays.
Put these words upon his tomb,'Taxes drove me to my doom!'
And when he's gone,We won't relax,We'll still be after the inheritance TAX!!
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