I recently saw a headline in the Milford Mirror that said something like “DeLauro focuses on economy!”  The first thought that popped into my head was, “What has she been focusing on?”  Why is she just now focusing on the economy?  The easy answer is that the elections are Tuesday (2008-11-04) and now is the time to tell everyone how your going to save their lifestyle.  In the article she says that a previous economic stimulation bill was too small.  Her bill would be around a 150 BILLION dollars. Here’s my beef, from where is she going to get 150 BILLION dollars?

On Tuesday we elect a new president and a host of other public servants.  PLEASE vote.  And for your own sake PLEASE remember that whomever you elect has the power to levy taxes.  Politicians seem to throw around words like BILLION as if they have no weight.  But you and I are the ones who have to work our jobs and run our business to pay those taxes that they so easily levy. I’ll bet you or I could live comfortably on just the interest on a BILLION dollars.  When “the government” bails out a company, gives someone free food or housing without requiring them to work, sends men to war, or goes on a junket in a resort, that money comes out of the pockets of you and I.

I do not believe that taxes, in and of themselves, are bad.  It’s how the money is spent that is the issue.  Think about this.  We elect a representative or senator to represent us in congress.  If that person does a lousy job they incur no penalty.  Is that how it works at your job? As long as they don’t get caught doing anything illegal they can run their course and collect their pay without fear of getting fired.  Is your job like that?  Except for illegal conduct (even then many are slick as teflon) the only thing we can do is vote in a replacement or hound them with letters and phone calls.

So the next time you hear or see phrases like “economic stimulus” or “bank bailout” or “welfare” remember that they all translate into taxes somewhere, somehow.  Uncle Sam wants YOU to pay those taxes.  If we have little or no control over those who vote the taxes in what amount of control do you think we have over those who spend the money?  The money you’d like to spend on art, family, friends, housing, food or vacations must be diverted to paying taxes because a group in congress believe that handing out free money will make the problems go away.

Both Obama and McCain, as senators have had a hand in creating the taxes laws and economic issues that we’re paying for right now.  So, remember that the tax laws that govern our net income will outlive the president and members of congress that voted the law into existence.

I love this country.  I have visited several others and I believe we really have something great going here.  Despite the problems we face, it’s a great place to live.  Your vote is your voice. Please vote!  If you don’t then please don’t bother bitching, moaning, whining, complaining or any other such criticism if you didn’t have the guts to excercize the right that was purchased for you by the blood of those who came before you.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 3rd, 2008 at 8:42 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.