Why The Upraor Over Taxes?

Why the uproar over taxes?

First things first; I have 298 e-mails in response to the blog and bulletin. Given that I do not even have that many friends here it is safe to say that it is a subject worth discussing. 100% of those who e-mailed me spoke at least once about taxes and the proposed tax increase by one of the candidates; some for it and some against it. Of these individuals (all but four) asked me why I feel the way I do about it. Fair is fair.

The problem here is that the higher income levels are taxed more. (Understanding that the same tax rate would generate more dollars from higher incomes solely based on percentage). The last time I looked, getting to the higher income levels in what we strive for in life - comfort vs. struggle. On the way up, those ambitious enough to actually try to accomplish more and achieve more are not looking for handouts to assist their climb. We have all seen the Joe the Plumber interview with Obama. Though eloquent and controlled in his answer to Joe's questions there was a point missed - and probably on purpose. There are two opposing ends (proportionate ends) to every bell curve. You can increase the tax on one end to lower the tax on the other end but the mean - which is the majority goes largely unchanged because of its proportionate balance. It is no different than raising the minimum wage only to have those freed up dollars gobbled up by immediate price increases to accommodate having to pay workers more. It is robbing Peter to pay Paul. The odd thing about these two spectrums in the bell curve (in terms of taxes) is the lower income end of it. In this case the taxes are either already exempt or can be claimed exempt with no penalty. Further, as you slide up the curve a bit a family can claim exempt and still get money back on their taxes through growing deduction eligibility. Funny how that never came up. The fact of the matter is it is foolish to think there will ever actually be a tax break of any significance to those in mean of the bell curve - though we are led to believe that. (Proportionate ratios dictate that the mean - say 40 to 60 of the mid must have 'swing' adjustments out to 80 in order to effect the population. To improve on in every 20 you must effect 80 in every 100). This is where 'income tax rates' came from. The idea is to incrementally impose more taxes in a way so that fewer effect more.

Anyway; That ambiguous 5% by far and large did not arrive their by accident. And that is why I take the stance on this that I do. Many of you know I was raised by my Aunt and Uncle. They took me in when my Mother passed away. They did this while having very little for themselves and their children. I grew up poor, very poor. Sheets on the bed were a luxury item. In winter we huddle around the oven and stove to warm ourselves as we carefully ate breakfast trying to not get burned. My Aunt and Uncle never once asked for social assistance, they made due and were more concerned with ensuring we would not raise our children the way they had to raise theirs. Things were the way they were for specific reasons. Lack of education, and having children before they had the established means to raise them. Period. As bitter as that is it was true. My Uncle never made it out of the sixth grade and my Aunt never made it out of the eighth grade. They had children young and with no means to raise them. Despite being so poor and coming from such a rough inner city area where the odds are stacked so high against you, they did right by us. The children have gone on to do great things. A lawyer, a sociologist, a child psychologist, an Air Force First Sergeant, an engineer and a business owner (the other two have passed away). Either way, I worked my way through college so I could get my degree. My younger cousin Stacey would not have been able to go to college unless I made my own way. I felt that I had taken enough from her already just by being an extra mouth to feed and an extra back to clothe. So I left, worked and studied. Ten day stints of NO SLEEP for all finals and mid-terms because I was working 50 plus hour weeks and taking a full load never taking even a summer term off. My internships; I had to work a second job to pay my way. One paid $150 a week and the other I actually ended up costing my $210 a week. Both internships I worked 95 weeks on average between the two jobs. Many of you already know the personal sacrifices I have made just working as an engineer here to get myself where I need to be. I push because my Aunt is in a house that I put here in, I pay all of her bills and ensure she is without want. My cousin's husband walked out leaving her high and dry with four kids. I take it upon myself to ensure she is ok and her son and girls have the things that they need - to make sure that they in no way grow up the way she and I did. I put myself in this position on purpose. It was not a mistake. I sacrificed my entire life to get here and sacrifice to this day to get to the next step. I did this by not doing what my Aunt and Uncle did. I ensured that I got my education and I did not take on the burdens of life that would hold me back. I did not just wake up here one morning. I am not 'the lucky' one as some of you have put it. Yes, I do make more than 250K a year but I also EARN more than 250K a year. Some of you can very personally attest to that form both a perspective of the hours I put in and what I continue to lose in life associated with you - some of you have been lost to it.

From a taxes perspective, let's face it. I did not put this effort in for you - I put it in for me, my family and the family I plan to have in the future. You can kindly take your hands out of my pockets now. Last quarter I paid $33,334.78 in taxes. I pay them quarterly because it makes me far too bitter to do it annually. So, what you are telling me in this proposed idea by this candidate is that I am to pay more because I have lived my life the way other have wanted to but failed to do. No silver spoon was in my mouth, no scholarships and no grants dumped money in pocket to get me through school. I stayed out of trouble, avoided the pitfalls that keep lower economic classes where they are and I have worked hard every single day of my entire life - and in return it is supposed to be okay for me to pay more for doing what others wanted to but couldn't. With some people, their will exceeds their power to dream; with other people their power to dream exceeds their will. One naturally gets further in life than the other but it is not the will driven's job to carry the dreamers on their back. We all make our choices and it gets us where we are today, that does not by any stretch of the imagination make the entire working class of America (less this 5%) a charity case!

This sounds a bit on the harsh side but we are talking openly here. The 'things I do not understand' I actually do. I tell my closest friends these very same things in much harsher words because they are my closest friends. Many of them are in the lowest of income levels. I ask them where they want to be and why are where they are. Each one of them answers the same way; they want to be comfortable and they are not comfortable because of choices they have made in the past. One of them got married at the age of 17 and now has two children. As you can imagine she is divorced and receives no support. Today she is struggling but she is going to school, she has a good job - it does not pay much but it offers both security and growth potential (and is paying for her school). Today is rough for her but tomorrow has promise. She knows why she is where she is. She realizes that dropping out of college and starting a family was the worst thing she could have done at such a young age. She freely tells you that she should have never blown off her highschool years and went to a better college. That fact is she is where she is because she put herself there - the good news is she is doing something about it. In this population, she represents the average. Some one who had the same options and opportunities that I had but opted to walk away from them. She is not the hard luck case that got sued because her son stole her car and killed some one. She is not the one that got stuck with the an in debt estate after the death of a family member who had no will. She is not the one whose loved one had a terminal condition with no insurance. These are the individuals who do not so much need assistance as they do deserve assistance, they do not get their due share (proportionately) because we concentrate our efforts not on the exception but the rule - people who have opted to get left back get so much of the pie that the cut for these individuals is not enough. We do apply the exception rule however, to those that have managed to do well; regardless of the cost of what it took them to do well. I would much rather the government knock on my door every three months and tell me to write a check out to one of these individuals to help them get back to where they need to be because they have fallen behind by no fault of their own as opposed to sending so much money so people less deserving can be rewarded for not taking life seriously.

People get upset about this now because it is an election issue and telling them things challenges their positions because they realize that so much of their position is based in ignorance. Get over it, you will be fine. Because your position has fallen under challenge does not mean it is a personal attack. Feel free to take it personally if it is of that much importance to you but come January you will have forgotten all about it - I on the other hand will be writing yet another 33K check, it will be on my mind trust me.

A few people have said (and they know me VERY well) that it is good to be able to write checks to the government. "A good problem to have" as one returned my own words from a previous conversation. Don't get it twisted, I am all about helping the right people for the right reason at the right time. Taxes in and of themselves are a necessary evil and I have not one problem in the world with paying; other than the my fair share argument. Think about it for a second, what happens when over 40% of your income - you lose? Is that to say I would have been better off working half as hard to pay 20%? No, obviously not but at the same time can you see how having so much taken to taxes for the reasons they are taking them could be a sore spot? We strive for levels of comfort in life. What this equates to asking those that have achieved theirs to step it back for others that have not. It is a true and pure socialist concept that has destroyed world super powers. Why don't we all just work directly for the government and make a standard wage regardless of what you do and how hard you work - that is the end means of the slippery slope of taxation in this form and format. It will never come to that point but where do you draw the line? Do you hold people accountable for where they are in life or do you force others to assume that responsibility for them? This is the only country in the world that you file bankruptcy five times and still die a millionaire - problem is people do not strive hard enough to make it because they are cuddled through life and rewarded for not striving for more. We all know people out there selling food stamps, we all know people that have multiple kids they are not supporting, we all know people that have no job and three kids by three different people yet we do nothing to hold them accountable for where they are. Fact is, the government is quicker to take my money than it is to take the money from a father of three kids that he refuses to support. My money is taken for that, this same guy refuses to get a job because they will eventually come after him for child support, my money is taken for that because in many states means of social support at minimum standards of living are not garnished for any reason. I pay him to be a dead beat - now I am to pay more and accept that? Not hardly.

If we would not put ourselves in bad situations, we would not be in them. I have little compassion for those that have made put themselves where they are and are doing nothing about it. Some social programs work just fine and from a tax paying perspective I am all about it. People are losing jobs and need help bouncing back. No skin off my back, for things of that nature I would freely pay more because it was not fault of their own. The economy ebbs and flows and this is par for the course when things slow down. This specific aspect was indeed cited, just nothing is out there to bring taxation back down once the economy bounces back, they take and keep taking despite the need going away.

This hits all of the biggies. Other more personal responses will come this weekend individually