Thursday, January 12, 2017

Fools and Their Money

This next four years are really going to suck.  The minority Democrats aren't going to be able to stop the Republicans from doing most of their reckless and nefarious agenda.



One of the agenda items is the repeal of Federal and State Income Tax.  Our taxes are primarily collected four different ways:  1) Federal taxes to fund the Federal Government, their Departments, the military and larger Federal projects, 2) State taxes to fund your state government, their departments, and their projects, 3) Property taxes, which primarily go to fund your city and county government, and (depending on the state) public schools, and 4) Sales tax, which are enforced on different levels within each individual state/municipality, depending on how each individual state/municipality is set up.

A Republican repeal of the Federal and State Income taxes wouldn't be for most of us, only for the wealthiest of Americans, the ones making a million or more a year.  The rest of us will actually see a massive increase in our taxes to cover the wealthiest's free ride.  The GOP loves spending tax dollars, even passing a 9 trillion dollar deficit extension late last night.  Republican politicians are betrothed to giving every cent, plus more, back to the wealthiest Americans, and since militaries, corporate welfare and pork projects aren't free, they'll never get rid of taxes for people making 200K or less a year.  Republicans have even proposed taxing the poorest members of our society to offset the tax breaks for the wealthiest.  But this reality doesn't stop the Republicans from telling voters making $50K a year, "we'll make sure you'll keep all your money, and all your problems will be solved!"  Voters desperate to get ahead, willingly get duped, hoping for a mythical no tax utopia to become reality.  It's a morons thought process, false Conservative promises hiding a lack of understanding of complex governmental management of tax dollars.

The GOP has cultivated frustration and anger which inhabits many people's lives; the regret from not finishing school, marrying the wrong person, not getting the job they wanted, getting laid off, losing their home, having an medical crisis in the family, problems with kids, having an alcohol or substance abuse problem, not living the life they thought they were going to have.  The despondent have hung their hopes on the Republicans, partially due to the Republicans selling of the Lottery Solution!  "Vote for us, and we'll give you all your taxes back.  You'll be a MILLIONAIRE!  Plus, we'll hurt the people you hate, the ones you've falsely blamed for your failures, and we'll make them suffer!  You'll have everything you ever wished for if you vote for the GOP!"

But for arguments sake, let's say the Republicans get rid of Federal and State taxes.  Your 50K a year is now a pure 50K.  You'll get 10K more a year!  Be careful with it!  The buying power of the Feds and the state are pretty big.  Now that they're no longer in the bidding process, basic materials and supplies are going to cost a lot more to do the exact same jobs.  There won't be a single project, whether still preformed by your local government or farmed out to a private sector business, which will be less expensive.  Not a one!  Everything will cost 3 to 10 times more than it does now.

Since your city still has to pay for police, fire, trash, local street maintenance, street cleaners, sewer, water, and everything else, expect your property taxes and/or local sales taxes to explode!  In some parts of the country some of these services are optional subscription services, but that's risky.  You're going to have to pay for most of them, quickly whittling away at your 10K!

The Republican voter feels current services would be ala carte in an income tax free world.  This is boneheadedly simplistic.  Your argument is you don't have kids, so you don't want to pay for Public Education.  Fine, until you need someone to preform a task which requires a level of education the public schools no longer provides because of massive budget cuts.  You insist you never use public parks, so you'll save money there, until your local parks become overgrown, unkept and unpleasant.  Only a fool would think the rest of the world would want to maintain the parks in someone else's neighborhood.  And I don't want to begin to broach the larger government services (FAA, food inspection, post office, court system), things every citizen needs functioning, all of them undoubtedly less efficient and far more expensive without a government to pay for/regulate.

Roads alone will cost you a fortune.  Prepare for toll roads everywhere.  Say you're lucky, only having to take one major highway into work everyday.  Great!  Pay $3 each direction, every day!  If you work 250 days a year, thats $1500 per year, FOR THAT ONE ROAD!  If you insist you'd just telecommute, without government oversight, it'll cost you a ton, as the unregulated telecommunication companies will know exactly the price point they need to be to make opting out of driving into work a begrudging choice.

Not only are you gong to burn through your extra 10K a year, you're going to have to pay quite a bit of the 40K too!  In return, you'll get about a third of the government services you currently enjoy.  But I'm sure Republican voters are all prepared to scream "Damn Democrats" when their masterplan blows up in their faces.

Republican voters, look in the mirror.  The person who's going to change your life for the better is you, not some politician dependent on you being a fool.  If you get your tax dollars back, which will NEVER happen with the Republicans, you won't become a millionaire, living the life you think you're owed.  Only you can change your life, and thanks to the Democrats, there are many avenues for you to do so, avenues which require hard work and sacrifice, but avenues where the tax payer funded government can help you find your path to success.

In Michigan, they've introduced a repeal of the State's Income Tax, to be rolled out over the next 40 years.  They've not disclosed how exactly they plan on paying for the stuff the Income Tax currently pays for, but they don't care.  That's why they made it a 40 year roll back.  They'll be long gone, living high on the hog off their benefactors fat, while the people they were supposed to represent are left to rot.

Fools and their money never choose wisely...that's why fools vote Republican.




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