Tax Day and Brats

  Every year at tax time, like clockwork, someone berates the Government for "taking my hard-earned money." It's an old trope and I'm tired of hearing it. Personally, it calls to mind a whiny, bratty child who doesn't want to do his or her chores. This mentality, that of a spoiled child, is in my opinion at the heart of most tax debates in this country.


  A major contributer to this nonsense is one Grover Norquist  who has been able to get 95% of all Republicans to sign his "Tax Payer Protection Act," which states:

• ONE, oppose any and all efforts to increase the marginal income tax rates for individuals and/or businesses; and
• TWO, oppose any net reduction or elimination of deductions and credits, unless matched dollar for dollar by further reducing tax rates.

In effect, Grover decided that the best thing for America, for Americans, for his ego, wallet and party is to simply stop raising taxes -  for any reason - ever. His reasoning for this is to establish a clear line of demarcation between the "tax and spend Democrats" and the "fiscally responsible Republicans." 

Poor Grover.

Of course Democrats have often proven themselves to be much more fiscally responsible than their "conservative" counterparts. Take President Clinton and President George Bush, Jr. for example.  One ended his term with a surplus, the other with record-breaking debt.  All facts aside, Mr. Norquist and his party beg to differ.  


 Grover's genius plan for our entire economy was hatched when he was merely 12 years old. Child prodigy? I think not. Spoiled brat? Probably.  Weird? No question.  


  In effect the Republican's inability to take any action to rescue the economy is due to the whims of a 12 year old. Not just any 12 year old, cause most kids are pretty cool, but a spoiled, bratty kid who has no clue or care about the suffering of the real world. 

  Grover is not alone in his spoiled mind-set, as too many people agree with him. This ideology is espoused every time someone attacks welfare, poor people, the sick, the jobless and so on. For instance, South Carolina Lieutenant Governor André Bauer equated impoverished children with stray cats and urged people not to feed either so they would just go away, presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich wants poor children to clean school toilets to earn their keep and the state of Florida has started drug testing all (poor) folks who get government assistance in an effort to reduce government spending shame them. 

  The reasoning behind these reprehensible ideas is that if you are not wealthy, and I mean making upwards of $200,000 a year, then you are lazy, worthless and probably stoopit.  After all, what does a wealthy, white, insulated, old man 12 year old  know about suffering due to lack of money, discrimination, hunger, and so on? Nothin'. 

  Ultimately, the facts are these: The United State is the 3rd lowest taxed nation of all industrialized nations. If one breaks it down further, Tennessee is one of the lowest tax states in the country. With these low taxes the people buy protection in the form of air traffic control, police, military, firefighters, food and building regulations and more. The people buy sewer systems, electricity grids, roads, the justice system, parks, street lighting, garbage pick-up, public schools and universities and SO MUCH MORE. The people of the US are getting a pretty good deal for their tax dollars. In fact, some can argue (and I usually do) that we should have more and better. Tax loopholes need to be closed so that major corporations like GE, BOA, and AIG who paid no taxes at all pay their fair share. Tax rates need to be progressive and NOT regressive so that the Mitt Romneys of the world pay at least as much in taxes as his secretary does. Also, tax rates on the wealthy need to be raised in general so that taxes aren't the sole responsibility of the waning middle class. 

  Of course there is no doubt that there are many fixes that our federal government and state government need to employ regarding taxes, but the answer is certainly not to just stop raising taxes. That makes no sense. I can't decide one day to stop paying the increases on the things I buy like food, energy or clothes. I can't say to my local grocery that I will only be paying last year's prices for bread forever.  It just doesn't work like that in the real world. 

  But, of course I am an adult. I am no longer the "dreamer" that I once was at 12 and have therefore let my go of ideations of mandatory pizza party Wednesdays for everyone. At any rate, I'm happy to pay my taxes. I know that I have contributed my part to pay for all the things that make our country great.  Oliver Wendell Holmes once said: "I like paying taxes. With them I buy civilization." Yep. 

  Grover and friends, on the other hand, are tedious, spoiled, insufferable people who never grew out of their tantrum phase. They are the Veruca Salts of the real world and they are spoiling everybody's good time. So to them I say "GROW UP."

Sorry, Veruca you deserve better.