I just got through doing our taxes for 2006. For the first time since I can remember doing taxes, we are having to send more money to the IRS than was withheld. This is very disturbing to me and your mother. It rather torques my jaws to tell you the truth.
What got us this year is we had to take a withdrawal from my 401k in order to pay for the basement. So not only do they withhold from that withdrawal at a 20% rate, the IRS then hits you with a 10% additional penalty when you do your taxes. What a ripoff!!!
I sure wish that they would hold the elections around the 3rd week in April. The Pols are too smart for that though. They know that they would be thrown out of office every election. It is absolutely ridiculous that the Feds take so much of our money. I'm not speaking as a Republican or a Democrat here. I work hard for the money we get and it makes me mad to see so much of it wasted. And for you Matt, I'm not thinking the defense of this country is a waste. No, we have plenty of income from our tax code to cover the essential things that the Federal governement should be doing. Defense, foreign policy, welfare, social security, etc. What we have is too much waste and entitlements. Why do we have a Federally created Dept of Education? Why do we have OSHA? Why do we have the FHA? The EPA? Etc, etc. Better left to the states, much of this. We are out of control.
I really do pity you guys and your kids. By the time they are grown up and paying taxes they will get nothing of what they earn.
Sorry to rant, but it is troublesome to me every year when I see all the waste and I could better use my money myself than giving it to the Feds. I don't want anything from them. Just let me do for myself and I will be fine. If that were to happen the whole thing would collapse as the top 10% of wage earners now pay 67% of the federal tax bill. Pathetic!!
I'd like to tell the Feds to go pound sand.....but I don't want to go to jail.
Love you.
Destitute in Denver
Dad
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3 comments:
Mick,
I feel for you. It is especially insulting when you are expecting at least a modest tax return and then not only does that vanish into thin air, but you get nailed with a debt to the Feds.
Government is overfed and underdisciplined, for sure. Sadly, I don't know if it will ever change. As I see it, the fundamental problem is that government's revenue stream is not in any way tied to it's performance and so there is little incentive to increase efficiency.
I don't get so annoyed with government assistance programs targeted at giving disadvantage segments of the population a chance to compete (heck, I gladly accepted a few pell grants because I was so disadvantaged:-(), but when those programs become viewed as "entitlements" as you said, then things can get out of control.
I guess in democratic theory, government is accountable to the population via elections, but those just seem to change the flavor of the taxes slightly. Really, the whole system to me seems like an overloaded semi with no brakes barrelling down vail pass. It doesn't matter who the driver is or what direction you steer, the unchangeable fact is the thing is out of control and picking up momentum.
I feel your pain. Uncle Sam is going to be taking a hefty chunk out of my wallet this year, as we've made a quantum jump in tax brackets. It doesn't do us any good to have kids anymore . . . financially speaking at least. :)
I don't like paying taxes any more than you. However, a wise old man once taught me some words to live by: there ain't no free lunch! Every time I drive down a highway or send my daughter to school or provide medical services for some destitute child, I'm reminded that those expenses don't materialize out of thin air.
And in principle,those that have more should pay more, but not at higher percentages. I would much prefer the flat tax. Everybody pays 17%--send in a postcard and a check. That way Joe Janitor who makes $20,000/yr pays $3,400, and Cecil CEO who makes $1,000,000/yr pays $170,000. No one feels like they are shouldering an unfair percentage (we'll be somewhere around 34% of our income this year), and there's no penalty for increasing your income. Where is Steve Forbes when you need him?
So I don't mind my taxes going towards social infrastructure and reasonable, compassionate programs. What is truly infuriating are the government pork projects, like the infamous bridge to nowhere in Alaska. I would like to say that Republicans were the party of fiscal responsibility, but that has certainly not been the case over the past 6 yrs . . .
Dad -- to answer your (admittedly rhetorical) questions:
We have OSHA (Occupational Health & Safety Administration) to ensure that all companies have to follow minimum standards in protecting their workers. When was the last time you worked in a hazardous envirionment?
Ok, it's been a while for me too but I think back to some of the jobs I've done and shudder. Some companies only follow rules because they have to. One instance: I remember being ordered when I worked at RPS to unload a trailer in which several 5 gallon buckets of paint had broken open. Do you have any idea what that smells like? We were told to hold our breath and rotate in/out every 5 minutes -- unfortunately, the fumes were overpowering in less tha half that time. They finally pulled us out of there when they realized what a hazard it was. Now OSHA wasn't involved -- but was RPS following the rules? No --until the safety manager or somebody realized the danger. We should've had respirators. OSHA rules cover confined spaces and the like. Fortunately the worst I have to worry about these days is the odd paper cut -- but I'm still glad OSHA is there.
We have the Department of Education to deal with a broad array of educational issues, such as standards, financial aid, and equality of education among income brackets. Somebody has to do it -- and this is an area that has been shamefully neglected for decades, with the result that a scary proportion of Americans are scarily ignorant of the world. If we are going to stay competitive with other parts of the world like Japan and Europe (both of which have much more comprehensive educational systems than the US) then education has to be one of our top priorities. Think of it as an investment in the future.
We have the EPA to protect the environment. It's in the name, after all. We wouldn't have the smog standards in Denver that we do without that evil EPA. Compainies like ASARCO (lead smelter in Globeville, North Denver) wouldn't be liable for the cleanup of decades of pollution of residential neighborhoods. Rocky Flats would be glowing by now! The standard libertarian response is that these problems are covered by tort law. But the environment is too important to be left to such vagaries. Once part of it is polluted or destroyed, it will take lifetimes to return to normal, if ever. And the EPA has been quite successful at protecting endangered species. Long live the EPA :-D
None of these three things should be left to the states, which often have competing interests. Some things are just better dealt with by an overarching authority. Would you do away with the FAA? The FCC? The SEC? What about the FBI? Social Security? What about all the Federal highway money that flows back into the Colorado to keep the highways repaired and for construction projects like mass transit? For all their flaws, these agencies are vital to keeping this country running. Get rid of them and you will suffer too.
We have the FHA to provide a means for people of lower incomes to own property. This, too has been neglected. Maybe the growing problem of affordable housing would be better left to the states, but in most cases they aren't doing anything about it either. So, what you get are slums. They're easy to ignore when you're safely out in the 'burbs, but lots of people have no choice but to live there. Denver is pretty fortunate in this area, but there are a few pretty bad areas that are more or less invisible to wealthy people. Out of sight out of mind seems to be the rule.
As for why higher incomes are taxed more, that is called "progressive taxation" under the theory that people who enjoy more of the fruits of this society should pay a higher proportion of their income. Yeah, it's not exactly fair, but much better than taxing poorer people at a higher rate. The goal of sensible tax policies should be to create a broad and deep middle class.
That is NOT what W has done in the past 6 years. This man YOU voted for :-P
I'm not saying that I like paying taxes --who does? So why don't they give ME a tax cut, not multi-multi millionaires with tax shelters and strategies out the wazoo? Unlike many wealthier people, I can't deduct mortgage interest, can't itemize deductions, can't deduct losses from certain investments. Everybody knows the US tax system is hideously complex to the point of being broken... but you will fix nothing by handing out this-and-that loophole to special interest group. That's how it got so bad in the first place.
Finally, may I remind you that ultra tax-and-spend liberal-commie-unamerican Clinton ran SURPLUSES for most of the 1990's. What has created the current mess under a >>>>>REPUBLICAN! REPUBLICAN! REPUBLICAN!<<<<< administration counteractive "strategies" of cutting taxes while raising spending, largely on ill-fated wars.
Not only has the economy not been stimulated, but people have been led to think that this war doesn't cost them a dime. Compare that to Roosevelt, who at least was careful to explain to America that victory in WWII would require heavy sacrifices in lives and money. With Iraq, W and the Republicans are pushing the cost further down the line, to our children. That doesn't sound responsible to me, or honest either.
I understand that you don't like seeing all your tax money go to waste -- neither do I. So why did you vote for this administration twice?
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