TAXES
The closer you get to an election the more your hear about how different the Republicans are from the Democrats. There may very well have been a significant difference twenty or forty years ago, but after witnessing what happened in the last eight years, I have to admit that the difference appears to be in name only. Still, even today you hear that Republicans are for low taxes and Democrats want to raise taxes.
Ever since President Kennedy, Democrats have been in favor of raising taxes and since that time taxes have become more and more of a burden. Republicans have been in power several times since President Kennedy was assassinated yet taxes have still gone up and up and up. How can that be if Republicans are for low taxes? Could it be that the low tax claim is just something to fool voters into voting Republican?
Not entirely. The Bush tax cut did result in a break in taxation, but for those who do not make all that much money it could not be considered anything serious in terms of tax relief. I believe I remember getting a check for $300 from the government. That was after I was asked to pay more than $5000 in income taxes.
That $300 becomes even more inconsequential when you realize that income tax is just one of a multitude of taxes and fees that our state and federal governments load on us. Less that half what I have to pay out in taxes is due to income. The rest is in fees for government services that should be free, fees for registration of automobile, fees for automobile safety sticker, a very significant property tax, sales taxes on everything I buy, excise tax on top of sales tax for all kinds of products such as gasoline, and the list goes on and on and on. The end result is that over half of the gross income is stolen by the government.
I find it very difficult to be thankful for a $300 rebate. I find it more of an insult that a benefit. All it does is remind me that I am still paying out far too much in taxes. Republicans can’t buy my vote with a $300 tax rebate.
But I would not vote for any Democrat either. If Republicans are at times shifty, then Democrats are always untrustworthy. They want us to believe that they will only increase tax on the rich. Trouble is that they consider anyone who has money left over after taxes are paid as being rich.
The want to raise taxes on corporations, especially the oil companies. They are particularly interested in taping into the windfall profits the oil companies are enjoying from the increased price of gasoline. Uneducated voters hear this, and cheer them on at the sideline. These dummies don’t realize that corporations do not pay tax like we do. Our tax comes from our income. Corporations don’t have income, as such. Just profits. Profits are removed from the top. They are not taken from what is left at the bottom like what an individual has to settle for. And the taxes that a corporation pays the government is part of the selling price of the product they produce. It is included in the cost of manufacture. Guess who pays that? The consumer! We are the consumer! So the next time some slick politican tries to tell you they are only going to increase taxes on the rich and greedy corporations, watch your back. In the end YOU will be the one paying the tax increase. It may be hidden in the price of the products you suddenly can no longer afford so you may not end up paying it after all but it will still effect your lifestyle in a negative way.