Admittedly far from some profound realization, it occurred to me this week that I’m less than thrilled with the services our government provides for the amount of money we pay. This thought sits in the back of my mind simmering
Admittedly far from some profound realization, it occurred to me this week that I’m less than thrilled with the services our government provides for the amount of money we pay.
This thought sits in the back of my mind simmering throughout most of the year, but comes to a boil every April. With the tax-filing deadline Monday, obviously this is no coincidence.
I can’t say I’m anxious to fork over a bunch of dough in addition to the thousands I’ve already paid over the past 12 months.
Our roads still have potholes (try driving to the Kalalau lookout); our education system remains subpar (try looking at school report cards); our healthcare costs continue to soar (try examining how much basic stuff insurance won’t cover); our elected leaders still just do whatever they want (try asking lawmakers to cut spending instead of burdening us with more fees).
I could go on, but space is limited.
Another big bummer about tax season is the friendly reminder on the forms that married couples and people with a plethora of kids get huge breaks while single adults are left to foot the bulk of the bill.
I’d like our legislators to carve out some tax credits in some form or another to help the poor individuals working hard to do the right thing and make mature life decisions based on what they can actually afford.
Something is wrong with this picture if you can somehow swing a new set of rims and a flat-screen TV, yet still rely on foodstamps, affordable housing and the thousands of dollars you get back each year from the government because of your four dependents and partnership status.
There should be some type of purchase-approval system if your income leans so heavily on taxpayer-subsidized programs and archaic benefits.
With overpopulation the root cause of virtually all serious problems in the world, from climate change to unemployment, you’d think a wise democratic government would incentivize being a responsible single citizen.
I suppose I’m just uncomfortable swallowing the bitter pill that is the reality of paying taxes, or just have higher expectations than most on government efficiency. Maybe we could all collectively not pay our taxes and just see what happens?
My guess is the pros would outweigh the cons, and we’d wind up working together to implement more effective solutions.
