This is the time of year when we are all required to “render to Caesar”. I’m pretty sure that this president said he would not raise taxes on people making less than $200,000.00 per year so I did not worry because I have never had a six figure salary. Well, you can add that line to the, “You can keep your doctor” lie. Technically he did not raise our income taxes, he just let the old tax rate expire which automatically reset the tax rate to a higher level. Semantics for him, higher taxes for us. Not only did I have to pay more than last year, but I had better not die because inheritance taxes have increased and my children will probably have to pay the government for my demise.

The original tax rate of approximately 3% was imposed in 1862 to help pay for the Civil War. Before that, certain items like gold, silver, and jewelry were taxed but that tax was eliminated in favor of imposing tariffs on imported goods.  In 1872 the income tax was eliminated but revived again in 1894 – 1895 although 1895 saw the U.S. Supreme Court declare the income tax unconstitutional because of the way it was designed to be collected. In 1913 the sixteenth amendment changed all of that and gave us the burden we now know and dread.

There are literally hundreds of taxes that we pay today that did not exist before 1900. Somehow the greedy, lying politicians, who all speak in double entendres, have managed to secure a good life for themselves by taxing the ordinary citizen to death. Every tax is not necessarily called a tax. We all know about state taxes, property taxes, school taxes, sales taxes, luxury taxes (what the heck is a luxury?)  and those that are openly referred to as a tax. But then there are licensing fees which really are just another tax. Do you want to get married, go fishing, go hunting, own a dog, drive a car? The double entendre here is “license” which is really more money for the bureaucracy; therefore, just another tax. Then there are taxes imposed on things you use like gasoline, utilities, cigarettes, liquor and other commodities. These taxes are built in to the cost of the product so that you do not see the word “tax”, you just have to pay a higher price for their use based on what politicians have determined. Candidates  who want to increase taxes on big oil are advocating a higher price at the pump. Taxes on big oil will be passed on to you, the consumer. This kind of palaver is for the undereducated. Mandates  also create a kind of tax because if you do not comply with the mandate, you have to pay a fine (fine is another word for tax as defined by the U.S. Supreme Court when its decision on the constitutionality of Obamacare determined that the fines referred to in the health care act were actually a tax). Highway and bridge tolls were intended to be used to keep them in good repair, but we were convinced by our government that we needed a stimulus to repair our infrastructure.  Where has all of that tax money gone?

With all of the fees and taxes collected, there is never a full accounting of what happened to them. If you want to know that, good luck with your hunting; various departments cannot account for millions (maybe billions) of our tax dollars.  The law abiding,  citizens continue to be ripped off by the people they elected. And the people they elected live like royalty, voting raises and perks for themselves at will. The insult is that many government employees do not pay their taxes. This kind of puts a new spin on the term, “crime does not pay” ergo, those who do not pay their taxes are criminals.  What happened to government officials being “public servants”? It certainly no longer applies. If you want to press an issue with your congressman, you can expect a form letter in reply; that is, unless the congressman can figure out a way to tax, fine or mandate its imposition. Lobbyists are particularly good at providing convincing arguments for their causes and because they grease the wheels of government, they are given preference. What happened to the people’s lobby? Senators and representatives were elected to carry out the will of the people. In that respect they should be considered the people’s lobby. Instead they sell their power to the highest bidder without a consideration for the citizens who elected them. They are whores of the worst kind and their actions are felonious. The only way to make them pay is by voting them out.