The word tax for many creates a negative connotation. Many of us pay begrudgingly. We have calculators that determine which day each year we are done working for "Uncle Sam".
The right kind of taxation is really an investment we make in our society and our future as an American community. We want security; therefore we must have a well-funded defense capability. We want safe highways that have enough capacity so we don't spend a large part of our lives stuck on Interstates 101, I-5, I-95, I-35, I-10 or whatever is presently the nearest parking lot nearest you. We want great schools with well-paid teachers --schools where future generations can acquire a quality education in a safe environment. We want clear air, clean good tasting drinking water that we don't have to pay Coca Cola or Pepsi for. We want well-paid police, fire, military and others that have dedicated themselves to our safety and freedom. When we pay our taxes, we are investing in all these things.
We also agree we should not have to endure taxation without representation. While it could be argued that over the past two terms of the Bush Administration we, the American people have not been represented by government (while the interests of Exxon-Mobil, Halliburton, Wal*Mart certainly have), there is a sinister tax that is being imposed upon all of us and there is no gray area, it is taxation without representation.
The shadow tax that has been imposed upon all of us with the rabid support of this administration is a tax on the middle-class and poor. There is no Internal Revenue Code to research on this tax. It is about the transfer and consolidation of wealth from the middle and working class to the wealthy. There is no U.S. Treasury procedure to cite. The tax has been imposed in multiple ways, some examples noted below, and has been fully supported by the fascist regime led by Bush/Cheney.
* Relaxing EPA Air Quality guidelines
* Relaxing EPA Water Safety guidelines and not funding enforcement
* New Bankruptcy legislation that does not allow consumers to be released from economic or debtor's prison
* So called Tort Reform that allows companies that produce harmful products to not have to financially answer for their egregious actions
* Reducing the upper tax bracket and attempting to reduce it even more
* Attempting to eliminate Estate Taxes
* Eliminating Job Training programs and social services
* Eliminating after school and crime prevention programs
* Shifting fiscal burden from Federal to State government
* Providing huge tax breaks for ExxonMobil, Chevron and other energy concerns at a time when they are earning record profit
* Opening up our national parks and wildlife reserves to logging and mining interests
* Reducing the inspection and enforcement capability of the USDA which puts our food supply at risk
* Initiating an illegal war to divert attention away from a fragile economy and award single source highly lucrative contracts to FOD* *Friends of Dick
Each one of the above actions places society at risk while acting to shift wealth to the already wealthy. Taxes are used to allocate money for investment into society to keep us strong while creating opportunity for all to thrive in a reasonably safe environment. This band of fascist pick pockets has used a series of legislation, policies, mandates and war to make their friends richer and more powerful. Despite such a shift in wealth, the American people (thankfully) voted and at least enough of the votes were counted to impede what has been an unbridled grand theft of our future, that of our children and generations yet to come.
Sadly, the highest tax has been paid by many of our brave men and women, our sons and daughters and of the Iraqi people, and it continues to be paid in lives, suffering and blood.
I am hopeful that the American people do not have short memory for what we have endured, and what we continue to endure by this government band of thieves. We must remain engaged and demand safeguards to ensure that future elections cannot be stolen, that wars cannot be easily and unilaterally declared and that we put America back on track toward a vision of fairness, compassion and equal opportunity for all.
If we do not, the yoke will most certainly be on us and future generations
About the Author: Mr. Polisner founded alonovo.com in March of 2005. He has been working in most aspects of Information Technology since 1981 and was an early commercial adopter of the UNIX operating system. Prior to founding alonovo.com, George was a Director at Oracle Corporation. He is a frequent contributor to newspapers regarding political and economic policy and often appears as a guest on radio programs. In fact, when it comes to alonovo.com, it's pretty difficult to get him to stop talking. George is also available for speaking engagements.