WHAT A JOKE

Some things in life are so laughable they end up not being funny. They end up being a bad joke. It is really not funny but ridiculous. Why it was done in the first place makes no sense because for each of us the end result has no effect. We pay so many taxes because the majority of people want to take from the productive and give to the unproductive. They preach the gospel of equality. They do not think it is fair that some have more than others.

Those who do not ascribe to this false gospel are called heartless. What the real deal is that these false prophets claim to be compassionate. It is easy to be compassionate with other people’s money. When someone has to pay for something, they are careful who gets what. Their compassion becomes more narrow. My philosophy is simple, you get yours and I will get mine and leave mine alone unless you ask to borrow it and I grant my permission.

Some taxes are essential. Taxes used for law enforcement (police and judicial system), public safety and national defense are essential. This is where the majority of our tax dollars should go. Law enforcement has a monopoly on enforcement and punishment and is not designed to be run like a business. They are not trying to make a profit. Law enforcement is a net consumer but they produce something that is any many ways intangible, civil order. Civil order cannot be quantified.

Now for the joke. On January 1. 2008 on the front page of the Johnson City Press this is the headline New year, cheaper food - State tax on groceries lower effective today. This sounds good on the surface. However, when I read the article I had to laugh at the ridiculousness of the tax reduction. Why bother is my response. The tax savings for me and my family is so minimal that it really amounts to nothing at all.

What a concession by the Tennessee Legislature. They reduced the sales tax on food by a whopping one-half percent. Let’s do the math. If I spend $500 a month on food, I will be saving $2.50 a month ($500 x .5%). What a windfall. What will I be able to do with this extra $2.50 a month? Maybe I could use it to put a down payment on something that I have been desiring to buy for a long time. What is that you say, don’t be ridiculous? I know. I could buy a cup of coffee at Starbuck’s with it. That will not work because when I order coffee at Starbuck’s, it ends up costing me more than $2.50.

It looks as though I will not be able to spend this windfall on too much. The article says, "A family spending $6,000 a year on groceries ($500 a month) (this was put in for the math challenged who went to public school and would not be able to perform this higher math) will save $30 a year (I am inserting this as a public service for those who attended public school and for the math challenged $2.50 x 12)from the decreases that takes effect today."

Did you catch that? A $30 dollar tax savings over the course of a one year period. I cannot even afford to take the family out to a restaurant for that amount. In fact, I am not sure how I am going to spend my $30. Have you considered how you are going to spend your windfall? Why are you laughing? I see that you think that this whole thing is a joke. A comedian could get a lot of mileage with this one. What is that you say? The Tennessee Legislature has taken up a new profession, stand up comedy. It looks as though they are going to have a long and successful career.