More Government Hypocrisy
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My Daily Rant 3/5/2010
They say two things in life are certain: death and taxes. And while death only comes once, taxes rear their ugly head every year. Taxes are a necessary evil. No one likes paying taxes, but that is part of being a grown up in America. You get a job, you pay your taxes, taxes pay for things like the roads you drive on and the public schools you send your children to, the police who protect your butt every day, the firemen who put out the fire when you leave your curling iron on, etc. Now, we could get into a massive discussion on the misdirection of tax funds, and I am certain it does happen, however that's not really what I want to delve into today. (For one, that topic will make me irate, and I don't currently have any alcohol in the house.)
What I want to talk about today is the hypocrisy of tax refunds versus tax payments. Every year, you calculate your taxes, and figure out if you owe the government money or if they owe you money. If you owe them money, you have to have it paid to them by April 15th. If you do not, several things can happen. They can take your paycheck. They can take all of the money in your bank account. They can take your assets. They can pretty much do whatever the hell they want because they are the government and they said so, dammit. (As a self employed person, I know from experience, however, that the IRS is willing and able to work with you if you can't pay your taxes in full. They are very accomodating and it is a pretty easy and painless process. That's not to say they won't stick it to you hard in penalties and interest, but they will work with you.) The state, however? Um, yeah, not so much. The state will come in the night and steal your firstborn. They will suck your blood and sometimes mucus too. Ok, not really, but I needed to make a point and I think I got your attention, right? I don't know about other states, but in Idaho, you can make a payment arrangement ONCE IN YOUR LIFE. That is it. And they do not mess around. You miss a payment, or are late, or anything, and they will take your ENTIRE paycheck. Most garnishments can not exceed 50% of your income. Not the fabulous Gem State. They can take every last penny. They can and they will. Ok,so I imagine many people are thinking, "So pay your frickin taxes and quit bitchin bucky and there won't be a problem." And you would be correct. However, I am making a point, and as usual, it takes me a minute to get there.
That is what the state will do to you if you don't pay them on time. But what happens when the state owes you money and they can't pay on time? Last night, I was getting ready to go to bed, and saw a brief blurb on the 10:00 news that basically said, "State Tax Refunds will be delayed this year as the Idaho State Tax Commission announced Monday that they ran out of money."
THEY RAN OUT OF FRICKIN MONEY?
Seriously? Are you frickin kidding me? If I told the Idaho State Tax Commission, "Sorry,I ran out of money. Will you take an IOU?" They would throw my sorry butt in jail with the nasty methhead biatches who have been getting 3 squares a day on my dime. But we're just supposed to be ok with "We ran out of money, take an IOU?" ARGHH!!!!! (I really need a new expletive, that one isn't really working for me.)
I will add, that I read in the paper today that the commission notified leaders of the zero balance in their refund account, asked for $45 million dollars and were granted $30. They are saying that the reason the account ran out of money is because so many people filed early this year. They are also saying there will be little or no delay for people waiting for refunds. The article was't really clear on where the $30 million came from. I personally find this highly irritating. Remember last year when the state of California issued IOU's for tax refunds? Now, according to this article, that won't be happening here. I imagine it's because the Idaho State Tax Commission knows full well that Idaho is full of a bunch of gun owning patriots who won't take that kind of crap sitting down.
And they wonder why people crash planes into IRS buildings and shoot out Pentagon buildings.
By the way, I am in NO WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM, condoning those types of action. That is not the answer and it doesn't solve anything. But seriously, they wonder why it happens? This is why it happens. Because the rules that apply to all people in the United States of America do not apply to the government and we all find that kind of hypocrisy demeaning, demoralizing, and for lack of a better adjective, just plain bullshit. I really hope that the government and politiicans of the world are waking up and going, "Hmm, we may have just pushed everyone a bit too far."
You put too much tension on a string, it will break.
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You are one of the smart ones who refuse to play their games 50 Caliber! Nice to hear from you as always!
sunflowerbucky I always enjoy your choice of adjectives !I also believe anarchy is well on the way ! Although like you I would not go to the extremes we have been seeing on the news lately ! Oh by the way the liberal media is trying to label the guy who attacked at the pentagon a tea party member too ! The fact is he was mentally Ill ! No wonder no one trust mainstream media anymore !
Hi Tony, yeah I figured it would only be a matter of time before that happened. I certainly don't trust the media. There is no such thing as integrity in journalism anymore. It's a scary time.
A feew years ago I received a letter from the IRS saying they didn't have a tax statement for such and such year. I called, explained I didn't have any forms for that year, from employers or the tax forms. Not to worry, they had them all! Sent copies to me. I filled out the form and found I had a refund coming. Sent the form in. Remembered that was the year the IRS employees had thrown away loads of forms because they were overwhelmed and wanted to cut down their workload. The story had been in the newspaper. My refund was less than one hundred dollars that year, so I hadn't worried about it at the time. Better to just forget it, I'd figured. Well, now they had information. So what happened? They sent me a letter stating they would not pay me a refund because it had been too long since I'd filed! Would that have been the attitude if I'd owed them money? And in the end, I wondered why someone in the IRS office hadn't just done the math and seen that I didn't owe anything and left it at that, before they ever sent me that original letter?
YOU have made me smile ... :-))
Sheila, that is so ridiculous. I guarantee if they had owed you money, there would have been NO statute of limitations! It makes my blood boil!
Hello De Greek! I do what I can....:) I am headed over now to see what I can come up with in response to your letter to youth!
Our government is working on a one world plan, our country doesn't have a chance for the future and neither do we, they have let illegal immigration ruin our country,taking jobs, giving them food stamps social security, I see plenty and they all drive new cars dress very well, many have no car insurance and what does that do to the people they hit, does the government pay the cost(of course not)our jails are overran with their criminals, besides sending work to other countries that our Americans could be doing here, where I come from they had no problem getting American workers and jobs were plentiful but there is something in it for them for sure to have illegals take it over, maybe pay outs from large companies, who really knows, I have no hopes, except to survive if I am lucky enough. I have not one ounce of faith in our government either, all their concern is lining their own pockets, they are too ignorant to see what will come, and that it will be too late for change when they see what they have done.
Very interesting article. Luckily, in Florida we don't have a state income tax. But this makes the sales and use tax people very aggressive. Believe me, I know from personal experience. Thank you for the fine read.
Thanks for stopping by James and Polyannalana
Terrific rant, one we all share in. Frankly, no one in Washington is going to wake up anytime soon. In fact, get ready for another round of taxes and they will just go higher and higher and higher.
Bucky,
I must say that I can agree with your hub on the whole. The hair on my neck raised when you closed thinking that politicians maybe developing a conscience. The people who are in power today (not only in D.C. but also Austin and Boise) are not all there for the noble purpose of "serving their constituents". When you have some time, please research all of the people who represent you in your local, state and federal offices. Check out how long they have been in any public service office. You will most likely find (as I already have) that most are at least ten years in and have no plans of doing anything else but staying another 20 or 30 years by getting themselves elected to higher offices. Most of our forefathers in this country were not career politicians because they weren't PAID to be. Decades after they were long gone, state and federal legislators began to vote themselves higher pay increases and then later added their own special healthcare and retirement pensions. I do believe that there are still some people elected to our government(s) whose hearts are genuinely with their voters. Unfortunately, those folks are outnumbered by those who have sold themselves to "the system" or are simply there to rob the tax payers blind and simply implement their own diabolical plans to increase their power and influence regardless of what the voters want. I can keep going but I know you get my point. I too hate paying taxes simply because I do not believe in how my money is being allocated and spent. I also hate paying my bills, but I do enjoy the house I live in and the truck I drive, so I feel like I really do get a good return for money spent there. Nice hub Bucky.
Witt
Thanks for stopping by Witt! Yes, career politicias are prevalent in my state as well! I really liked your idea of making politicians have to fulfill 8-10 years of successful business ownership before running for office. This whole thing makes my blood boil! On a side note, as an update to this rant, the State went ahead and paid out those refunds, but now they are saying that hospitals and doctors are going to have to wait an extended amount of time for their medicare and medicaid payments due to the State's financial crisis. More hypocrisy. We are all expected to be grown adults who pay our bills and don't spend money we don't have, yet no one in givernment is expected to do the same. ARGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If we continue in the current direction that our government is headed, someone will be assigned to decide how you should spend your tax refund when and if you get it. Hypocrisy can only get worse with socialism! Good write!
Thanks for stopping by Wayne. Actually that already happens to some degree. My entire tax refund did not pass go and went directly to my husband's ex wife. To be fair, my ex's went directly to me. The way the child support system is set up in my state, it is virtually impossible to ever be caught up, so it's all a vicious cycle.
50 Caliber Level 7 Commenter 2 years ago
It's a one way system, has been will be. I have got in front of it and the taxes I pay are sales tax and property tax. I live off a trust fund that the money has been taxed and I get a monthly allowance. The folks at the 4 banks it is in try to get me to invest so I get a return. Then I'd have to pay taxes on the return. For the amount it would pay in return, as things are in the bottom, ain't worth the hassle. I still have to file a return. It has a box to check that says exempt, that I owed 0 last year and will owe 0 next year, it's a trap! They will flag you for an audit every 3rd year and ask you all kinds of questions as to why it's not in an interest bearing account. They can't wrap their little minds around "'cuz I don't want to have to screw with you guys". So now I just file a regular form with a bunch of zeros on it and they leave me alone. So I have enough and I'm good with that, but they just can't understand why I'm not chasing more. Go figure, I must be odd man out.