There's been a lot of buzz about New York State's proposed beverage tax lately. The proposed tax, backed by both NYC Mayor Bloomberg and NYS Governor Paterson, would be levied at a penny/ounce rate on sugary beverages and the like - though I'm not sure how they'll define what would be taxed and what wouldn't. The tax would be expected to theoretically bring in around $465m, ostensibly to combat obesity and help offset the state's rising healthcare costs due to obesity.
I can agree in theory (GASP!) with the reasons behind the tax - legislators wants to reduce obesity and help stem the (allegedly) spiraling healthcare costs that rampant obesity can cause. Sounds noble. However, I totally disagree with the methods and don't believe for a minute that the many a**holes who run the state have any noble intentions whatsoever.
Let's analyze for a minute. Remember when I said that all NYS knows how to do is tax, tax, tax? This certainly bears this out. There is certainly a problem with obesity in the state - so what does NYS do about it? They instinctively reach for the tax button to wipe it out. Did they think of alternatives to taxing the hell out of NYS citizens? Of course not (well, maybe some Republicans did). Instead of adding to the burgeoning state tax burden on individuals, elected officials might have considered other methods to go about their business, like using tax as a reward instead of a weapon. They might have weighed the option of creating a state-wide "weigh-in" with tax incentives tied to positive, long-term results (don't laugh - this was tried with some success on a city-wide level in a city in Oklahoma, I believe). They might have allowed deductions or tax breaks on gym membership fees or gym equipment purchases to encourage people to sign up for gyms or purchase fitness equipment (of course the problem of whether the purchasers would actually use the membership or equipment would still exist and have to be addressed). They might have given tax breaks to businesses who purvey healthier foods or businesses that can prove they reduced sales of sugary foods and increased sales of healthier options. These are just a few ideas that floated to the top of my head. I'm sure that they have their flaws, but they reflect a general idea - using the tax code as a reward, not a punishment.
The truth is that I really don't believe one word the hot air comes out of any of these NYS officials' mouths. They say this tax is noble in nature and would be levied to help make everyone healthier and alleviate health care costs. Eventually, we will all live in happiness, harmony and in peace with our new, physically fit selves and we'll get on our knees and thank the great State of New York everyday for helping us cope with a problem we couldn't deal with on our own - thanks, NY!!
More likely, instead, are the reasons why this tax is truly nasty. It's not really about health - that's just a by-product. It's really just an obscure and obtuse way to help plug budget holes, plain and simple. All the state is really doing is balancing their horrendously bloated budget on the backs of people who can ill afford it. This is a regressive tax in the worst way. It's the lower strata on the economic scale who tend to buy more of these drinks and foods, because they're cheaper than the healthier alternatives. With the tax, they'll still be cheaper, but significantly less so, so these families will continue to purchase these foods and drinks despite the tax. They'll just have to squeeze more out of an already strapped budget. Richer families, on the other hand, will easily absorb the extra couple of bucks and their household budgets will barely crack a sweat with this tax.
The state is being a cold, calculating, son of a b**ch with this tax. They know their demographics quite well; in fact I'd go so far as to say that, despite what these two-faced lying bastards say they want, they actually want these families to continue buying these drinks because the revenue that will accrue to the state from the tax will accrue NOW, whereas the health problems and increased costs (if this is even true) will accrue to the state MUCH LATER. The state will not "save this revenue for a rainy day". They will take the money as it comes in and throw it down the sh***er that is the state's bloated, current budget. This is their dirty little (well, not so little) secret. "Who cares about the next generation's problems" - that's one of the state's creeds with which the incomepetents in the legislature and executive branches live by. They are balancing their ruinous budget on the backs of households that can ill afford it because a) they can get away with it - those households don't have the powerful lobby or under-the-table representation that the higher socio-economic demographic does (fact o' life, people) and b) those households are far more in number and buy far more of this stuff - this tax works for the state's benefit in volume of items purchased, it's not like income tax. The truth is that the state purports to be primarily interested in the public health. That's utter bulls**t. No one ever became healthier from higher taxes. In fact, a serious argument can be made that higher taxes for those that can ill afford them carries it's own health hazard - rising stress levels, which can lead to the same place obesity can - cardiac problems. So all the state may be doing is leading people down the garden path to hell, just via a different route. Bravo, NY!!
Let's talk about hedge funds. The state has been mulling over taxing hedge fund managers who reside out of state that commute into NYS for work. While this has been dropped (for now), this is a further example of how the state operates and thinks - just reach for that tax handle, guys!! The fact that the governor didn't even seem to think about some of the repercussions when proposing this tax - these funds would simply relocate, DUH - shows how myopic these 'leaders' can be. Notice how Connecticut Gov Jodi Rell responded by trying to poach hedge fund firms who would try to escape the tax by relocating. Did ANY of this occur to Gov Paterson...???!!!
This is the direction that NYS has been inexorably moving in for years. Use the state's taxing power as a weapon and blunt instrument to fix problems that are only in front of your nose with total disregard to repercussions, both now and in the future. Bludgeon the vast majority of your residents with idiotic regressive taxation policy while refusing to cut the most wasteful spending. Nothing seems to change; it just gets worse with the passing years.
So much for beverages and hedge funds. Let's talk about bullies. Lets go down, south of the border.
Ah, New Jersey, a state that has historically shared NYS's distinction of being synonymous with corruption and incompetency. A state where cars still have "Dump Florio" bumper stickers, a state that will never forget the sordid McGreevey episode, etc. But, unlike "same ol'" New York, there's a whiff of change.
New Jerseyans woke up one fine day late last year and decided they've had enough. Enough of the same problems that plague New Yorkers to this very day. They threw out the ineffective Democrat Jon Corzine and elected a Republican, conservative governor in Doug Christie, and seemed ready for the beginning of a sea change in policy. They may be getting that.
See this article and video interview by CBS News. I like Christie's tone and demeanor; it speaks volumes as to where he wants to pull the state. This guy has balls. He is tough. I like how he says "I'm not a bully... just direct" - in truth, I'd love a bully in my (the taxpayer's) corner, bullying those pesky interest groups and unions that tend to hold NYS and NJ budgets hostage. I like how he is determined to reform the state's biggest issue - property tax, and wants to get it done NOW. We've heard this tired proclamation many times from NJ governors through the years, but this time, the governor seems to truly mean it and has the balls and fortitude to actually follow through. Something's changing in Jersey - that landfill stink is slowly ebbing away. Best of all, he really seems to mean it when he says he's not interested in any higher office than where he is right now. If he really does mean it, that just bolsters the impression that what he wants to do in his turn at playing guv'na is truly reform NJ to make it a streamlined, efficient, tax-friendly state.
So, to echo Dickens, it's a tale of two governors and two states. Both have creaking, antiquated fiscal policy structures. One state refuses to acknowledge its failings and continues to contribute to its demise. The other seems hell-bent on reform and improvement. One governor seems fiercely determined to right the ship and do what's best for the state's residents. The other probably wants to do something, anything, but is too spineless and weak to take on the entrenched, Tammany Hall-like "boss" system that seems to run New York these days.
If NYS keeps on its current route to hell, it'll find businesses and households turning their taxpaying, revenue-generating backs on the joke they call NYS, raising both middle fingers in a time-honored "F*** YOU!" salute and never looking back. New York can very easily be an economically poisonous environment in which to live and do business. It sucks money from your pocket and promises the world to you but gives appallingly little back in return.
I'm sure many people will accuse me of just being whiny. Do those people think I'm the only one who thinks and writes this way? Yeah, me and 10 million other taxpaying citizens. Let's not forget - Gov Christie was probably a whiny bastard, harping on the same things over and over. And look where he is now and what he's doing... Just sayin'...
Showing posts with label taxes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label taxes. Show all posts
Friday, July 2, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Communists
It used to be a ritual for many New Yorkers who wanted to buy clothing - hop in the car, travel to your nearest NJ or CT mall, and buy clothing there, at a lower (read: zero) tax rate. New York State lawmakers (read: a**holes) realized that their exorbitant tax rates were doing much to drive commercial activity away from the state, and were enabling business and economic growth in the surrounding, out of state areas. So NYS legislators passed a law exempting tax on clothing articles under $110 each to bring that business back.
This lawis may be about to change - see this article on VIN. Legislators are seriously considering bringing back sales tax on all clothing and doing away with so-called "tax holidays" - periods of time during the year when certain items are exempt from sales tax - in order to plug a multi-billion dollar hole in an overdue budget.
As usual, NYS legislators are showing their true colors: RED. These communist bastards think that the solution to nearly every problem lies in the state's power to levy all manner of taxes, fees and excises. In reality, these blowhards aren't really solving problems by throwing money at them as much as creating new problems by refusing to cut the state's freakishly bloated, corrupt entitlements system. All these idiots know how to do is tax and spend, not cut and save. Want to get fat people slim, and earn some revenue in the process? Tax sugary foods and drinks. Want to help otherwise undeserving people obtain mortgages so that they, too, can live "the American nightmare" (oops - I meant "dream")? Tax mortgages and home financing. Want to throw more money into a failing school system? Tax local properties. And on and on and on.
I have a great idea for Paterson, Silver, Espada, and their rag-tag cast of spineless communist idiots. How about cutting entitlement programs instead of throwing money at them? How about tightening fraud detection to crack down on abuse of the system so people who really need state aid can get it?
How about growing a pair of balls when it comes to dealing with the teacher's union? How about passing a school voucher system to inject a little competition into the education market? How about learning from states like Texas, New Hampshire, and Florida as to how to effectively run a state with minimal individual tax burden (granted the demographics are different but there must be something that can be learned and adapted).
The sad fact is that the lazy, whiny babies in the NYS legislature and the idiots who represent this state in Congress seem to view themselves in unassailable positions and therefore have little incentive to change. All these people know how to do is tax and tax and tax, I truly believe this. They don't even think of drastically altering the state's time-honored tradition of raising and creating taxes by actually cutting programs. This is why I look into my crystal ball and see NYS becoming a failed, bankrupt state in the future - its tax structure is such that it creates little to no incentive for firms to do business in the state and ultimately drives established firms from the state. The individual tax burden that exists to fund all these wasteful entitlement programs will drive residents from the state, leaving fewer households to fund ever growing deficits. That spells doom.
Adam Smith was right. The 'invisible hand' has it's flaws, but it works. It's not by accident that the US has become the economic and political powerhouse that it is in such a short span of time. Capitalism has its flaws, but it WORKS. Reagan had it right - people should be given as much freedom as possible to decide what to do with their money, not governments. Income redistribuition just does not work. Governments have proven time and time and time again to be extremely poor decisors on how to spend other peoples' money and they have little moral right to tell individuals how to spend theirs. Free markets do a far, far better job in apportioning resources than do "central command", essentially government-run economies, such as exists in New York right now.
New York state, as it exists today, is not a state that's worth residing or doing business in from an economic point of view. The return onyour the average NYS household's tax investment is staggeringly miniscule. Taxpayer dollars - whether business, sales, or personal - are funding programs that will bring the state to economic ruin, a la California. This article on VIN is just another example of how myopic these legislators can be. They either don't realize or don't care that all they're doing is, to use a tired cliche, rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
POSTSCRIPT - while I obviously have nothing but vile contempt for the elected nincompoop babyish a**holes that make up the great state of New York's legislative and executive structure, I would somewhat exempt Governor David Paterson from my ire. He's not too bad a fellow and doesn't seem much like all the others: greedy, power hungry, and grasping. He kind of seems to want to do something right by NYS citizens and taxpayers (this is because, in part, he's not elected); he's just terribly weak and incompetent as governor and completely the wrong person for the job.
As for all the other elected officials: if the aliens from Close Encounters of the Third Kind would come to take them away tomorrow for aeons of experimentation, I'd be very happy. Good riddance.
FNY!!
This law
As usual, NYS legislators are showing their true colors: RED. These communist bastards think that the solution to nearly every problem lies in the state's power to levy all manner of taxes, fees and excises. In reality, these blowhards aren't really solving problems by throwing money at them as much as creating new problems by refusing to cut the state's freakishly bloated, corrupt entitlements system. All these idiots know how to do is tax and spend, not cut and save. Want to get fat people slim, and earn some revenue in the process? Tax sugary foods and drinks. Want to help otherwise undeserving people obtain mortgages so that they, too, can live "the American nightmare" (oops - I meant "dream")? Tax mortgages and home financing. Want to throw more money into a failing school system? Tax local properties. And on and on and on.
I have a great idea for Paterson, Silver, Espada, and their rag-tag cast of spineless communist idiots. How about cutting entitlement programs instead of throwing money at them? How about tightening fraud detection to crack down on abuse of the system so people who really need state aid can get it?
How about growing a pair of balls when it comes to dealing with the teacher's union? How about passing a school voucher system to inject a little competition into the education market? How about learning from states like Texas, New Hampshire, and Florida as to how to effectively run a state with minimal individual tax burden (granted the demographics are different but there must be something that can be learned and adapted).
The sad fact is that the lazy, whiny babies in the NYS legislature and the idiots who represent this state in Congress seem to view themselves in unassailable positions and therefore have little incentive to change. All these people know how to do is tax and tax and tax, I truly believe this. They don't even think of drastically altering the state's time-honored tradition of raising and creating taxes by actually cutting programs. This is why I look into my crystal ball and see NYS becoming a failed, bankrupt state in the future - its tax structure is such that it creates little to no incentive for firms to do business in the state and ultimately drives established firms from the state. The individual tax burden that exists to fund all these wasteful entitlement programs will drive residents from the state, leaving fewer households to fund ever growing deficits. That spells doom.
Adam Smith was right. The 'invisible hand' has it's flaws, but it works. It's not by accident that the US has become the economic and political powerhouse that it is in such a short span of time. Capitalism has its flaws, but it WORKS. Reagan had it right - people should be given as much freedom as possible to decide what to do with their money, not governments. Income redistribuition just does not work. Governments have proven time and time and time again to be extremely poor decisors on how to spend other peoples' money and they have little moral right to tell individuals how to spend theirs. Free markets do a far, far better job in apportioning resources than do "central command", essentially government-run economies, such as exists in New York right now.
New York state, as it exists today, is not a state that's worth residing or doing business in from an economic point of view. The return on
POSTSCRIPT - while I obviously have nothing but vile contempt for the elected nincompoop babyish a**holes that make up the great state of New York's legislative and executive structure, I would somewhat exempt Governor David Paterson from my ire. He's not too bad a fellow and doesn't seem much like all the others: greedy, power hungry, and grasping. He kind of seems to want to do something right by NYS citizens and taxpayers (this is because, in part, he's not elected); he's just terribly weak and incompetent as governor and completely the wrong person for the job.
As for all the other elected officials: if the aliens from Close Encounters of the Third Kind would come to take them away tomorrow for aeons of experimentation, I'd be very happy. Good riddance.
FNY!!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Happiness and...Taxes
I haven't posted in a while. Let's get back to business, shall we? People will call me cranky, but somebody's got to recognize these issues and shove them into the limelight, no?
There's an interesting article on the Tax Foundation's website. I like it because it has this to say about taxes and lifestyle. Much of this culled from a Wall Street Journal editorial:
"The study finds that New Yorkers are the unhappiest people in America and their neighbors in Connecticut come in a close second, followed by Michigan, Indiana, New Jersey, California, and Illinois."
Then this:
"...According to the Tax Foundation 2008 analysis, three of the top five unhappiest states—New York, Connecticut and New Jersey—have the highest state-local tax burdens. On the other hand, four of the top five happiest states—Louisiana, Florida, Tennessee and Arizona—are among the states with the lowest state-local tax burdens. True, correlation doesn't prove causation, and high taxes alone don't always make people miserable, but there's something going on here."
So in New York State, we work really hard to make a living. We then see an enormous percentage of that money out the door by spending a disproportionately higher portion of our dollars on state, local, and property taxes, and receive a much, much lower return per tax dollar collected than other states, because of huge budget allocations that behave like Robin Hood. So say you spend like $15-$20K a year on NYS, you get in return... garbage collection, plus sleepless nights wondering about family finances thrown in for free! Maybe a bit of street repair thrown in, too. Maybe. And a bit of schooling. If you're not an Orthodox Jew. Mr. and Mrs Illegal Immigrant spend nearly $0 per year on NYS and receive, say, $20-$25K worth of assistance per year (if you game the system right), if not more. Yay. That makes me... happy??
Rinse, repeat for NJ. At least NJ residents had the good sense to recognize the problems and throw out garbage leadership, while New Yorkers continue year after year after year after year to vote in complete and utter self-aggrandizing grandstanding self-centered avaricious petty idiot nincompoop babies (I can say more but this is a FAMILY FRIENDLY blog!) who treat public office as a profitable enterprise and spy on each other (with state money) and hire nice fancy limousines and drivers (with state money) and grind state activity to a halt and hire prostitutes and get in bed with money launderers and have fun in session engaging in really productive name-calling (all while getting paid with... state money) and spend huge amounts of time and effort in lofty thought on legislation that truly means almost nothing practical or material to nearly everybody (did someone say same-sex marriage?) instead of working together, rolling up their sleeves, and hammering out reforms that materially affect massive amounts of people that most agree on like, uh, for example, TAX RELIEF and SPENDING REFORM.
Something's going on, indeed.
There's an interesting article on the Tax Foundation's website. I like it because it has this to say about taxes and lifestyle. Much of this culled from a Wall Street Journal editorial:
"The study finds that New Yorkers are the unhappiest people in America and their neighbors in Connecticut come in a close second, followed by Michigan, Indiana, New Jersey, California, and Illinois."
Then this:
"...According to the Tax Foundation 2008 analysis, three of the top five unhappiest states—New York, Connecticut and New Jersey—have the highest state-local tax burdens. On the other hand, four of the top five happiest states—Louisiana, Florida, Tennessee and Arizona—are among the states with the lowest state-local tax burdens. True, correlation doesn't prove causation, and high taxes alone don't always make people miserable, but there's something going on here."
So in New York State, we work really hard to make a living. We then see an enormous percentage of that money out the door by spending a disproportionately higher portion of our dollars on state, local, and property taxes, and receive a much, much lower return per tax dollar collected than other states, because of huge budget allocations that behave like Robin Hood. So say you spend like $15-$20K a year on NYS, you get in return... garbage collection, plus sleepless nights wondering about family finances thrown in for free! Maybe a bit of street repair thrown in, too. Maybe. And a bit of schooling. If you're not an Orthodox Jew. Mr. and Mrs Illegal Immigrant spend nearly $0 per year on NYS and receive, say, $20-$25K worth of assistance per year (if you game the system right), if not more. Yay. That makes me... happy??
Rinse, repeat for NJ. At least NJ residents had the good sense to recognize the problems and throw out garbage leadership, while New Yorkers continue year after year after year after year to vote in complete and utter self-aggrandizing grandstanding self-centered avaricious petty idiot nincompoop babies (I can say more but this is a FAMILY FRIENDLY blog!) who treat public office as a profitable enterprise and spy on each other (with state money) and hire nice fancy limousines and drivers (with state money) and grind state activity to a halt and hire prostitutes and get in bed with money launderers and have fun in session engaging in really productive name-calling (all while getting paid with... state money) and spend huge amounts of time and effort in lofty thought on legislation that truly means almost nothing practical or material to nearly everybody (did someone say same-sex marriage?) instead of working together, rolling up their sleeves, and hammering out reforms that materially affect massive amounts of people that most agree on like, uh, for example, TAX RELIEF and SPENDING REFORM.
Something's going on, indeed.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Taxes and Texas
First things first - everyone must read my response to Anonymous's comment on this post before reading this current post and before posting comments such as "why don't you just move?" Read what I wrote in my counter-comment. Now for the post itself.
Many here know of my excoriations, despite my new place of residency, of the financial and tax burdens of residing in the NYC metro/tri-state area. I stumbled upon this website that I think just solidifies my thinking in my mind.
First. I encourage everyone to click on the 'About Us' link and read what this place is all about. Obviously, this place is Republican (or conservative) funded that advocates a decidedly conservative agenda, and some of us may hate Republicans. But that doesn't mean that the Tax Foundation's mission or list of things they stand for don't make sense. I don't agree fully with everything they stand for (their 'Neutrality' section for one), but I definitely find my thinking generally aligned with theirs.
The Tax Foundation has an interesting concept called tax freedom day, which is an interesting concept that I encourage everyone to read about here. I'll wait a moment until everyone's done.
Finished? Ok, good. Now click on this link to see the Tax Freedom Day for 2009 depending on which state you live in. Note that the higher the rank #, the better, a higher number ranking (47 vs 3, for example) means you have to work less days in order to pay off your federal, state, and local tax bill. Look at New York, New Jersey, and Texas. Notice the difference?
Now look at this link, which shows a Tax Freedom Day trend over time (you have to download an Excel file). Can't be bothered? Well see below for a 10-year trend comparing US average, NY, NJ, and, of course, TX. If you do the math, the differences between the states average out to something like over TWO WEEKS worth of wages. Heck, Texas even beats the US average each year! This may not show properly so I encourage all to download and look at the Excel table to see for yourself. But take my word for it:
Now, check out this link, which ranks states by tax climate for business (basically a measure of how favorable the tax climate is for growing businesses). Again, look at NY, NJ, and, naturally, TX.
Check out this, this, and this for a one stop shop for all that ails NY and NJ.
Do you see anything interesting? I do, if these figures are accurate and correct. Am I going somewhere with this? You betcha. NY and NJ residents have consistently shouldered a possibly (we DO make a bit more $$$ in NY/NJ, after all) disproportionately higher tax burden than do Texans. And what have we got for forking over our hard-earned money to Unca Empire and Garden state? A business drain to states like... Texas. So we in NY and NJ hand over lots of cash to local and state gub'ment and get in return... a loss of one of the greatest drivers of economic growth. Consistently.
Yay!
Many here know of my excoriations, despite my new place of residency, of the financial and tax burdens of residing in the NYC metro/tri-state area. I stumbled upon this website that I think just solidifies my thinking in my mind.
First. I encourage everyone to click on the 'About Us' link and read what this place is all about. Obviously, this place is Republican (or conservative) funded that advocates a decidedly conservative agenda, and some of us may hate Republicans. But that doesn't mean that the Tax Foundation's mission or list of things they stand for don't make sense. I don't agree fully with everything they stand for (their 'Neutrality' section for one), but I definitely find my thinking generally aligned with theirs.
The Tax Foundation has an interesting concept called tax freedom day, which is an interesting concept that I encourage everyone to read about here. I'll wait a moment until everyone's done.
Finished? Ok, good. Now click on this link to see the Tax Freedom Day for 2009 depending on which state you live in. Note that the higher the rank #, the better, a higher number ranking (47 vs 3, for example) means you have to work less days in order to pay off your federal, state, and local tax bill. Look at New York, New Jersey, and Texas. Notice the difference?
Now look at this link, which shows a Tax Freedom Day trend over time (you have to download an Excel file). Can't be bothered? Well see below for a 10-year trend comparing US average, NY, NJ, and, of course, TX. If you do the math, the differences between the states average out to something like over TWO WEEKS worth of wages. Heck, Texas even beats the US average each year! This may not show properly so I encourage all to download and look at the Excel table to see for yourself. But take my word for it:
| State | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
| United States | April 30 | May 1 | May 3 | April 30 | April 19 | April 16 | April 17 | April 24 | April 26 | April 27 | April 21 | April 13 |
| New Jersey | May 14 | May 16 | May 17 | May 15 | May 4 | April 30 | April 30 | May 8 | May 10 | May 11 | May 8 | April 29 |
| New York | May 8 | May 9 | May 11 | May 11 | May 1 | April 27 | April 28 | May 4 | May 7 | May 8 | May 4 | April 25 |
| Texas | April 25 | April 24 | April 26 | April 23 | April 14 | April 10 | April 8 | April 14 | April 18 | April 20 | April 15 | April 6 |
Now, check out this link, which ranks states by tax climate for business (basically a measure of how favorable the tax climate is for growing businesses). Again, look at NY, NJ, and, naturally, TX.
Check out this, this, and this for a one stop shop for all that ails NY and NJ.
Do you see anything interesting? I do, if these figures are accurate and correct. Am I going somewhere with this? You betcha. NY and NJ residents have consistently shouldered a possibly (we DO make a bit more $$$ in NY/NJ, after all) disproportionately higher tax burden than do Texans. And what have we got for forking over our hard-earned money to Unca Empire and Garden state? A business drain to states like... Texas. So we in NY and NJ hand over lots of cash to local and state gub'ment and get in return... a loss of one of the greatest drivers of economic growth. Consistently.
Yay!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
What's wrong with this picture?
I heard a story the other day that is probably of some interest to those of us who work for a living and pay our fair share of taxes.
A woman, we'll call her Shaindy, has one kid, is relatively young (20's I think) and has a husband in kollel. She works at an office job somewhere in the NY metro area. She was complaining to someone I know about how she's tired of working, getting up early, rushing to commute, dealing with the day to day work headaches that all of us working folk deal with. She's just plain tired. She mentioned that she was seriously considering stopping to work and going on Section 8/HUD assistance, Medicaid, and food stamp welfare programs and staying home with the children.
Is something wrong with this picture?
Uh... yes. What she should do is either suck it up like we all do (This is the choice she made when she got married) or encourage and convince her hubby to get a job (or a yob ;-)).
Welfare programs already eat up a massive portion of NYS's and NJ's budgets, and are partly to blame for our (NY/NJ metro area for one) ludicrously high state and local taxes. Welfare programs are there IN DIRE CASE someone NEEDS them, they are not there as an "opt-in" lifestyle. No one has the right to choose to go on welfare to live one's religious ideal, and CERTAINLY nobody has the right to go on welfare just to shirk responsibility. This is one of the many problems with our welfare programs today. Welfare programs are noble and necessary because a nation as rich as ours has the responsibility to ensure that people don't die or live sickly lives from starvation and poverty, and FDR was correct in institutionalizing them rather than keep the Hooverian belief that personal and private charities will "come through". These programs have become bloated though and viewed almost as entitlements! They create perverse incentives to not work and not take risks and not pursue jobs and responsibilities. They easily create an indolent attitude that eschews trying to better one's lot and rise from poverty either for fear of losing benefits or from laziness and a belief that that good ol' Unca Sam should take care of me.
This kind of thinking might just not be limited to one individual, unfortunately. There are many things about government waste from the municipal level on up that make me want to scream. But this really makes me mad - my tax $$$ are continuing to support this! It should make all of us honest, hardworking taxpayers really mad, too! While NY and NJ taxpayers groan under onerous tax burdens, while state budgets are in deficit and state governors declare bankruptcy, these programs get more bloated!
Wow, it's funny how you become politically self aware after buying a house and having a kid! ;-)
Speaking of taxes, stay tuned for an eye opening post regarding that issue, BTW. I found a wonderful website that I just HAVE to share with everyone.
A woman, we'll call her Shaindy, has one kid, is relatively young (20's I think) and has a husband in kollel. She works at an office job somewhere in the NY metro area. She was complaining to someone I know about how she's tired of working, getting up early, rushing to commute, dealing with the day to day work headaches that all of us working folk deal with. She's just plain tired. She mentioned that she was seriously considering stopping to work and going on Section 8/HUD assistance, Medicaid, and food stamp welfare programs and staying home with the children.
Is something wrong with this picture?
Uh... yes. What she should do is either suck it up like we all do (This is the choice she made when she got married) or encourage and convince her hubby to get a job (or a yob ;-)).
Welfare programs already eat up a massive portion of NYS's and NJ's budgets, and are partly to blame for our (NY/NJ metro area for one) ludicrously high state and local taxes. Welfare programs are there IN DIRE CASE someone NEEDS them, they are not there as an "opt-in" lifestyle. No one has the right to choose to go on welfare to live one's religious ideal, and CERTAINLY nobody has the right to go on welfare just to shirk responsibility. This is one of the many problems with our welfare programs today. Welfare programs are noble and necessary because a nation as rich as ours has the responsibility to ensure that people don't die or live sickly lives from starvation and poverty, and FDR was correct in institutionalizing them rather than keep the Hooverian belief that personal and private charities will "come through". These programs have become bloated though and viewed almost as entitlements! They create perverse incentives to not work and not take risks and not pursue jobs and responsibilities. They easily create an indolent attitude that eschews trying to better one's lot and rise from poverty either for fear of losing benefits or from laziness and a belief that that good ol' Unca Sam should take care of me.
This kind of thinking might just not be limited to one individual, unfortunately. There are many things about government waste from the municipal level on up that make me want to scream. But this really makes me mad - my tax $$$ are continuing to support this! It should make all of us honest, hardworking taxpayers really mad, too! While NY and NJ taxpayers groan under onerous tax burdens, while state budgets are in deficit and state governors declare bankruptcy, these programs get more bloated!
Wow, it's funny how you become politically self aware after buying a house and having a kid! ;-)
Speaking of taxes, stay tuned for an eye opening post regarding that issue, BTW. I found a wonderful website that I just HAVE to share with everyone.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Oh, the horror!!
I have something to confide in you. It's... well, it's... it's really just... just really embarrassing. Traumatic even. You see, well... oh boy this is hard... you see, well, um, uh, well... I'm scheduled to be raped in a couple of months.
It's OK, don't gasp like that! Really, I'll get through it. I'll be OK, shaken and shocked, but I'll pull through. I know I will because the perpetrator has struck hundreds of thousands of other people, if not millions, and they seem to have come through their ordeal just fine, maybe a little shaken, but OK. So I know I will.
But you see what's galling is that none of the perpetrator's victims really were ever able to seek justice. See, there was nothing that could be done, no recourse. So while I know I'll pull through, I have to resign myself to the facts of the situation. Wait - what's that? You say you know a good lawyer that could help me, break new ground in bringing this despicable rapist to justice? I'd have to disagree, see, because the perp here is a real baddie, remorseless and cruel, and he's got lawyers on his side up the wazoo to kingdom come. See, his name is NEW YORK STATE.
Yes, I see your face blanching at the mere mention of his despicable name. But it's true. He's going to get me, I know it.
See, Mr. NY State will be forcibly relieving me of some thousands upon thousands of our hard earned, blood sweat and tears dollars, for absolutely no real reason I can discern. Maybe deep down, in his brooding, loathsome heart he fancies himself a modern day, perverse Robin Hood. But I really can't tell, his very thoughts and actions are constantly shrouded in a veil of secrecy and mystery. He calls this despicable act of rape - oh, the horror of its name! - New York State mortgage tax. Can you even comprehend the heinousness of the crime!? He even lends his name to this despicable act, as if it's his signature, his calling card move! It's not enough for him that he violates me year after year after year after year after year, like clockwork, on April 15. Now he wants more with this disgusting crime, the bloodthirsty savage that he is. I guess I should take some kind of perverse satisfaction that I draw so much of his attention, no? Then again, hundreds of thousands of innocents have fallen victim to this dastardly crime. But still. Each time leaves its scar and pain. There is no justice that can be served. One day, maybe, sometime in the future, I'll run and hide somewhere, into the nurturing arms of one of the other State family brothers or cousins, of which my perp is a member, where he can never touch me again, the dirty b**tard. May he be smitten one thousand times!
It's OK, don't gasp like that! Really, I'll get through it. I'll be OK, shaken and shocked, but I'll pull through. I know I will because the perpetrator has struck hundreds of thousands of other people, if not millions, and they seem to have come through their ordeal just fine, maybe a little shaken, but OK. So I know I will.
But you see what's galling is that none of the perpetrator's victims really were ever able to seek justice. See, there was nothing that could be done, no recourse. So while I know I'll pull through, I have to resign myself to the facts of the situation. Wait - what's that? You say you know a good lawyer that could help me, break new ground in bringing this despicable rapist to justice? I'd have to disagree, see, because the perp here is a real baddie, remorseless and cruel, and he's got lawyers on his side up the wazoo to kingdom come. See, his name is NEW YORK STATE.
Yes, I see your face blanching at the mere mention of his despicable name. But it's true. He's going to get me, I know it.
See, Mr. NY State will be forcibly relieving me of some thousands upon thousands of our hard earned, blood sweat and tears dollars, for absolutely no real reason I can discern. Maybe deep down, in his brooding, loathsome heart he fancies himself a modern day, perverse Robin Hood. But I really can't tell, his very thoughts and actions are constantly shrouded in a veil of secrecy and mystery. He calls this despicable act of rape - oh, the horror of its name! - New York State mortgage tax. Can you even comprehend the heinousness of the crime!? He even lends his name to this despicable act, as if it's his signature, his calling card move! It's not enough for him that he violates me year after year after year after year after year, like clockwork, on April 15. Now he wants more with this disgusting crime, the bloodthirsty savage that he is. I guess I should take some kind of perverse satisfaction that I draw so much of his attention, no? Then again, hundreds of thousands of innocents have fallen victim to this dastardly crime. But still. Each time leaves its scar and pain. There is no justice that can be served. One day, maybe, sometime in the future, I'll run and hide somewhere, into the nurturing arms of one of the other State family brothers or cousins, of which my perp is a member, where he can never touch me again, the dirty b**tard. May he be smitten one thousand times!
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