Taxes
I finally quit procrastinating last night and spent some time gathering all my stuff together for taxes. I actually did it with just a slight bit of contempt this time because I see the trillions of dollars being committed right now to bailouts and “stimulus plans”, and I’m not smart enough to see how these trillions can do what those all over the news right now are saying the trillions will do.
I am smart enough to know that every dollar I pay in taxes today won’t really mean anything if we as a nation don’t get some fiscal responsibility and fiscal accountability.
It’s amazing to me that this economic crisis has been a huge wake up call for tax payers, and we are changing our habits to live within new budgets that reflect the economic reality of today. I don’t see any such behavior though from our elected officials. But then again, as heads of households, we weren’t elected, don’t have to run again in two years, don’t have to make decisions today to get re-elected, and certainly can’t afford to make decisions today with the hope that our children will be able to find ways to recover from the votes we’re casting and the hype we’re creating just to get re-elected.
Nope, as a matter of fact, we’ve changed our habits because we’re personally accountable for ensuring the health and well being of our families and the sustainability of our modest way of life even in these tough times. We’re making near term decisions with a long term view of the impacts. We’re spending less now to be able to afford things like college and retirement later. We’re pushing off those major purchases and living with aging equipment because our priorities are food, shelter, and health.
Wouldn’t it be nice if our government viewed their spending no differently than heads of households view it today.