Tax and Spend
- “The Congressional Budget Office recently found that Congress provided $516 billion in appropriations this fiscal year to programs that had expired under federal law.”
- “Improper payments. . . made incorrectly by the government, cost the U.S. $247 billion in 2022, according to the Government Accountability Office.”
- “The Pentagon recently spent $998,798 shipping two 19-cent washers from South Carolina to Texas…”
Taxes go hand-in-hand with rebellion.
Taxes are as old as civilization because collective money is required to provide essential community services. First Century Jews rebelled when Roman occupiers took Jewish temple funds to build an aqueduct. Anger over taxation without representation caused the 1773 Boston Tea Party, if not the American Revolution. The 1791 Whiskey Rebellion was instigated by an excise tax on alcohol.
Historically we paid a temporary federal income tax from 1861-1872 to fund the Civil War. Then temporary became permanent when the 16th Amendment, ratified in 1913, established a Congressional right to impose a federal income tax.
Government’s wasteful spending is nothing new.
Both Milton Friedman and Margaret Thatcher pointed out fatal flaws in using other people’s money.
“If I spend somebody else’s money on somebody else, I’m not concerned about how much it is, and I’m not concerned about what I get. And that’s government.” Friedman
"The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other peoples' money." Thatcher
Another problem is deciding how to spend your tax dollars. Is government or private industry more likely to spend wisely? Challenges to the 119th Congress include whether or not to extend existing tax cuts, how to reconcile the federal debt, where to eliminate waste. The results of the 2024 presidential election indicate growing dissatisfaction with endless out-of-control spending initiatives.
Anger
Christians, Jews, Buddhists, and followers of most religious teachings are cautioned against the dangers of anger and hatred. These upsetting emotions are the opposite of love. Love, we are taught, is the path for those seeking a peaceful life now and in the hereafter.
That’s excellent advice with a big “but”. We are human. Sometimes we can’t help being annoyed, disappointed, insulted, hurt, outraged, or just plain angry. Anger may lead us to do something that will solve problems and restore our peaceful balance. Anger can be positive when it serves as a motivator.
People who think ahead about the potential bad outcomes of anger-run-amok seek to use their frustration in a way that will NOT make their situation worse. How do I not cause physical harm or wind up in jail?
Convention of States
Channel your anger by helping an organization that is working to reestablish fiscal responsibility, term limits and less federal overreach. An Article V Convention is a non-violent way to use our Constitution to rectify some of the temporary adjustments that have grown into permanent aberrations.
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