Tax Day Tribute

Yesterday in the US was one of the least-favorite holidays, Tax Day. Millions of Americans procrastinate to the very last minute to get to the Post Office at what they thought was a good time, only to have to wait 30 goddamn minutes in a line that blocks traffic and wraps around the block.

We all know that death and taxes are inevitable, but I don't think enough people are really educated on what taxes they are paying. We pay taxes on everything from purchasing products to dying, and I'm pretty sure the Far-right is trying to find a way to tax masturbation. Largest Surplus EVER. However, most people are not aware of why these taxes are created. One example is a telephone tax that most people have probably never even noticed. If you look at your phone bill there is a tax there that is not your standard tax, but its own special item. What you may not also realize is this was created to finance a war...that happened over a century ago. Yet still today we are paying off a war that less than 1% of the population lived through.

That is merely a drop in the pond however to the most retarded of all taxes, the income tax. Who was the dumb motherfucker that thought people should be penalized for working, and perhaps causing a disincentive to getting work? That would be our wonderful elected officials that need to find some way to finance their wars. The first time it was introduced to Congress was to help finance the War of 1812, but it was shut down. In 1895 it was ruled unconstitutional by the SCOTUS, but later repealed in 1913.

Why is this a big deal? Our current income tax level sucks, but it could be worse. So no big deal, right? Not exactly. The income tax has historically been high during times of war. During WWI our marginal tax was around as much as 70% for the upper brackets. During WWII this rose to over 80%, and peaked at around 90% in the 50s. This dropped slightly to the 70% range during Vietnam, and dropped down to a more normal rate during the Reagan administration. Sure its only the rich that are being raped at these percentages, but the average taxpayer is not far behind.

So why should you give a fuck? Well currently we are at war. And if you've been following along, war is expensive and the money has to come from somewhere, that would be us. We are currently over $500 BILLION dollars right now for the cost of the Iraq War, and our guys are doing a damn fine job over there and deserve to see results. Unfortunately, the Iraqi government and military are not living up to their end of the bargain, which means our guys are lost because of their bullshit.

We really need to do something about this come November...but none of the presidential candidates really seem like they have an answer that makes sense. Just the usual standard answer to elicit the seemingly Pavlovian response that has been programmed into them by their handlers to reach their targeted demographic.

Hopefully this ends sooner than later.