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-- The Greedy Hand Extends its Reach -- |
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| Our Boomer-In-Charge here at BBHQ, Hershel Chicowitz, writes frequently about current events... from a boomer perspective. He is sometimes funny, sometimes provocative, sometimes a little of each. We hope you get a kick out of our Boomer Essays. |
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There is something big going on in our society... something you should know about. It is monumental, yet, like most insidious diseases... subtle and slow. That's all the more reason we need to be involved.
I have long been a big critic of big, invasive government and its desire to separate us from our money. But I thought we had a major victory when both Congress and the President agreed on a balanced budget plan, a meaningful welfare reform act, and serious spending caps. But once again, I have underestimated not only this government's insatiable appetite, but also the tactics it will use to feed its addiction to our money.
After the Clinton administration crammed the largest tax increase in history down our throats in 1993, it would be difficult for them to raise income taxes again, especially since they are trying to tell us that we can expect a three trillion dollar surplus in the next decade. (The fact that that is but another big government lie is incidental to this discussion, but worth noting, nonetheless. And the fact that both Congress and the White House exceeded the spending caps in the current budget deal comes as no surprise. But that is small potatoes.)
Washington's voracious appetite for our money is nothing new. But most of us concentrate only on how much they take out of our paycheck. But if you need more evidence that it goes far beyond that, you need look no further than the inheritance tax. Why on God's green earth would Washington feel the need to impose a tax on what you inherit from your relatives? What business is it of theirs? Your parents leave you the family farm or business, and when it's time for you to take over, you have to pay 60% of the value of the inheritance to Uncle Sam. Why? Many people have had to sell businesses and farms that have been in their families for generations because they could not afford the taxes. Why should Washington get 60% of what took our ancestors decades to acquire? What excuse could they possibly have for this greed? How more invasive could they be? Ha! Just you wait!
They want the money, and they'll take it any way they can - that's the simple answer.
But they have pretty well tapped out the tax market; you can't squeeze blood out of a turnip. There are limits... not in absolute dollars, but in the percentage they can take from us before we realize what's going on. Of course, the fact that most Americans think that they are paying about 25% of their income to taxes when the number is actually closer to 40% serves them well. So what's a tired, New Deal, Great Society money-hungry government to do when it looks as though the well is running dry?
Develop a whole new approach, that's what. And they're doing it right before our eyes. But they are enormously creative; I'll give them that.
Someone once said that the definition of a diplomat is someone who can make every person at the table feel like he is getting the biggest piece of the pie. If so, then a Congressman is one who can take money from your back pocket with his hands tied behind his back while he makes you believe he is doing you a favor.
So Washington began looking for sources of huge sums of money, and figuring a way they could get their hands on it without calling it a tax. Forty percent of your income, 60 percent of your inheritance is not enough. It's never enough. Their first target: Big Tobacco. And what could be better? Nearly everybody hates Big Tobacco, even the people who smoke. So going after Big Tobacco makes Washington look good. And Big Tobacco has an endless supply of money, a virtual printing press for money almost like the federal government itself. So the government went after Big Tobacco and struck a deal that that will pay the government hundreds of billions of dollars over the next 20 years. This money will go to fund whatever pet project will keep the current generation of legislators in office. Why... it's the bridge to the 21st century for our servants in Washington! Do they really want you to stop smoking? Heck no; that would dry up the well, and they'd have to look somewhere else. They don't want you to stop smoking, and outlawing tobacco would be like killing the goose that laid the golden egg. Not on your life! (Come to think of it... it is your life.)
Let's see... what other big demons are there on the horizon.... demons with deep pockets. Oh yea: the gun industry. Is there a bigger enemy in today's society? Hardly. So after their chief spokesman, Charlton Heston, dies, look for a big money deal which will allegedly keep guns out of the hands of those who don't deserve them (yeah, right) and incidentally, provide permanent employment for another crop of thieves in Washington. It's not about guns; it's about money. It's always about money.
What's next? Where is there... oh, say... another $80 billion just lying around? Does the name Bill Gates come to mind? A $5 million investment (the price of the latest lawsuit against Gates) under the guise of protecting consumers is a small price to pay for its fair share of Bill Gates.
But wait... we're just getting started. I read a story today about an outfit in Washington (where else?) that is gearing up a big PR campaign against... Ronald McDonald. That's right; the spokesman for this place claimed that Ronald McDonald is every bit as deadly as Joe Camel. (No kidding; that was his comparison.) Why, the evils of red meat are well-known, and where you and I see a hamburger joint on every retail corner, Washington sees a giant ATM machine capped in golden arches - and they've got the PIN - it's called the Justice Department. Justice, indeed! Look for the battle to crank up next year; it'll be sandwiched around the phrase, "It's for the children," of course. They'll start by trying to get red meat out of the schools, and move their way up to where the real money is - McDonald's. Look for a deal to be struck long before the deal with the tobacco industry runs out. Note that the deal has nothing to do with you and your children's health... it's all about money... your money.
How nice that Washington is looking out for you and your well-being, huh?
First they came after tobacco; but I was not tobacco, so I did nothing. Then they came after the guns; but I was not a gun, so I did nothing. Then they came after red meat; but I was not red meat, so I did nothing. Then they came after me; but by then there was nobody left to do anything.
If you like what we're doing here at BBHQ, please help us by buying stuff through our link to Amazon.com:
| The BBHQ Album of the Month is "Old Friends Live on Stage (Deluxe Edition) (2 CD/1 DVD)," by Simon & Garfunkel. If you were fortunate enough to see them in concert last year, I do not have to sell you. The concert was terrific! This album collection includes 55 songs, plus their new recording, "Citizen of the Planet," and one of the songs sung by the Everly Brothers during the concert. The DVD was recorded during their concert in Madison Square Garden in 2003. For any S&G fan, this is a must have! But then, you knew that already, didn't you? |
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The BBHQ Book of the Month is
"Vinyl Highway," by
Dee Dee Phelps. You remember her as Dee Dee, of Dick and Dee Dee.
Together, they took a decade long ride on the rock and roll roller
coaster. It was a heck of a ride! Dick Clark, Quincy Jones, the Beach
Boys, Glenn Campbell, Dionne Warwick, Bobby Vinton... Dick and Dee Dee
rubbed shoulders with all of them. This is her "behind the scenes" story.
It's pretty cool.
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