Tuesday, April 19, 2011

A Taxing Situation

So, it's tax time, and this is something that's been on my mind for a while.  I've just been waiting until I had the use of both hands to type this all out.  In the news lately, we've seen where corporations are getting away with not paying any taxes, and the Republicans saying how we have a spending problem in this country and not a revenue problem.  In fact, that really seems to be the Republican mantra as of late. Sort of a rehearse line they were all given at one of their conventions.  Reminds me of how they went after Michael Moore's movie Sicko.  Repeating the same message over and over again, making sure to pound it in to the minds of those not capable of reading and investigating on their own.

We have politicians who want to lower the tax rate on the rich from 35% to 25%.  Wow, sounds fair doesn't it?  I mean, they are the people who create jobs aren't they?  This is one of the biggest lies they have spewed lately.  Bush initially gave them those tax cuts, and Obama continued them, yet it's not the rich that created the jobs.  It's the corporations in America that were willing to take a cut in their profits to help those who helped make them a great company, and in turn they have survived and flourished to the point of needing additional workers.

The rhetoric that surrounds the increasing of taxes for corporations is a joke.  We hear the same old song and dance about how if we raise the taxes these companies are going to leave the country.  You know what I say?  Go ahead.  Leave.  They're not going to be taking all of their employees with them, and those that are left behind, along with the entrepreneurial ideals of so many would allow a new company to be born, without the same old lazy, and stale executives who were just along for the ride.  It's my belief that letting those companies move their businesses out of our country would only improve the live's of the middle class and the poor and allow for renewed and refreshed innovation that would move this country forward.  And while we're at it, let's impose tariff's on goods coming in to this country from corporations have offices in this country.  Raise the tariff's to the point that they would no longer profit from outsourced labor.

Now, let's take a look at the other side of the Republican argument.  The spending portion.  Yes, we do have a spending problem.  We currently spend more for defense than China, Russia, Japan, and Germany combined.  Why?  Because we have politicians who have made deals with corporations who make their livelihood off of defense contracts.  Another aspect of the spending, as we are told by Republicans, is for benefits to government employees, the biggest of them being health care.  The really ironic part of all this is that prior to Obama passing the healthcare plan, the talk was always about how to lower those costs.  Now, they instead chant about how much the benefits for these workers cost.  What happened to the rhetoric regarding the unequaled increases in healthcare when compared to workers wages?  What happened to that conversation?  And how then, we are increasing spending because we have millions of people out of work compared to 10 years ago.  Now, multiply the number of people out of work, by a few thousand dollars that they would be paying taxes, and now we're back to seeing that this really is a revenue problem after all.  If we hadn't let companies so freely leave this country and outsource so many of our jobs, all in the name of profits for Wall St., we wouldn't be in this mess.

The true villains in all this are not the government employees, it's those corporations who have given their executives huge salaries, while cutting the pay of their middle class workers.  It's the corporations who have sent work overseas all in the name of profits, cheap labor, and environmental ignorance.  Those same corporations who pay little if any taxes while the rest of us all pick up the tab.  When you complain about your taxes, be sure to remember those companies who not only don't pay taxes, but who also shipped jobs out of the country to avoid cutting in to their profit margins.

The corporations and the rich want to complain about taxes, and they want to justify now they already pay a big share of the taxes.  Well, hell yes they do.  Think about it this way.  If you're a corporation, and your have employees, you benefit from having roads, schools, firefighters, and police more than the average citizen.  Why?  Because these are things that help to attract good workers.  Municipalities increase the size and number of their fire fighting equipment to make sure to be able to handle fire's for those facilities these businesses own.  And, the taxpayers are supposed to pick up the majority of this tab?  They should pick up some, because it allows for a growing economy for their city or town.

The rich, well let's take a look at why they should pay more in taxes.  Again, if it weren't for the roads, schools, etc. they wouldn't have the means to make that money.  Their kids wouldn't have decent schools to attend.  They wouldn't be protected by police as well as they are.  We all know that police patrol wealthy neighborhoods more than the do the poor ones.  It's a fact of life.  And, by having good schools, police, etc. you now are able to make that good money because you benefit from better educated kids who someday become your employees.  You drive your expensive cars on decent roads that don't turn your $100k BMW into a rattling POS in two years.

I for one would feel pretty bad if I were making millions and then complained about having to pay taxes.  But see, I'm just one of those who feels that I'm fortunate making any money at all.  And, if I were to have to pay more taxes because I made more money, that would be okay.  It's because of the services provided by local, state, and federal governments that I am able to make the living that I do.  I don't look at what others have that I don't.  I look at how I can help others attain what I have.  I guess therein lies the difference between myself, and Republicans.