The Butcher’s Bill

My second post of the day has been delayed, on account of myself and Turbo Tax trying to get my taxes done. This is a project I thought was (nearly) complete two months ago, but there was more left to be done than I realized. This post will have to do, I guess.

Alas, the BBB passed by Trump has skinned away many of my deductions of past years, thus forcing me to pay more in taxes. I am trying earnestly to keep that number to a minimum, but many deductions begin to phase out or become eliminated at an income of $146,000 for a couple, and that really isn’t a very high number.

The final bill is that I still owe slightly less than $3,000. In total, I paid more than $61,000 this year in taxes. The report from Amazon alone says I paid $1400 in sales taxes. It’s infuriating to see those numbers, then see people on Social Media saying taxes need to be raised. Why, I asked one of them, should someone who makes more pay a higher rate? If the percentage is the same for everyone, a person making $100k would pay 5 times in taxes what a person making $20k. That isn’t enough though. Some say that no one should have more than X amount of money.

The answer? Because, he said, they can afford it.

So because someone has more than you, you feel it is your place to steal what they have earned.

• If someone takes my money for his own benefit, he is a thief.
• If someone takes my money to feed his child, he is still a thief.
• If someone takes my money at gunpoint, he is a robber and a thief.
• If ten people take my money at gunpoint, they are a gang of thieves.
• If a thousand of my neighbors take my money, they are no better.
• If they all vote to have someone else take my money at gunpoint, at some point the left feels that this is legitimate.

The answer I get is “well, that’s called taxes.” I say bullshit. Taxes are so the government can provide for the general welfare. Taking someone’s money so courts, the military, and other services everyone benefits from is providing for the general welfare. Taking that money so Sharkeesh’a Negron and Juan Illegal* can sit at home and pop out a dozen kids without having to produce anything is not. It’s theft.

OK, I’m just working myself up, thinking that it takes me several months of work to pay my taxes.

To say the least, I am pretty grumpy and there will be some alcohol involved this evening. Of course, it will be taxed.

* As an example, see this post from 2010 where I outline just how profitable it can be to be an illegal immigrant.