Oink, Oink

From groundhogs to golfers

by Heidi Parent
05/01/05

It's that time of year again. Time to file your federal income tax return. Many people love this time of year because it means a refund. An unexpected bonus. Money to go out and buy that new TV. Ah, it's like manna from Heaven. Found money.

Or is it?

Actually, the way that these folks look at this time of year is backward. For those getting a refund, it isn't found money. It was your money to begin with. What happened was, you were overtaxed. Government took more from you than it should have. In other words, you were robbed and now government is giving you back their ill-gotten booty - sans interest. Changed your perspective yet? Well, keep reading.

Now I agree, citizens certainly have an obligation to pay some taxes. After all, government needs money to operate. Someone has to pay for those battleships and aircraft carriers. Someone has to pay for the fighter jets and helicopters. Someone has to pay for the soldiers and sailors. Someone has to pay for the roads and interstates. Someone has to pay for the $1.7 million International Fertilizer Center in Alabama.

Yes, you read that correctly. You and I worked hard all year so we could "give" (with a little help from Congress) 1.7 million dollars to the International Fertilizer Center.

But that's just the tip of the iceberg. When you consider all of the other things our tax dollars pay for, it would be amusing if it wasn't so outrageous.

For example, according to the Citizens Against Government Waste - a taxpayer watchdog group that monitors government spending - the Punxsutawney Weather Discovery Center Museum received $100,000. That's right. One hundred thousand of your hard earned dollars went to a museum for a groundhog. Makes you think twice about working overtime, doesn't it?

And how about millionaire golfer Tiger Woods? His charitable foundation also received $100,000. Wasn't it nice of Congress to donate $100,000 of your money to Tiger's charity?

But Tiger wasn't the only millionaire celebrity to receive "some" (and I use that term loosely) of your tax dollars. The B.B. King Museum Foundation was given $1 million while the Cal Ripken Jr. Foundation got $3 million.

But wait, there's more - $1.8 million was given toward berry research, wind and weather research in Alaska received $4.9 million, $355,000 was given to Hawaii for floriculture research, $469,000 went to the National Wildlife Turkey Federation, Alaskan regional haze monitoring received $375,000, $300,000 went to improve public transportation at Disneyland, and Nevada schools received $25,000 to study mariachi music. (Want more? You can read more at www.cagw.org).

Now you may be asking yourself: Wait a minute, aren't we facing a $427 billion deficit? Yes, we are. And it is on the basis of that deficit that many in Congress - especially those on the left side of the aisle - are calling to have President Bush's tax cut repealed.

But their position is really a study in hypocrisy.

On the one hand, they're telling us that the deficit is going to be the end of civilization as we know it if it isn't eliminated. But just what are they doing to eliminate it? Are they learning to go without? Tightening their belts? Of course not, they expect their excessive spending to continue right along. In their minds, the deficit - a deficit they helped create, mind you - should be eliminated solely by raising taxes.

So on the one hand our deficit is a horrible thing. But on the other hand - if their spending habits are any indication - it isn't horrible enough that they have to curb their spending spree.

But that's not all. Democrats also continue to tell us that millions of school children are going hungry each day, that tens of millions of Americans have no health insurance, and that hundreds of thousands have no place to live. Therefore, we need to pay more in taxes to help eliminate these evils.

But it kind of makes you wonder why Congress doesn't use the money that it has already overtaxed us out of, doesn't it? After all, if these crises were as imminent as Democrats claim - and money solves all ills, as most Democrats believe - shouldn't Congress practice what it preaches? Shouldn't they prioritize their problems and dedicate the dollars needed to solve them? Sure they should. But they don't. Instead we continue to hear, year after year, how more of our money is needed to solve these problems. Meanwhile, Congress continues to pass out our tax dollars like breath mints to Tiger and Punxsutawney Phil.

I guess this happens because Congress needs money like Jesse Jackson needs a TV camera. And they need a good cause in order to get that money. Because, let's face it, it's easier to stand up and say, "We need to raise taxes because children are starving" than it is to say, "We need to raise taxes because Punxsutawney Phil needs a museum."

But sadly, even after all this evidence, some taxpayers still don't get it. They don't get the fact that Congress works for us; we don't work for them. But the sooner these voters realize this fact, and let their voice be heard with their vote, the better off we will be.

"We are a nation that has a government, not the other way around." --- Ronald Reagan