Taxes

Well, April 15 has come and gone and the taxes are in.  I found out a couple of interesting things; perhaps I already knew them, but at least I was reawakened to them.

The Federal Income Tax Law and accompanying Tax Code totals somewhere north of 6,000 pages.  It's hard to determine the exact number, even from several government sources.  The Government Printing Office says "16,845 pages" and charges $1,153 for printing copies of the law and code.Members of Congress make determination even more difficult as some have claimed the Tax Law and Code total more than 70,000 pages.  Several other (credible?) sources cite a figure greater than 20,000 pages.  (They may seem that long, but aren't quite.)  Still, what are we doing with an income tax law that has this ridiculous amount of pages?  Of course, the Washington Post wrote that ObamaCare has more than 13,000 pages.

Speaking of ObamaCare, were people really giving K. Sebelius a standing ovation when her resignation as HHS Secretary was announced at a White House gathering?  "...a standing ovation?"  You must be kidding me, unless they were exuberant over the fact she was leaving.  That must have been it.

And speaking of taxes, I've read in several places that General Electric paid no income tax and hasn't at least since 2008, despite making a profit of close to $30 billion over that period.  Methinks something smells rotten.  In fact, more than 100 Fortune 500 companies, profitable ones, paid no income taxes in at least one (but often more) year of the last five.  GE, Boeing, and Verizon not only paid zero to Uncle Sam over the entire 5-years, but actually received $3 billion in refunds!  There's something rotten in Denmark. In fact, a US Senate committee voted to continue the loopholes that perpetuate these tax breaks, just last week. (A full vote of the Senate is on the schedule for May.)  Hey, wait a minute!  Isn't the Senate controlled by Democrats?  Aren't the Democrats for the little guy and the evil Republicans the party of big business?  Let me repeat, there's something rotten in Denmark.

The loopholes are ridiculous, keeping with government policies that reward bad or less desirable behavior and punish righteous actions.  For instance, how many lunches, dinners (with drinks, of course), and other things such as conferences and conventions (which always somehow are found in Las Vegas, Miami, San Diego, etc, never Peoria, Walla Walla, etc.) are written off as expenses?  I'd like to find a dollar figure on that.  Yet, teachers are allowed to deduct $200 for their expenses.  Yep, it seems once again our priorities are clear--and all messed up.

Did you hear Harry Reid the other day, decrying the Clark County, NV cattle rancher who won't cave in to the Bureau of Land Management?  The issue is a lot more complicated (OH, that history stuff again!) than it seems at first glance, but I won't address the heavy-handed federal government taxes, at least not yet.  Reid spoke about "American people who violate the law and just walk away from it.  We can't have that."  What?  Did Reid really say that?  Well, the tape I saw/heard seems to confirm it.  So, then, why is Reid in the forefront of letting immigrants come into this country illegall, you know, they "violate the law," yet "just walk away from it?"  I guess he comes from the same school as Obama, picking and choosing what laws are to be obeyed and which are, well, "just kidding."  What a Bozo!  It sure says a whole lot about the character of the US Senate when a guy like that can become Majority Leader.  (What it "says" isn't very complimentary, either.)

Oh, there's a lot a more, but time to start my school bus driving routes--well, at least to start picking up the kids from their various schools.