As the famous American, Benjamin Franklin, once observed, there are only two certainties in life: death and taxes.
The latter for most of us may be more appealing than the former, even though it can be more frustrating. (Afterall, once you're gone, your frustration level drops to nothing, right?)
In regards to taxes, let's think for a minute of what they really are. Taxes are your hard-earned money; but looking at it another way, taxes are a taking of your limited time here on earth.
Time spent in labour is necessary, and those of us who work a full-time job do so so that we can provide for ourselves and our families. Nothing new there. Most people have no real resentment performing even unpleasant tasks at our jobs if it benefits the family. But can the same be said if it benefits the government and their spurious priorities?
I am not an anarchist, but I do believe government has a sacred trust to be careful how it spends our money. It is my belief that I can do more for myself than others can do for me except in specialized circumstances such as medical care, security, fire, and other areas where government control has shown their expertise. And I know that this costs money.
In this case, I don't mind giving up some of my limited time on earth, exchanging it into money, and giving it to the government.
And that is my point: how much of your time in a labour environment are you willing to give up? Money that could actually go into your household?
From 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. you leave your family, drive in heavy traffic, arrive to fulfill your quota or what constitutes "work" and then leave. Next payday, the government takes your time in the form of taxes for about a third of your day. (So from 8:00 to 10:45 a.m. you worked for "free.") Then there's more "taking" when you fill up your car, make purchases, or give to the next level of government. How does that feel, especially when you can't afford a home, a car, or even a once-in-a-lifetime trip?
We all have to work for the government but it can be depressing to think that one-third (or more) of your life's time is being given to the faceless levels of government. In order for this to make sense, our taxes have to be seen as having some worth. Do they? Or could you do a better job with the time-to-money activity you engage in everyday?
When you spend your life working, who should get the benefit of your time?
