Thought for the day

April 15, 1999

Today is euphemistically known as "tax day" here in the United States. That's sort of a misnomer. We all pay taxes throughout the year. Businesses and self-employed individuals file taxes monthly or quarterly. Today is the last day to either file your taxes or request an extension to take some more time.

But you probably knew all that and I'll wager you won't be surprised by the next interesting item from today's headlines. CNN reports that the do nothing republicans Congress is grousing about taxes being too high and too complex but they refuse to take any action to address these problems. Yeah, that's a big surprise.

The gimmicks like flat-rate taxes and "postcard tax forms" sell great to the hillbillies who don't understand how drunk on the power of taxation our government has become. The power to regulate our lives by giving or withholding tax breaks is Congress' big stick (the carrot is how they distribute the booty back to their constituents). They'll not soon give up that power.

Perhaps if the Senate hadn't been distracted by the partisan travesty earlier this year they could have devoted a little time to this or other tasks for which we elected them.