Government “By The People”

So, are there any of you good readers who honestly believe that the government today in America is a government “By the People and For the People?” If so, can you explain the various department of Parks and Recreations?

For example, I can go to nearly any town in America and find some kind of “Parks and Recreation” department. And, as part of that department, I can find facilities that range from parks to ball fields to swimming pools. And in nearly all of those places, I can find signs and notifications that I must pay to use these facilities — and if I do not, I can be jailed or killed.

As an aside — please note that any and all government laws, regulations, and ordinances are backed with the threat of jailing or death. Yes, from the parking ticket to violent crimes, if any government order is disobeyed, you may be killed for it. For example, if I post a sign in my yard that is against a city ordinance, I may be killed (it has happened). If I trespass on a parks and recreation field and the police are called, I may be shot and killed. So feel free to argue this point, but you will be wrong — ALL government directives are backed with the threat of death, whether you want to admit it or not. If you don’t believe me, feel free to disobey a policeman when he orders you to do, well, anything.

But wait — that facility of the department of parks and recreation was built with my money — since I am one of the minority who actually pay income, property, sales, and every other tax imaginable. So I paid for the facility, yet I cannot use it. Therefore, I must not own it. If that’s the case, then who DOES own it? The obvious answer is that the parks and recreation department owns it. That means that this is not a government “By the People,” because there’s some other layer in there separate from “The People.”

I know, many will claim things like, “Oh, but the fees go to pay for the operation of the facility,” or “The fees don’t even cover paying the salaries of the people working there.” But that’s my point. There exists today a level of government that is not part of “The People.”

Am I suggesting that there should be no “Parks and Recreation” department? Well, if the organization is going to exist outside of “The People,” then yes, it should not exist. If some government department is going to build and operate any facility with my tax dollars, then they should do so — and then I should have complete and total access to the facility without any additional charges. They could demand proof of my residency, or evidence I pay taxes, but they should not charge me more to use it. If they cannot do that, they should not use my tax money to build something that I cannot use, and in fact, will be jailed or killed if I do use it (in violation of their orders, of course).

Of course, if we had a free society, this would not be an issue. And those who would claim that nothing would get built unless the parks & rec exists simply are living in a land of fear and denial.

Oh, how I yearn for freedom.

Gunline

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Money; That’s What I Want

Movie Trailer for I Want Your Money. This contrasts Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama and different versions of America, one involving freedom and one involving being shackled to the government.

Here are other money related items for your enjoyment.

Money, That’s What I Want (Politician’s Theme Song)

Money (Wall Street Theme Song)

Money For Nothing (Welfare Theme Song with the Bill Clinton Verse ‘Chicks for free’)

Big Dog salute to DEG.

Cave Canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Big Dog

Gunline

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Another Tax In New York

It is not exactly a new tax but it is one that has not been enforced in the past. A New York bagel shop franchise has been told by the politicians that it has not been paying its bagel tax. A tax that has not been enforced requires bagel shops to charge a tax for any bagel that it slices or is consumed on its property.

The state sent a tax bill for what it figured the shop owed and then told it to start charging the tax. This new tax has outraged bagel consumers who thought the shop was squeezing customers. The shop had to post signs to explain the tax and what had happened.

I bet a lot of people will get bagels to go from now on.

I am not sure of the law but if the shop is required to charge if it cuts the bagels maybe it could put one of those safety bagel cutters on a counter an let people cut their own. A lot of risk involved with that since people could get hurt and sue.

I think I would offer little containers of cream cheese and sell the bagels uncut to go. This would allow people to protest the tax and still get their bagels.

This is not about the 8 cents it costs per bagel. This is about the continual tax burden placed on people. New York taxes everything it can so much so that people are leaving for other states. If this state (and indeed all states particularly those run by Democrats) could manage their budgets effectively it would not need to keep adding taxes upon taxes to make ends meet.

It boils down to the fact that states (and the federal government) spend more than they receive and they spend much more than they should. They need to cut spending and eliminate all these nuisance taxes.

It comes down to fiscal responsibility.

No matter how you slice it.
Source:
NBC New York

Cave Canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Big Dog

Gunline

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Bloggers In Philly Need Business License

Philadelphia has sent letters to bloggers telling them they need a $300 business license to continue blogging. This is not for all bloggers, just those who showed some sort of income from their blogs. Most folks who reported income (from ads and such) reported only a fraction of the $300 amount the city wants from them.

Between her blog and infrequent contributions to ehow.com, over the last few years she says she’s made about $50. To [Marilyn] Bess, her website is a hobby. To the city of Philadelphia, it’s a potential moneymaker, and the city wants its cut.

In May, the city sent Bess a letter demanding that she pay $300, the price of a business privilege license. Washington Examiner

Looks like the city decided to get in on the action by looking at people who earned a few dollars from blogging and honestly reported it on their taxes. The city looked at the income and thought, “gee, we can scam these people out of money by forcing them to get a $300 license.” What a great way for the city to get more money without having to provide a service or actually do anything to get the money. Then again, that describes government to a tee.

All Philly is doing is ensuring it will get less money. Smart people will pull the ads from their websites and stop making money from their blogs. Then, they don’t need the license and the city will not get any revenue from taxes on reported ad income.

Look for this to come to other cities (particularly those run by Democrats) because government (particularly Democrats) loves to screw people out of their money.

For those who make a moderate amount of money blogging there might be a better way to screw Philly over in this. If these people pay for a license they will be considered a business. Then they can write off all kinds of business expenses like hosting fees and their home office space. There are calculations involved but since Philly said blogging was a business any time spent blogging would be used to calculate the percentage of time a study is used as part of the business. The bloggers could also deduct the depreciation of the equipment used for blogging.

If this is planned very carefully bloggers with a business license could write off lots and lots of money, certainly more than the $300 license fee. Then Philly would get less money than it anticipated and the reduction would be legal and made possible by the greed of the city.

It does not get any better than when you can screw the same government that tried to screw you.

Cave Canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Big Dog

Gunline

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And To Think You Pay Taxes For This

It is back to school time and this year the lists of supplies that schools send home for children has grown just a little (or maybe a lot) and the growth is to cover items that are supposed to be paid for with our taxes. School supply lists now include reams of paper (office supplies?), paper towels, and toilet paper.

When Emily Cooper headed off to first grade in Moody, Ala., last week, she was prepared with all the stuff on her elementary school’s must-bring list: two double rolls of paper towels, three packages of Clorox wipes, three boxes of baby wipes, two boxes of garbage bags, liquid soap, Kleenex and Ziplocs. CNBC

These are things that are supposed to be bought with the tax dollars that the government confiscates from us. However, mismanagement and bloated unions have gobbled up dollars that should be spent on the items that children are now supposed to bring to school.

This is a crying shame and it is a sneaky way to increase taxes on parents. You see, they pay taxes already, taxes that are supposed to buy these supplies, and then they are forced to pay again in order to actually get the supplies.

Children should not be required to take toilet paper to school. Children should not be required to take reams of paper to school. These are items that should be provided by the school and paid for with the tax dollars collected for that purpose. Of course, some parents do not agree with this (obviously they attended public school):

“We don’t expect Wal-Mart cashiers to buy the plastic bags for our groceries, or the mailman to pay for the gas to deliver our mail,” Ms. Cooper said.

No Ms. Cooper, we do not expect Wal Mart cashiers to pay for the bags because the consumer (those buying products in Wal Mart) are paying for the bags. The cost of bags and other overhead is figured into the expense of running the business and then passed on to consumers. We do not expect the mailman to pay for the gas because the postal service charges for its services and the cost is supposed to cover the operating expenses. Since it is a government entity it is always losing money but the mechanism is in place to pay for the costs associated with business.

Just like there is a mechanism to ensure we can furnish our schools with the supplies needed to operate. We call that mechanism taxes.

Don’t worry though, the Congress made sure it passed a bailout to pay the teacher’s union employees. Thank God they didn’t have to buy anything important like say, toilet paper…

Cave Canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Big Dog

Gunline

[tip]If you enjoy what you read consider signing up to receive email notification of new posts. There are several options in the sidebar and I am sure you can find one that suits you. If you prefer, consider adding this site to your favorite feed reader. If you receive emails and wish to stop them follow the instructions included in the email.[/tip]