No more unicorns

Every Sunday morning, a special surprise awaits us on our driveway. It's not a COMPLETE SURPRISE since we know it'll be there but it's always fun to find it out there - - waiting for us rain or shine. While the AJC contains a lot of good information, there are two key parts that I try not to miss: (1) the ads (duh) and (2) the vent. Oh, and I also like the section that tells you the story of a particular couple, what they are looking for in an ideal house, and then gives you their final three options. It's fun to guess which one they picked, even though I'm usually wrong...

Anyway, there was a particularly good vent in this mornings paper. I posted it below.

Those folks making over 200K a year pay MORE in taxes and deserve any program offered to other citizens. Why do you feel entitled to the money of a financially responsible person? Wealth Envy is a horrible attitude.

This vent caught my attention because of my ever-growing frustration about how we don't "qualify" for this credit or that credit when we go to file our taxes because we apparently made too much money. And I heard Clark Howard talking about how there is a program called the "savers credit" that basically gives people $1,000-$2,000/year if they are simply contributing to a retirement savings plan. Of course, there are income requirements and we, apparently, made 'too much money' to qualify for this handout. What's unbelievably frustrating is realizing that my tax dollars are going to pay for someone else's retirement. I put money in my retirement account each month - - shouldn't I be able to get the $1,000-$2,000/year additional, as well? Yes, yes, I should.

And that's the long (or very short) of why I'm against the horrendous goverment takeover of healthcare. It's not that I'm this mean or heartless person that doesn't want everyone to have health insurance. And the best care available. No, it's not that at all - - because I would like to live in a world where that was possible. But, unfortunately, we don't live in a world filled with unicorns, skittles, and rainbows. Those things just. don't. exist. And the goverment has not done one program well in it's entire existance. Not one. Look at the postal service, for example - - it loses BILLIONS of dollars each year. But, it keeps going... nothing changes. It keeps adding to our deficit. What about social security? And for some reason people think that the goverment will do right by us this time? Sure, we were promised 'healthcare for all' but what we'll see is dimished care, higher costs, and much longer lines as healthcare is rationed. We're screwed all the way around.

I have struggled with why some people could want more goverment control and higher taxes and how those people could think so differently than I do. The conclusion that I've come to is that it simply boils down to being realistic and looking at history. It's not pretty and the hard, sad, truth is that we don't live in Utopia. Once people on the other side of the fence start to realize that, our strategies for reaching our shared goals will be much more in line. We both want the same result we just have different ideas of how to best get there.

Ok, there's MY vent. Off my soap box because I do feel better now. At least a little.