HARDWORKING AMERICANS
Another cranky opinion
for
CRANKY OPINION SATURDAY
The following is the opinion of a
cranky old man who may or may not be opining with tongue in cheek. Opposing opinions are welcome, but don’t get
too exercised about it…it’s just a blog folks.
Please, as always no name calling, and that means you, you big
stupid-head!
Many
politicians today often repeat a mantra on taxes that we need to give a break to “Hard
Working Americans”. Apparently families that do not work hard do
not need tax relief.
Talk about
class warfare. If you don’t work hard
you are expected to pay more in taxes than those that work hard.
I had an Uncle who owned his own
business. He made a lot of money, but
then from what I could see, he worked his ass off. He was at his business at 6 am and didn’t leave
until 8 pm. He worked many weekends and
seldom took a vacation. When he was at
home he stressed over his business and often stayed up late worrying. His family life suffered because he worked so
hard and he didn’t spend as much time doing family things as he would have
liked. He died from a heart attack at
age of 50. Doctors attributed it to
stress. “He worked himself to death.”
But he did
die very wealthy. I’m not sure if people
like my uncle would be taxed more under regulations proposed by many of today’s
politicians. He was wealthy, but he also
worked harder than anyone I have ever known. He was a "Hardworking American."
My neighbor
is a toll taker for the New Jersey Turnpike.
He does not make a lot of money.
He brags to me how he only works eight hours a day but with union
concessions for lunch and coffee breaks it is really more like six hours a day. If he works nights, weekends or holidays he
gets paid extra. He tells me that when
it is slow he listens to books on tape, or talks on the phone. He brags that his job is not very hard. It may be boring he says, “But when I get home I don’t take my job with me. I sleep well at night and I have time to spend
with the wife and kids.” Seems to me he is not a hard
worker. Perhaps we should tax him more.
Conservative
politicians tell us that taxing the wealthy will be a disincentive to work and
may actually bring less revenue to government coffers. Maybe we should not raise taxes on the
wealthy, maybe we should raise taxes on people who do not work hard. This would be an incentive for lazy, less productive people to work harder and make more money which will make the
country more productive and raise the standards of living for everyone. If
Government in it’s infinite wisdom determines you do not work very hard in your
job, you should pay more to help out those whose life suffers because they work
so hard.
Hey, if you disagree, don’t
get angry with me; blame the politicians who want to give a tax break to “Hard
Working Americans.”
The preceding was the opinion of a
cranky old man and not necessarily that of management…Mrs. Cranky.
Maybe all of us "middle-class" types should pool out money and get us some lobbyists and a PAC. Then we wouldn't have to pay but a token. Then we can enjoy drinking our "free bubble up, and eating our rainbow stew" (old Merle Haggard song).
ReplyDeleteAll those hard working politicians have made the tax code so unwieldy that it needs a complete do over. So, all that is left for them to do is talk about it. That is cheap.
ReplyDeleteI've often wondered just what "makes" a human be a hard worker. Is it
ReplyDeleteinnate or acquired? I've known people who have never had a paying job
in their lives and yet they work hard at everything thing they do....while
others have a paying job and slough off as much as possible.
A little off the subject but I don't know anything about taxes. LOL
I don't work at all--does that mean I should send the IRS all my money?
ReplyDeleteWell, having enough jobs would help too. There are less and less to go around in some fields. The first thing we need to do is quit listening to the politicians. They are going to take our money one way or another.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day. ☺
This is a complicated issue and I think your tongue-in-cheek post highlighted just a few of the questions. I think a lot of the trouble today comes from the fact that many people work really hard and long hours, stress about their jobs, worry about their work being off-shored, can't spend enough time with their families, and still don't make enough money to make a living.
ReplyDeleteThe goal of most hardworking Americans is to achieve financial independence. I don't want money taken away from the wealthy, but I do want a government that treats everyone fairly and isn't stupid enough to think corporations are people and allows unlimited, unaccountable money, into our political system.
ReplyDeletePulling my tongue out of my cheek, I have no issue with high income persons paying a disproportionate amount of their income in taxes. It would be easy to make a case that wealthy people get way more in the way of government service than less wealthy. My objection is in the term "Hard Working Americans" indicating low income earners are all hard working and high income earners sit on their butt and collect checks. It is a class war term. I would prefer high income versus lower income.
ReplyDeleteWhat a scream. I love your take on the topic:)
ReplyDeleteYour take on only "hard working Americans" getting a tax break cracked me up. What also cracked me up was the NJ turnpike employee. When I worked part time for the Fla TP after I retired, we were always ragged on by the NJ Turnpike employees coming through on vacation. We were stunned by the pay they bragged about and the benefits. They told us that you had to know someone to get the job it was so cushy.
ReplyDeleteI don't care how hard anybody works. If they're working, it's at least hard enough not to get fired. It seems to me that everyone should pay the same percent. Yes. I'm a simple person. The wealthy would pay a lot, and the not-wealthy would pay a little.
ReplyDeleteEven if the wealthy sit on their butts and collect interest on their investments, somewhere down the line, somebody worked hard to build up that fortune. Didn't they?
Class warfare seems to be the name of the game in politics. To brag about more salary for less work seems to be the crux of some problem, but i can't define the problem.
ReplyDeletePS I just remembered. My mom always told me, "There's no free lunch."
ReplyDeleteJust how hard do i have to work? Does two part time jobs that add up to about 40-50 hours a week count?
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure most of us are screwed regardless of what they decide.
ReplyDeleteThat is interesting to what really constitutes a hard working American. Both hubby and me I consider work hard, him perhaps more than me because being in management he doesn't "punch the clock" like I do, but I give 100% and more to make sure the documents I type are accurate, without typos, etc. It was outrageous how much money came out of his paycheck twice a month (he did married, zero dependents); me the same but I make a fraction of what he makes. However, in the end, we did get a significant refund from both state and federal, but still did pay a lot. I don't think there will ever be fairness in taxes, at least in my lifetime.
ReplyDeletebetty