What Do You Think About When You Pay Taxes?

In a recently published commentary, a patriotic citizen discusses his logic in What Do Citizens Owe the Government? In this commentary, he explains why our taxes should be evaluated, and we should be receiving receipts from the governments. (Well, he doesn't actually talk about receipts, but that what it made me think of.)

James Bovard, a policy advisor to The Future of Freedom Foundation, published this commentary this morning. It was an inspiration to read. He goes over topics like public schools, public roads, speed limits, police protection and military, and how our taxes compare to the cost of these so-called services, and what is actually provided.

It is a very interesting commentary, and brings up interesting issues. One excerpt: "Nor can people owe obedience to government for any activity that the people could have done better themselves."

Beautiful. When I read that, so many things came to mind. Medicine. That really came first. There are so many harmful drugs that only deteriorate our bodies and poison us so that we need even more pharmaceuticals to counter those affects. Instead of these, there are many natural cures, or at least treatments to counter those affects-such as medical marijuana. Chemotherapy- not pretty. Cancer patients undergoing this treatment can suffer many side-affects, including nausea, loss of appetite and others. But, the use of medical marijuana has been proven to counter those affects, but it is illegal. People who pay taxes shouldn't be paying them if those taxes will buy the criminalization of medicine that heals many ailments.
And when he began about public roads, and the fact that most speed limits posted are actually 15 mph under the. James Board reports that Federal Highway Administration traffic-safety engineers Samuel Tignor and Davey Warren concluded in a 1990 study that most speed zones were “posted 15 m.p.h. below the maximum safe speed; that, on average, speed limits are set too low to be accepted as reasonable by most drivers, and that the posted speeds make violators out of motorists who drive reasonably and safely.”

Now I understand why I feel the need to speed so much. Not terribly much past the speed limit, I usually maintain a speed between 65-70 mph, because that is where I feel comfortable. And, from what I've noticed, the people who seem to feel most comfortable going 52 mph on the highway, they usually drive as if the should never have passed their driver's test, or at least need to take a new one!

An intriguing piece of artwork posted on Deviant.com , entitled Death and Taxes diagrams the Federal Discretionary Budget of 2004. Take a look yourself at the Federal Office of Budget and Management's website. It details US budget information including requests, and distributions for 2006 and 2007.

I think that taxes should be a lot more localized than they are currently to allow for more efficient spending. I should also have the right to refuse to pay taxes if I don't believe they are being spent on, well for starters, on things I know about! We should all be informed about why are money is going towards certain things, and the exact expenses incurred from these happenings. I mean, if we were given the right to not pay taxes, I understand a lot of people would not pay taxes without having just cause. Perhaps the legal system can be put into use for citizens. To help the general population be a bigger part of the checks and balance system that is only in place within the 3 main branches of the government. Perhaps, We should be considered the 4th branch?

California's Deadliest Earthquake

According to a story from The Raw Story, an apocalyptic earthquake is long overdue for the great state of California. A government scientist states that earthquakes of this magnitude usually hit California every 150 years, however it has been 300 years since the last one, making it long overdue. Its waiting, and building up. Several thousand are expected to die, and billions of dollars worth of damage is expected to be incurred by the monstrous quake.
They believe it will be a magnitude 7.8 earthquake that will shake through the San Andreas Fault. Torrance and Palm Springs have been deemed as the two 'case study cities' because they carry the weight of being the most potentially harmed during a quake of such magnitude.

The researchers would like to also study more in cities without the landscape destruction and more the economical and political chaos such an earthquake would cause. Aside from property damages, lives lost and other environmental changes, the economical influence could be devastating as well, especially in cities where the earthquake did not reach.

Nick Juliano, of The Raw Story, reports; "Scientists consider a quake along the San Andreas Fault in the Coachella Valley "a near inevitability," the Palm Springs Desert Sun reports, noting that such a quake could be the "most destructive natural disaster in U.S. history."