It’s our money

It is time to hold Congress and Clinton accountable for what they do
with our tax dollars. They are arguing about how to spend the projected
trillion-dollar surplus, but, neither side has gone to the people to
find out what we want. In fact, they act like we don’t even exist, even
though they are talking about our money. That’s right, our money.

There is no such thing as federal, state or local money. It’s our
money because it all comes from the same place. Our wallets. Every
single dime that any government has comes from our pockets. It all
belongs to you. You earned it. It’s time that our “fiscal stewards”
started acting like they work for us.

We are the greatest country in the world. We have more rights and
freedoms than anyone else but we also have a taxing system that treats
us like criminals. And Congress and Clinton refuse to change it.

Our income tax system punishes success and hard work. The harder you
work and the more you make, the more the government takes. Does that
make sense? Why should people who do well be punished for their success?
Doesn’t the American dream mean that if you work hard, you can “make it
big” in your lifetime? Why does our income tax system try to destroy all
that America represents?

Our tax system encourages corporations and individuals to pay lawyers
and CPAs to figure out ways to keep more of their hard-earned money. Why
should anyone have to waste money to try to keep more of the money they
earn? To add insult to injury, our tax system penalizes you for getting
married and takes 55 percent of your estate (after some modest
deductions) after you die. That doesn’t make sense.

Nevertheless, Congress and Clinton are just giving us lip service
about their commitment to reform the Internal Revenue Code. Just look at
what each side is proposing during the current debate. More tax credits,
loopholes and complications. They aren’t making things better. They are
just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

Let’s send Congress and Clinton a message that even they can’t miss.
Tell them that since we were smart enough to earn the money that they
ripped out of our pockets through taxes, we are smart enough to know how
to spend it if they give it back to us. Tell them that since we worked
hard to get the skills that qualified us for the job that generated the
income that they have taxed, we will work equally hard to make sure that
we use the money that they return to us wisely.

Let’s tell Congress and Clinton that we don’t want the federal
government to help with our schools. Kids go to local schools, not
federal schools. Since tax money comes out of the same pocket anyway,
let’s give local communities and states the power to decide how they
want to educate their children. If they do a poor job, people will move
to states that do a better job. That’s capitalism. That’s the American
way and it’s what the Constitution guarantees.

Let’s tell Congress and Clinton that we are sick and tired of them
telling us that they can do a better job of spending our money than we
can. That’s hogwash. They don’t sleep in our beds. They don’t mow our
lawns. They don’t pay our bills. They aren’t around when we get sick.
They don’t raise our children and they surely don’t bury our dead.

No, Congress and Clinton don’t have a clue. They have become a
privileged class, far removed from the rest of us.

It is time for a second American Revolution, my friends. It is time
to take up the banner of freedom and liberty. It’s time to tell Congress
and Clinton that it is our money and we want more of it back. Let’s tell
them that we want them to pay off all of the bills that they have
accumulated so that our children aren’t forced into bankruptcy. Let’s
tell them that we want them to balance the budget the same way we do,
with real dollars and without playing the Social Security trust fund
“hide-the-pea” shell game.

Let’s tell them that it is high time that they start shrinking the
federal government. Let’s tell them that we want as much of our tax
dollars back. We earned them and they don’t belong to them. Let’s tell
them that we don’t want them coming up with new social programs to waste
more of our money.

If you sit on your hands this time, I don’t want to hear from you
when they stick it to you again. It’s your money. It’s your government.
Congress and Clinton work for you. It’s time that you acted like the
boss. Since you’re paying all the bills, why not act like you’re in
charge?