btw, did you know american tax payers pay money to britian. (through tax)

was reading a story earlier, i still cant believe this one. a guy goes in to hospital for an operation and the surgeon puts a right foot on his left leg and doesnt notice he has made a mistake. but heres the part i dont get, the patient went back for treatment twice before he and the docor noticed.

i dont know if any of you have done this but try it. add up everything you earn and spend and tally up the tax you have to give them, you will be shocked.

I do this every year, and I am always shocked.

This year, my federal taxes, state taxes, property taxes, car taxes, and gasoline taxes came to just 16.7% of what I earn. The only other major taxes I pay are the ones airfare (never could figure out those maths), and the ones attached to rooms and meals when I eat at a restaurant (9%).

In return for that 16.7%, I have a nice new airport to use. I have highways in good repair to get me there, and in fact they are undertaking a major expansion of route 93 and building a new access road to the airport. Last night the wife and I had dinner at a restaurant, and I never once worried about whether the kitchen was clean (my taxes pay to inspect them), or whether the food was safe (my taxes pay to have them tested), or whether the water was toxic (my taxes pay to have it tested and purified). When my mom had a spell a couple years ago, there were two qualified EMTs and an ambulance there within minutes, to ready take her to a hospital 20 minutes away.

Oh, but I did pay a $12 parking fine back in November. (I thought parking charges stopped at 6 PM, but when I returned I had a ticket. It was then I noticed I was parked right under a sign that informed me of the new 8 PM cutoff.) It was silly of me not to check the meter, but since I knew I had broken a statute I just paid it. I really didn't consider taking a day off work and going to court to fight it - heck it was a nice day, I had just seen a great concert (Alejandro Escovedo), and since that's the only ticket or fine I have paid in about eight years, I didn't feel like obsessing over it.

So all in all, I really have very little to complain about. My taxes are low, and what I get in return for paying them is, frankly, amazing. Sure, there are things I'd like to change, and with 600 million people living in this country I'm pretty sure not every decision is going to be popular with everyone. But that's just life in a civil society, isn't it?

Justin
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The biggest waste and theft of the public treasury is through the Pentagon.

how they get into britain is a mystery.

as EU members these people have as much right to be in the UK as you or I do.

was reading that the british government have just sold the white cliffs of dover, or the port of dover to the french. i cant believe we are letting them away with this.

Again, I think you are mis-reading the story. The british government is considering privatization offers for the Port of Dover, and a french firm has expressed interest. Nothing has been sold yet, and the "white cliffs of dover" are not part of the deal.

Justin
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