Taxes and those who impose them in crosshairs

By Walter GeigerSleep wouldn’t come so the TV clicked on.The clicker landed on what used to be known as a ‘˜spaghetti western’.A group of miners had been beaten down repeatedly and were about to give up their claims to the big mining company executive when gunfighter-turned preacher Clint Eastwood showed up and emboldened the miners to stay the course.The miners reacted as taxpayers are reacting now.Those who pay property and income taxes are sick and tired of seeing their money spent on programs they would never contribute to were they not forced to through taxation.They are sick and tired of seeing food stamp recipients using taxpayer money to buy steak while they are eating chicken pot pies, particularly when those with the food stamps seem to have enough cash for imported beer and wine to go with their taxpayer- supplied meal.They are sick and tired of public housing apartments with plasma units on the wall and plenty of cold beer in the fridge.They are sick and tired of free and reduced price school lunch recipients who rake their food into the trash and have plenty of coins for the snack and drink machines.They are sick and tired of paying for defense attorneys for the so-called indigent. As a side note, I have covered court for over 30 years and never seen anyone denied a public defender. I don’t think anyone really checks on eligibility at all. The taxpayer just gets the bill.They are sick and tired of inmates growing fat and sassy at the jail and want them back out on the chain gang whether they are guilty or not. The logic is, if we are feeding them, they can work for that food (which they would prefer to be bread and water).They are sick and tired of educating the illegitimate children of those who have kids just to draw the check that comes with them.They are sick and tired of disability cheats, welfare cheats, Section 8 housing and any sort of price break on anything for those designated as being from low income homes.Are there some misconceptions and misperceptions in that list? Yes, of course, but that is definitely the mood of the public at present.I once listened as a woman attempted to persuade a recreation department director to allow her kid to play ball for free because she was low income. As she was making her argument, she had to stop and dig a chiming cellphone from her purse.The director immediately declined her request noting, ‘If you can afford a cell phone, you are not indigent.’That is the kind of skepticism we need from everyone who makes a decision on whether or not to spend a single one of our tax dollars.In the meantime, taxes and those who implement them are squarely in the crosshairs.Clint, as The Pale Rider, solved the miners’ problem by leaving a dozen or so corpses rotting in the sun in and near the big mining company office and dynamited much of its operation. Come November, taxpayers will litter the streets of America with ousted incumbents.Their cause of death?Rampant, runaway taxation.