Cheeseburger In Paradise

As my wife so elegantly put on her Facebook status today, she married a genius. I have been bellyaching about taxes for quite some time and began to lament on the junk-food tax way back when they began taxing cigarettes heavily. Actually, I'm not as much of a genius as I just like to create things to gripe about, thus my "prediction" of the junk-food tax; but don't tell my wife, I would like to remain a genius for a few minutes longer.

But being more serious now, Do you remember when the cigarette taxes began to rise? And remember how that tax was going to help take the burden off of the health care system? And remember the promises that health care would remain affordable due to these taxes?

Have these promises came to any kind of fruition? And how about the health care costs? The taxes went up on cigarettes and the tobacco industry. The price of cigarettes went up to offset the cost, negatively affecting the consumer. And little, if any, of the tax money went to offset health care cost. Mark my words, the junk-food tax will follow the same model. As will the class action suits that are supposed to help those harmed by cigarettes, not just some greasy, slick lawyers. And those who eat junk-food will have to be sequestered like the smokers are now. They will be viewed as the scourge of society. There will be signs by the doors of the hospitals warning anyone eating a candy bar, that they will have to remain twenty yards away from any entrance or exit to the buildings.

Restaurants will have "junk-food free" signs posted on their walls and offer some lousy food and pseudo-dessert "to accommodate the consumer", not to make any money. Because our current government views wealth as being unpatriotic as well as a sin... People at church will talk behind the backs of those who eat at dairy Queen: "I saw sister Betty and brother Tom walking into the ice cream joint after prayer meeting this morning. I guess they didn't hear the pastors wonderful sermon on the excess of sugar and Jesus...Me? Oh I only eat a little sugar, and it's for my blood condition...of course not, I wouldn't go into one of THOSE places. I have a nephew who is a little shifty, as well as non-denominational, who buys mine for me...I'm no sinner..."

Of course this will be the case until they begin to tax fatty foods. Then the entire south will shut down. The IRS will raid our homes looking for Crisco or an old FRY-Daddy. We will have to buy french fries and fried chicken in "speak easies". We will have to know the secret knock or the password, "Love that Chicken from Popeye's" just to get into any place serving good old comfort food.

But they will of course raise the taxes on alcohol so high by then that if you add in the tax on sugar, Bananas Foster will be a super secret dessert priced at $2500 a serving. Only the wealthy will be able to eat this delicacy. If there will be anyone left with more than a few bucks in their pocket. And this will be only if the bananas are grown in Mexico, our forced trade partner. Otherwise, even the wealthy wouldn't risk the punishment or pay the extra tax.

Of course I am being a little facetious and sarcastic; but I am not certain as to what extent. If I am the Nostradamus of all things taxed, who knows how much of these fictional scenarios could come true. And if I am correct in my prognostications, it is not due to my being an economist. It is due to my perception that the government, as well as many people, have the wrong idea about government.

And that view is that our government is a business. Nothing could be farther from the truth. We did not become independent of England so we could become incorporated; We became independent because we had a hope and a desire to become something bigger than ourselves. Our forefathers had a vision of what this land could be and a vision of what freedom really was; what it looked like and felt like. But now we are heading towards a bondage worse than that of England's yoke 200 years ago. We are taxed by an oppressive government who does not represent us or our philosophies; and our oppressors were created by our greed, apathy, and corruption. We have built ourselves a gilded cage made of tax percentages, deficits, and broken promises. We have voted in the scoundrels and supported wrongdoing while we point the finger of blame at an opposite party or philosophy.

And it didn't get this way over night. Our government didn't begin at such a monstrous size as it is now, nor did it have the power it does now. And the people in office then did not want it any other way. The power ahould be in the hands of the people, not the ability of the government to provide over-priced and ineffective care as a drunken nanny may give her children on a Saturday night. We believed in the power of ourselves and the ability of the individual to became whatever they wanted and worked to become, not to live off of handouts, litigations, or government subsidies.

But our freedoms were surrendered a little at a time. When a crisis develops and we would rather someone else, or the government, fix things, we surrendered a little freedom. And each crisis that occurred and we looked beyond ourselves to solve such crisis, more freedom was devoured by whomever we surrendered it to. The more comfortable and apathetic we became, the more freedom we allowed to slip from our hands. We vote on issues and legislation without understanding the jargon; we lose freedom. We cast a ballot not knowing about the person, but realizing their party; more freedom wasted and lost. We drink the Kool-Aid and walk around with our heads in the sand, pretending that the problems are someone Else's; freedom surrendered.

All too often we forget history or trust blindly so that we don't have to involve ourselves. We have little concern for the future of our children or our great nation...

And I realize that I have gone into a full blown rant. I get so worked up, I forget what I began writing about. I never learned the brevity is the soul of wit thing...but I do know that I started out bragging on my prediction and gloating at the fact that my wife finds me brilliant today; and I desire to get back to that point, as she may come to her senses at any minute.

But I do ask that you consider ALL things as we move forward, at least chronologically forward; the rest remains unseen. I hope something in my rant causes us to think about things that can affect us and to reevaluate our priorities.

And in the meantime, go have a smoke, a beer, and a Snickers while you can still afford them; Cheeseburger in Paradise may not just be a song, but an anthem to the mega-wealthy, in our nations future.