Enough is enough already! After getting my final check for the year, I realized after taxes, social security, pension deductions and insurance, I have 70% on my income to live on. I pay out 30% of what I make without even seeing it. Oh wait! Add to that: sales tax, property tax, tolls, convenience taxes, new taxes on all forms of energy use… not much left, is there? And to top it off, no raise (or cost of living increase) in three years.

In 1789, Benjamin Franklin wrote in a letter to Jean-Baptiste Leroy, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes“. We could add government mismanagement and corruption to that.

In attempting to deal with an anticipated 13 million dollar deficit for the coming year, the city of Elgin, IL (where I live) cleverly approached the budget and public outcry revealing their doomsday scenario: cutting essential services and raising taxes. This of course, involved a lot of smoke and mirrors, making the final approved budget seem more appealing. Instead of raising existing taxes… they created a whole hodgepodge of new ones. Different scenario… same outcome… more money coming out of my pocket.

I’ve never understood the ignorance of politicians when it comes to their decisions and philosophies. The recently approved deal between the state of Illinois and Sears, providing tax breaks to keep their headquarters in the state, for instance. This approval was only greeted with the announcement that Sears would be closing nearly 120 Sears and Kmart stores nationwide. This only further decreases their contribution to the state coffers. What about the mom and pop stores? What kind of breaks are they getting? None. Which explains our dependency on big box stores and why only the strong survive.

Free enterprise isn’t free. Freedom isn’t free. We are slaves to our jobs (those lucky enough to have one) and our country. Land of the Free and Home of the Brave should be changed to Land of the Slaves and Home of the Oppressed. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. This is why uprisings such as Occupy Wall Street are happening. But, are demonstrations effective? Is anybody listening?

Today’s Pic of the Day: Break is Over. My car in the empty parking lot at BHS at 5 am yesterday. I see this view frequently, often the first to arrive and/or the last to leave.