Debt and Taxes

The next president of the United States of America, will be sworn in tomorrow, but looking at the price tag of this little get-together, you would think he was getting crowned as King of America.

The estimated cost of the party surrounding the 90 second actual "swearing" part is rapidly approaching $150 Million. There are people that are spending $50,000 on front-row seats that were all in a tizzy about the cost of President G. W. Bush's inauguration that totaled a little over $42 Million.

Sure, 42 Million dollars is a lot of money. Shoot, right now, 10 dollars is a lot of money for me.

How much is $160 Million dollars exactly? I feel like I've been brain-washed when it comes to that much money. I hear these huge amounts thrown around all the time on the news, but it's just such a staggering number, I can't really wrap my head around it.

I wouldn't mind someone spending that much money on something that they believed in, but I have a problem with it if it's MY money they are spending.

I'm about to file taxes, and I expect a fairly large return this year. I made a steady amount of money, had a kid, and claimed zero when I could have claimed 3. But, I'm still paying a lot of money to the government. Not only April 15th, but every time I buy diapers or milk. If that money is going toward keeping our borders safe, then I am happy to pay it. If those tax dollars are funding medical research that will keep my family healthy, great, I support that. Even if I don't directly support what the money is going toward, but it helps the greater good (the greater good), such as wars and political campaigns, I'm even cool with that. Bottom line, I pay taxes, and I'm proud to support my country through it. But, if we are going to be spending $160,000,000 of mine, and my children's money to throw a party for a man who just said that we are in the worst economic crisis of our lifetime, um, I'll pass. If I only could.

Despite the clear and obvious corruption in our government, I am American, and I am proud to support my country's leaders. But I know I'll be paying for it later.

Choices, Choices...

My wife Heather was telling me about her younger brother Jerry's experience in his public speaking class lately. He apparently commented on a fellow student's speech about being "pro-choice", and then immediately found that he was the only one in the class, teacher included, who was pro-life.

That got me thinking about the whole argument over abortion, and the "right" to choose, or the "right" to life. Being pro-life doesn't mean I am against choice, on the contrary, I love having choices, but I understand consequences and responsibilities. I can get pretty fired up over this whole banking/auto industry bailout, and that is something that is affecting everyone right now. Those CEOs made choices along the way, that they probably shouldn't have made, and that lead to the downfall of the financial kingdom. The consequences of their actions and decisions affect a greater number of people than just their company. Likewise, the "consequences" of sex is pregnancy. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't, but it's still a choice that has clear, and natural consequences. Once the choice for consensual sex is made, that's where I stop being pro-choice.

Now, some people will rebuttal that previous statement with the "what about rape and incest?" question. Why would someone even ask that question? Are they trying to get me to say that I support the killing of any baby? I don't see the motivation. To that, I simply say this: "How dare you try to justify the killing of innocent people."

We are talking about life and death. Yes, the consequences of rape and incest sometimes result in a pregnancy, but why should the baby have to pay for the crime of someone else?