Let me begin by stating that this is not a political article in any way. We don’t do politics here. It’s a lost cause and alienates 50% of those who read it, regardless of what we say. No need for that. This is an article on CHANGE because even though we all talk about change constantly, we seldom actually realize how fast and how much change occurs in our daily lives.
Think about these shocking facts:
- 100 years ago, none of the taxes listed below existed.
- Our nation was the most prosperous in the world.
- We had absolutely no national debt.
- Today our national debt is 12 trillion, 890 billion, 837 million 190 thousand, eighty three dollars and 39 cents!
- We add $4.16 billion per day to the above figure!
- We had the largest middle class in the world.
- Mom could stay home to raise the kids if she chose.
Do you think taxes are too high today? And I’m not talking about your payroll taxes alone. Don’t think your W-2—think what you’re actually paying. How many of these taxes apply to you? The Accounts Receivable Tax, Building Permit Tax, CDL License Tax, Cigarette Tax, Corporate Income Tax, Dog License Tax, Excise Taxes, Federal Income Tax, Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA), Fishing License Tax, Food License Tax, Fuel Permit Tax, Gasoline Tax, Gross Receipts Tax, Hunting License Tax, Inheritance Tax, Inventory Tax, IRS Interest Charges, IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax), Liquor Tax, Luxury Taxes, Marriage License Tax, Medicare Tax, Personal Property Tax, Property Tax, Real Estate Tax, Service Charge Tax, Social Security Tax, Road Usage Tax, Sales Tax, Recreational Vehicle Tax, School Tax, State Income Tax, State Unemployment Tax (SUTA), Telephone Federal Excise Tax, Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax, Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes, Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax, Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax, Telephone State and Local Tax, Telephone Usage Charge Tax, Utility Taxes, Vehicle License Registration Tax, Vehicle Sales Tax, Watercraft Registration Tax, Well Permit Tax, and Workers Compensation Tax … to name a few.
Well, if you’re complaining about all those taxes, you should be ashamed of yourself! You should be asking your politicians for even more taxes to pay! We seldom consider the wonderful benefits we enjoy as a result of those taxes. Let me share just one recent example before you call to thank your political representatives.
TWEETS FOREVER
The U.S. Library of Congress this week revealed it will archive every public tweet not flagged as private! According to a blog post from Twitter founder Biz Stone, more than 55 million tweets are broadcast each day by Twitter’s 105 million users, pushing the total of tweets tweeted into the billions.
That means every one of those tweets will be made available for all to see after six months. Twitter donated its entire archive to the Library of Congress. Careful what you tweet as those 140 character or less slices of life will now be around for eternity … cataloged at the oldest federal cultural institution and the country’s largest library.
Can you imagine the size and scope of this project? How many people will it take to establish and maintain an archive which grows by 55 million tweets a day? And who do you think is going to pay for that? That’s why we pay taxes. Remember that the next time you gather with friends, family and neighbors to browse the U.S. Library of Congress Tweet Archive.
Two closing thoughts:
- Be very careful what you tweet. It’s now a matter of record … complete with your name and possible photo.
- From time to time check out the following link to see how much our National Debt has grown since yesterday!
About Harry K. Jones
Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.