I'm from a middle/middle class family with four siblings that grew up in small town America, pop. about 4,000 then, still live there and love it.
According to the papers the United States Social Security Admin. has been sending me for the last few years, I began paying federal income tax, social security tax and whatever else they take out of a check since AGE 14 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and still do to this day, BTW, I'm now 53..........
I had a part time job at T,G&Y (remember those stores) worked every afternoon after school and all day saturdays and volunteered every third sunday to do the floors. By the time I graduted high school, I had bought and payed for a meduim size trailer house and had it set-up on some proerty my dad had, and had about 5 grand in a savings account and money in a checking account. Rode my bicycle to work even as a senior in high school cause that's the only wheels I had.
From 1977 to 1994 I ALWAYS had 2 jobs and my wife worked full time also, even then, I also did small engine and outboard motor repair in my garage at home in the evenings.... In 1994, I went into business for myself and still have the business today, I'm a one-man show, from boss to janitor and everything in-bewteen....
Don't regret a minute of it. I average from 60 to 70 hours a week and I'm not complaining, I love my job and work, but, PLEASE TELL ME WHY I HAVE TO GIVE IT TO THE LESS FORTUNATE, you know, the ones THAT WILL NOT WORK FOR A LIVING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Both my parents worked hard to send their 5 kids to college, 3 finished with honors, one did 2 years and one did one year, not everyone is cut out for it, but they worked their butts off for us, no handouts or anything like that.......
My older sister got married her sophmore year in college, and a year later had a child, her husband spent his summer vacation working offshore in the Gulf Of Mexico in the
oil fields so they could go back to college the next fall, my sister and her child lived with us during those summer months and she had a part-time job.
Their senior year in school (LSU) things were hard for them, so, she applied for and got food stamps, did so for a year, then they both graduted with honors (she was a double major), both got very good paying jobs and became model, tax paying citizens and still are doing the same to this day... that's what those programs were designed for, to help needy people, not create a lifestyle!!!!!!!!!
Every Sunday morning you can find me in church at the 8:00am mass (Roman Catholic), after mass I go to the grocery store and get groceries for my family for the week..... It never fails, there will be at least one welfare mother with a herd of kids in tow and 2 or 3 buggies full of food, the kind of food I rarely buy, cuase I can't afford it, then she pulls out the welfare card, swipes it, and goes load her groceries in her Escalade, while I'm loading my measly half a buggy of groceries in my 10 year old Toyota!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AND YOU WANT ME TO HELP RE-DISTRIBUTE THE WEALTH???????? My wealth?????????? Sorry, NO CAN DO...............
How much was your check for the "stimulus package"???????? Mine was half the quoted amount, they sent a letter with it saying it was based on my income and that's all I was allowed, but people that never worked a day in their life got the full amount!!!!!!!!!!
You tax the middle and upper middle class and the top class enough and one day there will be another civil war here....people are quickly getting fed up with the give-a-aways and hand outs and one day there are going to quit paying taxes........enough is enough........
Phew, I know this is long, but, I do feel better now............
David