I read a quotation the other day that I have to share with you. A
man named Jean Baptiste Colbert (I don't know who he was or what he
did) said, "The art of taxation consists of so plucking the goose as
to get the most feathers with the least hissing." Isn't that
wonderful?
Every government agency at every imaginable level is crying about
money. Like the wage earner who has too much month left at the end of
the money, they are all crying the no-money blues.
The federal budget is gazillions in the red. The state is
scratching for money to balance its budget, while the governor rushes
around raising money to get himself re-elected, his opponent points
an accusatory finger at him for plunging the state into financial
ruin, and the committee to re-elect the incumbent asks how the
challenger thinks he can run our state when he couldn't even run a
business successfully.
It sounds like it's going to be a long, tiresome campaign, doesn't
it? The county is looking at what it can cut and every city is
wondering how it can survive. Where are they going to get the money
they need?
Naturally, we are all going to pay taxes. We all look to our
government for specific services, and in order to give, the
government must first take away -- and what it takes is money. I
can't give them much more than I am already giving, but maybe I can
make some suggestions about where they can find more. Always willing
to help, that's me!
I read an article in the paper this week that the county wants to
start enforcing the licensing fee on cats. Interesting. I'm not sure
how they intend to find all the furry little felines; current
estimates of their number are overwhelming. And all those "strays"
roaming around the neighborhood in rhinestone collars should probably
be rounded up and licensed, too, but how to do it is the problem of
the licensing authority, isn't it? They can't expect me to do
everything, can they?
And why should they stop at dogs and cats? Why not license
hamsters, guinea pigs, snakes, pot-bellied pigs and tropical fish?
Their owners are as fond of them as the owners of cats and dogs. I'm
sure they would be just as happy to kick in some money for the
privilege of ownership. Fair is fair. Share the burden, and all that
inspiring rot!
And how about requiring licenses for bicycles, skateboards,
wagons, scooters and roller skates? Automobiles and trucks aren't the
only wheeled contrivances that impose wear and tear on the roads. And
for that matter, maybe we should think about the joggers. They are
