Patrick's Rants

This has been bugging me for a little while now and I just have to speak out. I’m sick and tired of the tea-baggers protesting the government spending. I’m tired of the conservatives bemoaning the fact that taxes have to go up – we have to pay for the last eight years of no new taxes but plenty of new spending.
“Keep the government out of my Medicare!” – what the heck do you think Medicare is?! It is government (citizen) funded and government run. If you want the government’s hands off your Medicare back the hell off the government program, pay for your own mufuggin health care. I mean it. Otherwise step back and let go of that government tit.

I know a guy who attended a tea party protest recently. He is working a government job, pulling in his government pension from a previous government job and he takes all kinds of time off to maximize his government check (Social Security). Buddy, put down the Palin 2012 button, get a job in the private sector and give up your government pensions. I hear Walmart needs greeters. Don’t want to do that? Then suck that government tit a little further into your mouth so I can’t hear you whine about the government and taxes. Now, nothing that he is doing is illegal, it just doesn’t make sense. I know the argument, the government took Social Security from me so I want it back. Except, by taking “early retirement” you will collect more than you contributed. By taking government pensions the return is more or less guaranteed – not like a 401(k) or IRA where you would have been on your own – a government guaranteed payment.

Back in the late 90s, early 2000s an Arizona state Republican drafted a law that was passed without debate. This law was supposed to allow someone who wanted to purchase a new vehicle could purchase an alternative fuel vehicle and have the state pick up a huge part of the tab. There was no requirement that the vehicle actually run on alternative fuel just that it could if you happened to find a station that could fuel it. I know many conservatives – who don’t want their taxes raised who ran out and bought trucks that they never intended to run on anything other than unleaded gasoline so they could get this huge state tax refund. Moreover, they don’t pay most of the value tax on that big ass truck and get to drive an empty vehicle in the HOV(car pool) lane. In Arizona, you pay tax on the value of your vehicle as part of the annual license plate fee. These guys pay around $10.00 to register their vehicles. It just cost me $100.00 to drive my old Hyundai. Again, nothing done here is illegal, only hypocritical. If you don’t want taxes and government spending to go up, put your hand back into your own pocket. Remember Actions speak louder than bumper stickers

Those were legal. This next one… well read on. In order to stimulate the economy, help people out purchasing their first home and maybe rebuild some of the demand for the slumping housing market, the federal government – through the IRS – created a first time home buyer tax credit. The credit is $8000.00 and can be used to help fund your purchase, if done right. And now, the government is investigating fraud. Fraud that I know how occurred. This is real. I know a conservative, keep the government out of my life, couple. She, of course, works for a government agency, his job keeps him working with (not necessarily for) the government. They purchased a home and titled it in their son’s name. The problem is that their son still lives with them and they collect a rent check. If they get caught, and it’s entirely plausible, there will be much moaning and gnashing of teeth about how the government is interfering in their lives. Well, if you would have kept your greed in check the future would have looked better for you. Fraud against the government? Good luck with that. If caught, she will likely lose her job and he will lose his ability to do his job, possibly lose the house they bought to rent out and have to pay back the $8000.00. And they were just so clever in buying this house.

And oh yeah, keep the government out of my life. Unless I can work for, get cash from or outright steal from the government. And even then, don’t raise taxes to make up the amount of money raped from the Federal Government by Cheny, Bush, Haliburton or little ole me.