March 7, 2008 - Friday went by with minimal fanfare. I didn't feel particularly good today after work, but Ellie and I managed to hit the gym. I hit a new record on the leg press, 440 pounds. I'm only 55 pounds away from maxing out the machine. Back at home Ellie made dinner and I washed the dogs. They don't ever look particularly dirty but they manage to store lots of sand in their fur. I've noticed that I've had a lot to say about taxes on here. I also notice that none of my friends seem to talk about taxes. I don't read much about them in the news, other than close to elections when there is discussion over the merit of particular increases that are being sought. What surprises me in this whole scene is that it appears that everyone has accepted the fact that taxes are what they are, and they are not able to be changed. I find the relationship of taxes and politics to be intertwined. It is more of that "don't rock the boat" syndrome I have addressed recently. I think this is why on a very basic level I really would love to see someone like Ron Paul get elected, just to see if he can usher in even half of the change that he proposes to our tax and political structure. The federal government provides lots of 'services' that are supposedly in the best interest of the people of this country. Well let's take a look at some of the things they fund. I'll start with a particularly recent hot issue - the bridge in Minneapolis that collapsed a few months back. The government pledged millions, possibly even over a billion dollars towards rebuilding the bridge. What if the government didn't chip in anything? What if, gasp, the people of Minneapolis had to "take up a collection" to rebuild the bridge? Local companies could chip in money and services to get the thing built. Ultimately, the people of Minneapolis stand to benefit the most from the bridge being rebuilt, and they have a vested interest in making sure that it gets done timely. If they are shouldering the financial burden, they would also see to it that it gets done in the most economical way as well. Throw some government money that comes courtesy of the citizens of Idaho, Hawaii, Arizona, Florida, etc, and now you have the ability to create "a work of art", a museum/memorial to reflect on the loss of life, service contracts, maintenance contracts, oversight committees, etc. What was once just a bridge to cross a river is now a burgeoning beast, a financial mega-project, a resume builder, a career creator. Ok, so there's more than bridges being built by the government. They also provided relief via FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Ok, I like the idea here. Sometimes a disaster is so bad that the government needs to mobilize regional and national resources to temporarily assist the rebuilding that follows. But should it be there subsidizing the projects, or would it be better to loan money to businesses and individuals on a short term basis with a very low interest rate? I think the latter, but it does the former. And , in the case of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, not only does it offer bail-outs to people who should not have been living there in the first place without the proper insurance and living conditions, but it then has subjected itself to lawsuits because the very equipment it provided to help house people had high levels of fermaldehyde, which apparently is something you can sue over. So not only did the government give up tons of money for this emergency, but it continues to pay out money on this money-gobbler, and will continue to pay on legal costs that could extend for decades and billions. If there were only a private business that were able to offer mobilized aid to those whose lives are affected by natural distasters. A company that does not take advantage of those affected, but still is able to provide them a service at a reasonable fee. I'm sure that whatever resources the government has invested in FEMA could be reduced while keeping the same if not better performance when done by a private enterprise that I am not being forced to fund through my taxes.