Pay Day!!

For millions of Americans, Friday is Pay Day. No today, for me personally, as I get paid every other Friday, but still... well, you get the point. Anyway, since it's now 30 minutes past noon, I'd be willing to bet that almost half of those that get the week to week check have already spent most, if not all of it, or soon will. This ALSO got me thinking about what we're all "paid". Lets take me for example. I work for the government, the Federal government. When they hired me, they agreed to pay me $20.00 an hour (no, that's not the real amount, but that's none of your business anyway- this is an example).
Now, if I work 40 hours a week and get paid every two weeks I should get $1,600 every other Friday (Seriously, MY personal pay isn't the issue, just follow along for God's sake!).
I agreed to have my personal health, life and dental insurance deducted from my check, so lets say they take out $150.00 for that (don't start...), and another $50 I elected to go to my retirement. That leaves $1,400 net, right? Wrong! As we all know, we have to pay taxes. ....... Wait for it..... that's right, we "pay" taxes.

Think about it for a moment or two. You have to pay for groceries, you have to pay for your car or truck, and you have to pay for your cell phone. This means that you GET something, and pay for it, or elect to BUY something and pay for it. That is what "PAY"-ing for something usually means. Taxes on the other hand are TAKEN from your income. We do not "pay" taxes. We never even get the benefit of actually having the money to "pay" in the first place. The government, both state and federal actually get your money BEFORE YOU DO! Did we suddenly agree to protection from the Mob or something?

Take this thought with you as you spend the last few dollars of your well deserved, hard earned paycheck; the average American looses 18% of their pay to taxes to fund the Government and Government sponsored policies including the recent Bail-outs and the payroll for elected officials. Since we choose and pay for the Government officials, just like groceries,... why can't we get a refund when they go bad or are no good?