April 15 Looms. I pay, you pay, we all pay and where does it go?

Life here in my neck of the woods looks much better this week. The sunshine brightens everything and flowers are popping out all over the place. Just last week we had a freezing couple of nights, but maybe this time we can actually believe Mother Nature. Maybe this is really the beginning of spring.

I began physical therapy for my hip pain and will have an MRI on my knee next week. I always feel better when I am proactive with a problem. With my stretches at home and the work I do at the PT office, I think I will be back to myself soon.

Today I finally completed my tax preparation and a nice accountant let me come in and get it completed late this afternoon.  I decided to use an at home program again this year. I find that it costs me about the same as using a local accountant. And since I have to do the major part of the work, collecting all the data, etc. why not just plug those numbers into my Turbo Tax form and be done with it? But it was not so easy. The accountant made me feel better when he said my return was complicated and most H & R Block folks could not do my taxes. He even said, "If you could do your taxes yourself, I'd hire you to work for me."

Every year when it is time to figure up what I owe the government, I remember what my accountant told me many years ago when both Barry and I worked and made a decent income. David said to me, "Don't complain about paying taxes. It just means you made money this year."

Yes, David, now that I don't have a good salary coming in and pay very little tax, I have to say I'd rather be paying the tax. Although we enjoy many things that our taxes pay for, we usually take them for granted. But when we see or hear what happens in countries where there are no services for the citizens, we should be thankful we have a government that tries to provide for us. I just wish I had more say in where my tax money should be spent.

I almost laugh when I hear that our government just spent a few million or a couple of billion dollars on something that seems very low on the priority list of most people. It would be nice if some of that money went to a half-way house for the homeless so they could have an address for a resume and have a place to shower and dress for job interviews. That would help them get off the streets and out of shelters. The tax money doesn't seem to trickle down to people who need it most. Maybe that is because it goes through the hands of those who don't see the need, who never went hungry or wondered where they would sleep.

I have been told by those who have all they will ever need, that they just can't see how a family could become homeless. But with so many working families living from pay check to pay check, all it takes is a serious illness, a car accident and injuries that prevent one of the parents from working. These families usually don't have an emergency fund. They don't have a savings account. I must admit I was surprised when I learned that many people who have worked for me in some capacity, had no savings at all. I have been extremely fortunate in my life. I had a family that took advantage of all opportunities that came their way and parents who knew it would take sacrifice and hard work to ever get ahead in life. But not everyone has the same kind of upbringing. Some have single mothers who can barely make enough to put food on the table or have to choose between buying groceries and paying the rent. I shudder when I think of being in that position.

I heard from friends this week about three grown men, one of them a veteran, who are living at home in their parents' basement (different parents and different basements)  because they are divorced, can't find a job that will sustain them on their own, or who are ill and need help. Many hear this and  scoff, saying they are just lazy. That is not true. Living at home with parents has not always been scorned. My older brother lived at home until he married. But he had a good job and contributed financially. If the son or daughter can afford to help with the food and other expenses, that is great, but most parents want their children to save their money and eventually get their own place.

To rent a simple apartment in my county, the renter must come up with about three thousand dollars. He must pay first and last month's rent and a deposit. The monthly rental runs from 800 - 1000 dollars a month.  The renter needs a very good job to make that kind of money and in our rural area, those jobs don't exist.

Everywhere, in every shop window, I see Now Hiring signs. But those jobs pay ten dollars an hour or less. If I had no job and could only make about $400 a week, how would I pay rent and feed a family? How could I afford a car to get to work? From the four hundred, taxes are withheld. So at the end of the month, the waitress or daily laborer takes home less than 1600 dollars a month. If 1000 dollars goes for rent, and several hundred pay for an automobile, how much is left for food and necessities of life? Often the companies hiring want part time workers.

We have a problem. We have too many working poor or men and women who work but just barely keep their heads above water financially. Ten dollar an hour jobs should be for teenagers or part time jobs for an adult who has another breadwinner in the family.

Part time workers are hard to find because men need full time jobs that pay a decent salary in order to have a home for a wife and family. And with so many single mothers trying to care for children, I think it is wonderful that, in many cases, they can get help through social services. When I hear others complain that "she knows how to play the system" I wonder if they have ever had to do what that single mother has to do in order to keep food on the table or a roof over the head of her family.

My brother had real estate in Florida. Many of his renters were single women with children. The father  was no longer involved or made so little money himself, he could do little to help. Because of HUD, these single mothers were assured their children would not be homeless. This government program paid their rent each month. My brother said the checks came in regularly. He had to meet the provisions for these homes, but he had no problem with that. The renters also had to meet requirements each month. I don't know if that program is still in place with all the changes being made now, but I hope it is.

Anyway, I wondered a bit from my taxes, didn't I? But you see where I think our taxes should be used if possible. "Give those who need it a hand up, and look up to see where they end up." This quote by Glenda Beall. Feel free to use it. (smile)

Franklin D. Roosevelt said:  "The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have little."

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