Friday, February 13, 2009

Property taxes are evil

What is the purpose of taxation? I bet you think it is to allow government to obtain money to provide it's vital and needed functions. Right?
WRONG! Taxes are used to control you. Government's primary function as it currently exists is to make you do what the people in power want and to prevent you from doing what they don't want you to do. Control is the goal.
It seems to be working pretty well too if you stop and think about it.
I hate taxes because the government takes from me what I have worked for, by threat of force or actual force if I resist being robbed and gives it to somebody else. Government can only give to one what it takes from another. Now if I did that I would be guilty of a felony. If I decided you had a nicer house than me and I wanted it and tried to take it I would very likely end up in jail. However if government takes a fancy to your house and decided to take it you will likely end up homeless.
One of the ways government takes your home(not really yours) is through property taxes. Property taxes are assessed yearly upon the value of your home according to whatever they say it is worth. Currently mine is assessed at about 50,000 more than it is worth on the market. So they say to me, "Mr. Smith, we will let you live in your house one more year if you pay us 2% of what we say it is worth which is more like 3%." Now I have two options; I can agree to be extorted or not. Now realize I bought this house with money I earned and saved after paying income taxes on it. I don't have a mortgage but I will be forced to pay property taxes as long as I "own" it. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that I am not the real owner of my home; the government is. And if I live there long enough I will pay them more than the cost of the house in extortion fees.
Now tell me how that isn't evil.
Oh you say, "But Mr. Smith, look at all the benefits you receive from the
city. You have nice roads(the city didn't put them in), schools (I homeschool), police protection(I have a gun), fire protection(I have insurance), parks(hate parks and the city is currently building a 7 million dollar little league park which neither I or my family will ever use.), etc."
If property taxes were only about collecting funds to meet the cost of needed services a sales tax or user fee would accomplish exactly the same purpose and would allow me to actually own my home instead of lease it in perpetuity from the government.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Gold


Here are some interesting Gold facts:
In 2001, it was estimated that all the Gold ever mined totaled 213,113 tons or 5,114,724,475 oz. 5 billion oz or less than the amount needed for each person living on the earth to have a single oz.
One ton of Gold at todays price($950) equals $22,800,000.
So all the Gold in the world(2001) is worth about 4,858,988,251,250.
Just under 5 trillion dollars. And how much has our wonderful, honest
government magicked up recently? Double that. And this isn't
inflationary how?
When the U.S., under our brilliant leader nixon, took us off the gold standard on August 15, 1971 the price of gold had been fixed at $35 per oz. From that day on the u.s. dollar was pegged to nothing of real value and currency inflation began with a vengeance. On August 15, 1971 the Dow Jones index was at 856. At that time the Dow/Gold ration was 24 to 1.
Today the Dow is at 7765 and Gold is at $950. The ratio is 8 to 1!
Now given that ratio would you have been better off buying gold at $35 or the dow at 856?
What do you think the next few years will bring? My guess is a 1 to 1 ratio will come about long before a return to a 24 to 1 ratio(never).
So who should you trust with your money? Your oppressive, corrupt, violent government or Gold?
Hint: there is only one right answer.
Maybe next time I will discuss silver which I believe is a superior investment even to gold.

Convert now. You won't regret it.