Tax Guy Talks!- I'll Start With the Children

Before I get started, I think it is important to define some of the "lingo" I plan to use in my discussion. Please familiarize yourselves with the following if you are reading this in place of your children:

1)"Dawg"-close friend, someone you like or admire. I once thought this was a bad term but have since learned the affection it carries.

2)"Bounce"-to leave from one location to another, to get back to doing something else.

3)"Bank"-a term to describe one's income earned (or received if you are a liberal thinker).

4)"What Up"-a form of greeting encouraging discussion regarding what has gone on in one's life. It is also can make reference to the fact that buying into a particular argument (i.e. to ask why a given person is not following a point being made, one might say: "Dawg, what up?"). This is a nice way of asking: "What the heck is the matter with you dork!"

5)"Dork"-slang for lame, stupid, or a bonehead.

These definitions should be enough to get my points across. Let's see how we do.

What up "Dawgs"? I know you've all heard about income tax in some form. I'll bet your parents have mentioned this on more than one occasion. Well, income tax is how our country collects revenue from its citizens in order to offer services and assorted other sundries (1). My job is to make sure that your parents are paying only their fair share of this income tax so they can keep more of their bank. This will allow them to support you "dawgs", pay for college, and will allow them to give you even more bank.

Why are our income taxes so high? Well, sometimes our government thinks they know more about spending your parents' bank than they do. Do you all remember the story about "Robin Hood"? Robin Hood was a man known to "rob from the rich, and give to the poor". Sometimes, I think our government acts in this manner (2). In a free market country like ours, we Americans are permitted to achieve all different levels of success. It is much like being in a class at school. Some will sacrifice watching television or playing video games so that they can study. These students might get all A's. Some of the others in class might do just enough studying to achieve average success. The point is, each member in the class is free to work as hard as they want to become whatever they want. The teacher typically does not require you to help other students but might ask for an occasional volunteer. This is where we learn charity and the joy of helping people who want to achieve our level of success (3). I'll just bet you have one person in your class that likes to get good grades without working hard. This person never studies, and might even ask to cheat from your paper or test. How much fun is it to work with a dork like this? Think of having to work with this person over and over again. You work hard to keep up with your studies and work even harder to help someone else engaged in taking a short-cut (4).

Here is our government right now; this is how we operate as a people. I don't know about you "dawgs", but I'm tired of this. I'm tired of my bank going to others. I want my bank to go for such things as a strong National Defense. On my own, I will volunteer to work with those in need of my help. I want to work with the "dawgs" willing to work hard for themselves.

I know that you "dawgs" want everyone to own their own home. I want this too. But how should we make this happen? Should they get a home without being able to afford the payments? We all know better than this by the way we handle our allowances. We can't spend more bank than we earn, unless our parents loan us bank in between payment dates. If we want to buy more things, we have to make bank. We can make bank only when we do more chores or learn in school what we need to get better paying jobs when we are older. What if we send Americans needing to make bank back to school so that they can learn?

This young "dawgs", is the difference between taking a short-cut and doing things the right way. I don't know about you, but every time I take a short-cut in life, it ends up taking me twice as long to accomplish something. I find it better to take the long way to achieve. Success lasts much longer this way.

This is where we are today in this country, "dawgs". Our government, along with some of our citizens in need of bank, has chosen to take a short-cut in order to provide homes (5). It is fair for us to ask of our government and these citizens: "Dawgs, What Up?" Look what this short-cut has done to our once great nation. How long will it take to correct this dilemma? I fear at least twice as long. If only we would have taken the right way first.

"Dawgs", I hate to Part Company, but it's time for me to bounce. I have more tax planning to take care of so that your parents won't give up more of their hard earned bank. Let's talk again soon. Peace out (6)!

(1) Other items that our Federal Government pays for.

(2) A reference to our Federal Government taking bank from those that risk and sacrifice.

(3) Helping others wanting to do better.

(4) A reference to having resources taken from one doing their absolute best and having these same resources given to someone wanting a short-cut.

(5) Our Federal Government, in trying to do a good thing by providing homes to those in need of bank, made a big mess that will take years to correct.

(6) Good bye and good luck to you my "Dawgs".

About the Author:

William (Ron)Piner, CPA Host of "Better Business" Saturday mornings at 10ET On WBIS AM 1190 www.wbis1190.com