Lend A Hand

I have a highly unpopular view about taxes and by unpopular I mean ridiculed and severely criticized.

It’s not that I like paying taxes or that I don’t think some taxes are unfair. I firmly believe the system is broken but I also believe the fundamental principles are sound.

I absolutely do not think taxes are a punishment. When I heard Mr. Joe The Plumber talk about why should he be punished for working hard and achieving more success I wanted to throw an American Flag at my television.

Taxes pay for a lot of stupid things I know. Earmarks and special projects suck away our tax money and leave worthy causes lacking funds.

However we have to remember that our taxes pay for mail service, hospitals, police and fire and services, roads, prisons, bridges, and schools. The provide us with valuable information. They defend our country and provide assistance when the real stuff hits the fan like during 9-11 and Katrina.

So with all that they provide and we have come to expect, why don’t we see paying taxes as a patriotic duty instead of some form of governmental torture? Things are tough right now and those of us that can pay should be more than happy to give what they can for the renovation of our nation.

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It seems like the media is jammed with statistics about Americans with no health insurance. Last I heard something like 50 million people were uninsured. That makes the other 250 million of us the lucky ones, right?

Not always. While I strongly believe that all people should be insured, I also believe they should have decent insurance. In fact, I believe there should be universal single-payer health coverage in America just like there is in most other developed countries…but that is a blog topic for another day.

Trust me when I say that it is not only the uninsured that are suffering in this country. The poorly insured are being squeezed in the worst way too.

Let me illustrate by telling you about my family’s health insurance (if you can even call it that). I’ll start by saying that we pay a $346 premium every month. We have a major insurer (who shall remain nameless) but we also have a $6000 deductible. So my husband’s company pays $5000 of that deductible (as part of the premium) through another company which is not an insurance company but who provides us with cards that we have to present to health care providers along with our main health insurance cards if we want coverage.

As a side note, explaining all this to every health care provider we go to is enough to give me a migraine…oops, another doctor’s visit.

Now in addition to paying the premium and the $1000 deductible, we also pay a $25 copay for office visits, $100 for emergency room visits and 20% of our prescription costs. I won’t get into our dental coverage but trust me when I say it is worse than the medical insurance if not quite as complicated.

All told our health insurance costs my family of five an average of $584.33 a month – more than any other bill except our mortgage. It’s a good thing there’s no monetary conversion for aggravation or the insurance company would owe us money.

I sincerely hope that when Barack Obama becomes president next year, he changes the system for the better but in the meantime I’ll have to grit my teeth and be grateful that we have insurance at all….oh and I’ll keep writing letters.

If you’re getting aggravated about your insurance, leave a comment with your story or email me and I’ll write a compilation post in the future with the most ridiculous injustices.

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Every act of kindness that is performed by one person and felt by at least one other changes the world forever. There is power in good deeds and it is a power that all of, from the very poor to the very rich share.

Together We Can Change The World is an organization dedicated to teaching people that they are special and can make a real difference. This list is adapted from a FREE book that they offer on their website:http://www.togetherwecanchangetheworld.com/

1. Pick some flowers from your garden and bring them to a neighbor or friend who could use some cheering up.
2. If you possess some professional skill, offer it for free to someone who needs it. Free housecleaning, free meal at your restaurant, etc.
3. Use your lunch time to pick up trash. You can even ask some coworkers to help out.
4. Send a thank you card or note to the local police or fire station
5. Take a tomato plant in a planter to a person who would like one. Be sure to put it in a sunny spot and assist with watering if necessary
6. Pay a toll or tab for the person behind you. Ask the cashier to ask them to pay it forward to someone else.
7. Buy a few canned or boxed goods during your next shopping trip and drop them at the local homeless shelter or food bank.
8. Look for ways to make people feel special. Smile and compliment others that cross your path today.
9. Offer to weatherize someone’s house for the winter
10. Secure the doormats of an elderly person’s home so they do not slip.
11. Get a group of people together and donate blood.
12. Take and donate your old magazines to a shelter or medical office.
13. If your hair is long or you are willing to grow it long, you can donate the cut hair to Locks of Love. For more info go to www.locksoflove.org

This list is a great place to get started. For more ideas of ways you can change the world, visit www.togetherwecanchangetheworld.com

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Early last month my local news ran a story about the school department in my city losing a princely sum of money from their account. No one knew where the money went – it was just misappropriated somewhere.

The management of educational funds has long been a thorn in my side since the majority of the funding doesn’t even go towards the kids. Instead the city raises my property taxes every year and gives the school administrators big fat raises.

The hardest working teachers get paid nothing even close to what they are worth while only 7% of per student funding goes towards materials for the individual student.

Now I’m not against putting money into schools or paying people what they are worth but it’s almost as bad as the CEO salaries on Wall Street. When you consider the average teacher’s salary in my city is roughly $52,000 and the average administrator’s salary is approximately $94,000,you can see the injustice. And who suffers the most from this injustice? Why, the students of course.

As parents and concerned citizens, it is our job to know what is going on behind the scenes at our children’s schools. Most important is attending school board meetings which are usually open to the public. Write to your school department with concerns. Talk to the media if necessary. But definitely get involved because local politicians and the school board love to use budget problems as a reason to raise your property taxes when in fact that money is going directly into larger salaries for school administrators and hardly towards your child’s education.

Get in the know and make your voice heard.

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Kids, especially teens, seem drawn to politics. Of course my fifteen year old thinks the whole government stinks but in fairness he pretty much thinks everything stinks.

For the last year, my whole family has closely watched the presidential campaign. We’ve also discussed how the bills in Congress are passed and who are the best nominees for our local elections. In some cases the boys knew more than I did and it was great to see something stick in their teenage minds with such passion.

Its easy to talk to your kids about the news, politics, the government. Take them with you when you vote and let them watch you campaign for your candidate. Most importantly, talk about the issues that are most important to you and why.

This isn’t just a learning experience, it’s a bonding experience.

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I am disgusted by the way children in this country are treated. It’s to a point that every time a kid isn’t a complete punk, it’s cause for celebration.

When I was young (and it wasn’t that long ago) children were taught to respect their elders, no matter what. For the most part, children were respected in return though. Now a days, children are treated like suspicious liars never to be trusted or inept angels that can do no wrong and should never have to do anything at all. Just because no one wants to have to discipline the child, they police the child instead.

What happened to the concept of chores? Older siblings taking care of younger siblings from time to time? Being able to take Tylenol to school without being accused of dealing and suspended? The public school system treats our children like soldiers that need to be kept in line or war will break out.

Let me tell you something, this behavior is crippling our kids for real life. They are so used to not having responsibility and not having to make their own decisions that after high school they don’t know what to do. All too often they make the worst choices possible and these mistakes follow them throughout adulthood.

Students must respect teachers, I agree with this.

Children must respect their parents and other caring adults in their lives, totally agree.

But students and children deserve trust and respect in return – not only is it fair, it necessary for healthy development.

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