By Mark David Blum, Esq.

I cant stand it anymore. My pockets are already picked bare by taxes, fees, and skyrocketing costs for basic goods and services. Thanks to the existing system, I have little if any disposable income left.

When I voted in the last election I thought I was voting for real change. The candidate gave me hope that something, anything would be done different. I prayed for fiscal responsibility. I begged for major tax relief. What I got was just more of the same.

Part of my criticism of the Bush Administration and the policies of the Republican Party emanate from the early days of that Presidency where the Nation was subject to one party rule. Republicans controlled all 3 branches of our federal government and most of our State and local governments as well. Over the years, Americans grew weary of the massive spending and debt accrued that ultimately led to the current financial meltdown. Gradually American woke up and removed Republicans from office.

Today however, we have the same problem all over again. When Republicans are removed, all we have left are Democrats. Now like before, we have single party rule in the Executive and Legislative Branches of government. Again, like before, legislators and the President are spending money like a drunken sailor.

I cant stand it anymore. There is no more money for me to provide the government in any way shape or form. Whereas I had hope my government would take fiscal matters and get them under control, instead the Democrats feel that more taxes, more spending, and more frivolous waste is the solution to the problem. I wanted change to come to my government. All I got was another wolf wearing the same clothing.

Taxes have to come down. Spending has to be drastically cut. Our government has done little to reduce its spending other than to cut a corner here or there. My President talks to me about getting tough and taking the pain but does little to give me a reason why I should. He has made no effort to cut massive expenditures on programs and policies long since failed. The War in Iraq, the War on Drugs, and dozens of programs and departments in the government continue in place despite have no effectiveness and bleeding the taxpayer.

Currently the White House is muscling through Congress a so-called ‘Stimulus Package’. In doing so, they are following the model of their predecessors and ramping up spending beyond anything the mind can comprehend. Hundreds of Billions of Dollars are being thrown at the economy. But these dollars are tax dollars – yours and mine – and are being given to major corporations and to umm major corporations. The money is coming out of our pockets and it is money we just do not have.

Frankly I am afraid. I do not see my government as having any real sense of the problem and only seeks to fund its continuing survival. Taxpayer supported employees have but a single goal; to remain in office and gather their salaries, perks, and retirement. At the same time, I the private citizen get no such guarantees and in fact find myself being forced at gunpoint to pay more for this feeding frenzy.

My President has not brought me hope; he has brought me fear. I am afraid I cant afford to support my family or pay my bills because the taxman is taking so much from my pocket. It is not just limited to the federal taxes. My State government is operating on the same theory and also is escalating both spending and taxation. There are so many fees and additional taxes on just about everything I do or purchase that very little of my money remains my own.

I am deathly afraid that my country is on the verge of economic collapse. I am afraid the President is going to demand even more money from me by way of taxes and fees. Panic is setting in as I watch nearly a trillion dollars about to be given away and nothing comes back in return. Taking money from me to give to my neighbor so my neighbor can pay more in taxes and fees is ludicrous and shameful. Creating more public sector jobs with tax dollars means nothing but taking from one person to give to another person so that second person can return the dollars to the government. Meanwhile, the government takes a cut from me before the disbursement and charges a second fee with the new taxpayer.

More than anything, we cannot have a single party rule without any responsibility. That was the fundamental problem with the Bush Administration. They felt they could do what they wanted and nobody could stop them. My current President echoes the same attitude by arguing to me that he got elected and therefore he is right.

My President is wrong. It is flatly wrong to increase spending. Taxes have to be cut significantly. Spending has to be gutted at every level. We need a national spending holiday whereby the federal government does not spend a dime on anything beyond the bare boned necessities for a period of thirty days. During that holiday, a complete evaluation should be done and every agency and employee should have to prove their continuing worth to be on the public dole.

I don’t want to become a Republican and I certainly don’t agree with their politics. But right now they are the minority and contrary to the previous eight years, suddenly they found religion and are arguing for lower taxes and cutting spending.

So let it begin. Let one Republican Senator find the courage to stand up to the President and his abuse of spending power. Let one senator filibuster or take action that scuttles the current spending plan. It is the wrong approach to the problem.

With federal oversight and spending so out of control, one can almost foresee a tax revolt. There is going to be a tipping point; a point beyond which once attained, will break the collective back of the American people. There is going to be a point where people have to say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH and NO MORE.

I want my country back. I want my government back. I want spending to stop. I want taxes at a minimum. The present paradigm is driving me into bankruptcy and looking to take my skills and expertise elsewhere. I am fast losing faith in my President’s ability and desire to truly end the financial disaster that is out there.

With so many millions out of work or underemployed, to drive up the deficit and national debt without any accountability or rational relationship between spending and benefit, there is going to be a serious backlash. I don’t want my nation to devolve into a mass of broke and angry milieu. The danger that lies below the surface is very real and the threat to my nation’s security cannot be understated. Should the day ever come that we are broke, that there are two classes of citizens … the rich and the poor, and that public spending is uncontrolled, I fear for my nation. The groundwork is being laid for a popular uprising and I can foresee a serious challenge to the existing status quo.

I realize I am just one voice in the wilderness and nobody is going to follow to my words. My President has his mind made up and my Congress is going to go along with the plan.

But my fear is real. The proposed spending and stimulus package is a clear and present danger to the financial stability of taxpaying households. We are being driven into financial ruin and I am living proof thereof. Because of the nation’s massive debt and tax liabilities issued to me, my family is among the millions who no longer spend beyond necessity and refuse to borrow. We hoard what we can as otherwise, I will have to work until I die just for food and housing. That is a horrifying vision of the future.

I really cant take this anymore. I demand real change. Give me back my hope and end the ways of yore. It is time for someone to say NO MORE and draw a line in the sand. Let me be that person and let today be that day. Failing to do so may leave us with no tomorrows.