Isn’t this amazing? Here is a list of taxes we pay. How did they all come about?

Accounts receivable, building permit, capital gains, cigarette, corporate income, dog license, federal income, fishing, food license, fuel permit, gasoline, hunting license, inheritance tax interest expense, inventory tax IRS interest charges, IRS penalties, liquor, local income, luxury, marriage, Medicare, property, real estate, septic permit, service charge, road usage (truckers), sales, recreational vehicle, road toll booth, school, state income, state unemployment, telephone federal excise, telephone federal universal service fee, telephone federal, state and local surcharge, telephone minimum usage surcharge, telephone recurring and nonrecurring charges, telephone state and local, telephone usage charge, toll bridge, toll tunnel, traffic fines (indirect taxation), trailer registration, utility, vehicle license registration, vehicle sales, watercraft registration, well permit and workers compensation. I could have missed some too.

What really is amazing is the fact that not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago and our nation was the most admired and prosperous in the world, had no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world and only one parent had to support the family.

Isn’t it time we analyzed what went wrong and start demanding corrections and get this nation back on the right track beforeit’s too late?

Charlie Birkel

Bangor