Any Excuse Will Do

The pro income tax forces in Tennessee are still at it. Their latest attempt to enact a state income tax uses the classic “for the children” excuse. You can be sure that any new tax earmarked for something as specific as teacher payroll will find its way into being used for everything else. Government is consistently atrocious when it comes to using taxes and fees for their intended purposes. Trust funds and lock boxes mean nothing to our rulers, as they routinely dip into them for other uses. This happens all the way from the imaginary Social Security trust fund down to local dog catcher’s fees.

The only way to keep a tax from getting out of control is to prevent it from ever being enacted in the first place. Here’s hoping the anti-tax forces in Tennessee can keep up their fight. As always, they will be portrayed as evil enemies of children for daring to oppose an income tax that will be used to provide quality education.

KMK

Frontier House

I don’t often make recommendations on TV shows; but I just noticed that PBS is replaying their excellent Frontier House series, starting tonight. Three families have to adjust to living for three months in a recreation of 1883 Montana. The only real problem they had with the simulation of that time was a ban on hunting. The show was filmed on a nature reserve where hunting was not allowed; and that did put a very big crimp on the food the families were able to obtain. Any real life family in 1883 Montana would have been harvesting wildlife for many of their meals.

Sherry & I watched and enjoyed the entire series when it was on earlier this year. We could relate to it more than most people because of the fact that we had to go through many of the same adjustments when we moved from life in modern civilized society to a very rustic existence on an isolated ranch in the boonies of the Ozark Mountains. Luckily we still have access to food stores, or we would have to start eating some of the wild deer, turkeys and squirrels that are always around us.

Check out Frontier House to see how many things we take for granted in today’s world. It would be great for spoiled bratty kids to see for that same reason.

KMK