Share the load

We need to share the load. Our taxes go towards many things. The little indulgences we share like smoking, drinking, and others are our thing. I don’t smoke but why tax them? I don’t drink much but why tax them? The authorities say they are all for the middle class. They say they want to put money back in the pockets of the middle class. Yet, who do you think drinks and smokes the most?

            You would think as a pastor that I would be all in favor of limiting our vices. Taxes on indulgences curb sin. Does it? It’s strange that in the name of God we want laws and rules to curb sin. In the Bible, there are laws that say do not kill, but it does not say do not sin. God wants us to be good. Yet, God gave free will. It seems we want free will until it comes to indulgences. For some reason, we should tax the little things the hard-working people love. It’s in their best interest that we tax them. It will curb your desire to have them. I think it just takes away any fun in life that we have outside of work.

            Through history governments have taxed the poor. It seems stupid to tax those who have none, but that seems to be the way things are. Maybe it’s a way of keeping a wall between the rich and poor. Over the centuries governments have fallen because of taxing the poor. Yet, each new government taxes the people who voted them in. In Canada, the new progressive liberal government just taxed tobacco and alcohol once again. They are taxing the energy the middle class need to heat their homes and drive their cars. It seems round and round we go.

            Economics knows that the middle class drive the economy. Then why take money out of their hands? I am reading a book that is struggling with corporation vs the middle class. Yet, in history, when big business leaves so do the jobs. Further to that, prices go up. In the end, we have high taxes because less people are working. We have less money in the hands of the middle class. A few years from now we will hold elections promising more money in the hands of the middle class. Are people stupid or what?

            So, what does God have to say about taxes. Jesus was confronted about paying taxes. He said to give to Caesar what is Caesars and give to God what is Gods. It means that we have responsibility to pay for infrastructure we enjoy. We pay for safety and we pay for electricity to run our homes and businesses. It also says we should help the poor and help those places that help the poor. In a way, Jesus said we should share the load.

            With that said, why the laws and taxes on the very people that drive a country? It’s nuts that we have strong opinions on governments. Recently Alberta, Canada hired a socialist government. They said they will put the power back in the hands of the people. This new government of the people put taxes on smoking, alcohol, and gas went up immediately. Taxes on salaries went up immediately too. They introduced a carbon tax that taxes all the things the middle class need to survive. Somehow the people’s choice is attacking the people. Better yet, we just hired the same crud in Ottawa to run the country. What did they do? They taxed all the things the middle class enjoy and need.

            I guess I should be on the side of the church and not God. We should have free will as long as it fits with certain rules, laws, and ideology. God said salvation is free. I believe him. The church says taxing people for indulging too much is good. The government agrees with the church. We will tax indulgences. There is no free will. We used to work hard and reap that reward on the weekend. They even took rest on Sunday away. In the end, we certainly don’t share the load. We work. We are taxed. We can’t afford crud we love. We vote and are lied to no matter what party is in. We revolt, but we seem to lose regardless. (See France, Russia, and America.) In the end, the middle class are needed to do the load while sharing it with everyone but themselves.

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