Taxes

I first want to make it clear that I understand why we pay taxes.  At the same time I think that as a nation we can find a better way to generate money needed.  Also this blog is not at all pointed toward our military.  Our soldiers put their own lives in danger to protect the rights of our citizens.  They do this for a very minimum amount of money considering the risk of their well being.

Now, I don't like paying taxes like most of you.  One idea of paying taxes is that money goes towards the up keep and maintenance of roads.  This I somewhat understand.  As we all know after this week it is necessary to have snow plows to clear the roads so we can still function as a society.  But myself I would rather pay half as much road tax and have half as nice of roads while still keeping maintenance crews such as the plow trucks.  Another thing is that I believe that since the citizens pay taxes that pay elected officials then the citizens should be able to vote on the officials salaries.  I believe that there is so much corruption in politics such as money laundering that they would figure out a way to get more money in their pockets anyway.  Think about how often we hear about a corrupt official getting in trouble by the law, and we only hear about the ones who get caught.  This link (http://bransonmissouri.missourinetizen.com/2010/07/branson-landing-grosses-100000000-in.html) is to explain the situation in Branson, Missouri with politicians wanting to raise taxes to fund their private business'.  I don't only blame politicians for the high taxes that I pay, I also know that there are plenty of average citizens looking to take advantage of and cheat on taxes anyway possible.  I work in a business that has me travel six months of the year and they have me do my own expense sheet every pay period.  I usually write off about $70,000 a year because I pay for all of my travel expenses.  There are several others that do the same job as I do but since we do our own expense sheet they write off a larger amount than I do and if they don't get audited (which none have yet) they get away with it while the rest of us make up for it by paying more.  At the same as we all know people get checks for disabilities.  Don't get me wrong the majority of these people deserve every penny and are legitimate candidates for it, but if you can say something hurts or if you can pretend something isn't wright with you then you may also qualify for some sort of monthly check which ultimately comes from the tax payers.  Its all about if you have morals or not, while most of us do there the few that use the buddy system with doctors that they are friends with that can help diagnose a problem that is not really there.

And for the real bummer, social security.   As the Washington Post explains (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/12/AR2009051200252.html) with the rise of the baby boomer era there will be no more social security money left after year 2017.  But I pay social security taxes every pay period, and they say that when I get to an age to occur these benefits the money will be long gone?  That's wright, all the money that I have paid and continue to pay will be spent before I need it.  Maybe they will take that in consideration and pay all of us that didn't get the benefits back, NO WAY!  We pay into something that most of us will never see and instead of trying to fix the problem they don't mind to procrastinate and let me keep paying, and if I refuse they will put me in a small room with bars and feed me T.V. dinners.  The worst part about it all to me is when I talk to people about this topic most agree with me on some level.  But our government plays us as fools and nobody confronts the situation because although you may have paid $15,000 in taxes this year we all forget about it when it comes to refund time and they give you back $5,000.

I know this is kind of a radical blog but when I get going on this topic my mind starts running laps, so I hope that I have not offended anyone.

Pro Bowl Weekend

I am sure that all of the NFL fans out there are knowledgeable about the NFL moving Pro Bowl weekend to the week before the Super Bowl instead of after like they had always done before.  It is easy to see why they decided to move the event since they want the Super Bowl to be the grand finale of the NFL season.  I am sure that this and other scheduling conflicts (such as NBA Allstar Week which is the week after the Super Bowl) would of had a great deal to do with the scheduling of the event.  Since the Pro Bowl is now before the Super Bowl this year no players from either team were allowed to participate in the event, due to potential injury and I am sure it was looked at as a distraction also.  But what about the fans.  The fans that generate millions of dollars to all aspects of the game such as tickets, merchandise, and ratings don't really have a say in this.  When fans fly to Hawaii to watch the game or just tune into the local television station to watch the Pro Bowl they want to see the best players in the league, but they are not all there.

It is said (http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2010/03/02/pro-bowl-returns-to-hawaii-retains-controversy/)  that Pro Bowl television ratings were up last year (the first year to play the game before the Super Bowl) 40% from 2009.  This could also be a direct reflection of a declining economy since travel, tickets, lodging, parking, and beer can all add up to a large lump of money.  "Playing the Pro Bowl before the Super Bowl generated more excitement and interest in the event and also kicked off Super Bowl week in an innovative new way," was Frank Supovitz, the league's senior VP of events statement on the subject.  Of course this is his opinion which might distort the view of a general fan of the league.  Holding the Pro Bowl before the Super Bowl also fills a gap in the two weeks that are between the conference championships and the Super Bowl.

From what I have watched the Pro Bowl seems to be a laid back and fun atmosphere for the players to enjoy the game of football without the business aspect, and where else would be better for that feeling that Honolulu.  But even with that kind of atmosphere there is still an abundant amount of business aspects to deal with.  Ratings mean a lot to revenue for the NFL, and as sad as it is that is what this league has come to.  An  article at http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3798734 says that Hawaii's state government released $11 million for renovations to there stadium.  This was in effort to get the Pro Bowl back to Hawaii since the revenues for that weekend sky rocket.  In conclusion I am very disappointed that the Pro Bowl players are voted in by the fans, but since the NFL can make more money the Super Bowl contending Pro Bowl players will be replaced by players that did not make the cut by the fans.