The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
Greetings to ever one in western Illinois and all readers of The Quill.
I'm a hope'n all had a good Grandparents Day Sunday, Sept. 9 and celebrated properly or at least observed Patriots Day last Tuesday, September 11. Saturday, September 22 is the first day of autumn.
It shore enough has begun feel'n like fall already. Cool crisp evenin's, the hummingbirds has filled up with food and took off fer their long trip south, corn is a come'n outa the fields, and wide open spaces is begin'n to appear. This is a mighty fine time of the year!
Corn yields are be'n reported at all levels from below 10 bpa to 260 bpa.
The feller report'n 260 bpa was careful to request his name not be used fer he was afraid of spark'n jealousy, anger, and be'n thought of as a liar.
He is from up north in Mercer County and it seemed ever time a cloud went over it gave his cornfield a good drink. I'm happy fer him, as I'm sure most others are also. Somebodies got to pay some taxes this year to help fund the government.
Speak'n of government and spend'n it seems in those terms the word "billion' is frequently used.
Politicians use that word in what seems a casual manner. As such one has to wonder if it is really wise to have them fellers spend'n your tax money.
A billion of anything is difficult to comprehend. But, lets see what kind a job we can do in putt'n that figure into some sort of perspective.
ĽA billion seconds ago it was 1959
ĽA billion minutes ago Jesus was alive
ĽA billion hours ago our ancestors were live'n in the stone age
ĽA billion days ago no one walked on the earth on two feet
ĽA billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate our government is spend'n money.
Maybe there is another way of look'n at a "billion' in terms of how it is so casually used. We can take a look at the New Orleans disaster and utilize some simple one room school house math division to learn a few amaz'in things. Don't really need a Harvard degree fer this.
Louisiana Senator, Mary Landrieu (D) asked Congress fer 250 billion dollars to rebuild New Orleans. Can ya figure what that interest'n number means?
Well, if'n ya are one of the 484,674 residents of New Orleans (every man, woman, and child) you each would get $516,528. Better yet, if'n ya have one of the 188,251 homes in New Orleans, your home would receive $1,329,787.
If'n ya are a family of four (4), your family would receive $2,066,012. Of course all of this assumes the bureaucrats don't take their normal big chunk out first and make proper allowances fer the bureaucrats pensions and retirement.
The question might be asked of todays politicians, "Are all your calculators broken??
How do they expect to pay fer all of this. Well, lets think of some of the taxes paid today:
Building Permit Tax; CDL License Tax; Cigarette Tax; Corporate Income Tax; Dog License Tax; Federal Income Tax (Fed); Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA); Fishing License Tax; Food License Tax; Fuel Permit Tax; Gasoline Tax; Hunting License Tax; Inheritance Tax (they are not gonna let ya geta outa this world fer free); Inventory Tax;
IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax); IRS Penalties (tax again on top of tax); Liquor Tax; Luxury Tax; Marriage License Tax; Medicare Tax; Property Tax; Real Estate Tax; Service Charge Taxes; Motel Tax; Social Security Tax; Road Usage Tax (truckers); various Sales Taxes;
Recreational Vehicle Tax; School Tax; Library Tax; Fire Department Tax; County Extension Tax; Township Tax; Carl Sandburg Tax (Jr. College); Multi Township Assessor Tax;
County Ambulance Tax; School Bond Tax; Telephone Emergency Tax; State Income Tax; State Unemployment Tax (SUTA); Telephone Federal; Excise Tax; Universal Service Fee Tax; State and Local Surcharge Tax; Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax; Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax; Telephone State and Local Tax Telephone Usage Charge Tax; Utility Tax; Vehicle License; Registration Tax; Vehicle Sales Tax; Watercraft Registration Tax; Well Permit Tax; Workers Compensation Tax; just to name a few that can be easily remembered off hand.
It's hard to think we left British Rule to avoid so many taxes. How about the thought that not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago. At that time our nation was the most prosperous in the world. The United States had absolutely no national debt and we had the largest middle class in the world. 100 years ago mom stayed home to raise the kids.
What has happened in the meantime? Do ya know how to spell "politicians'! Oh, and by the way remember, we have to pay our "FAIR SHARE" of taxes-and according to some politicians, that's more than we are pay'n now.
Have ya ever wondered why it is that conservatives are called the "right" and liberals are called the "left". Well, in the Bible there is this verse: "The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left". Ecclesiastes 10:2 (NIV). Can't get any simpler than that!
Ecclesiastes 10:3 (NIV) goes on to say: "Even as he walks along the road, the fool lacks sense and shows everyone how stupid he is".
Wherever ya are "Be a Good One'!
Hope to see ya in church come Sunday morn'n.
Keep on Smile'n
Catch ya later
BARNYARD BRUKE