They may be "grants", but still our tax dollars.

From the WTSB web site:

$850,000 Grant Will Help Rehabilitate Selma Homes, Streets
Selma town officials learned Thursday they were the recipients of a $850,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). Selma was one of 18 communities across the state Governor Mike Easley said would share more than $13.7 million for community revitalization, infrastructure improvements and the construction of affordable housing. In Selma, Town Manager Stan Farmer said their funds would be used for rehabilitation of housing and paving on South Sharpe and South Webb Streets. Work in the area should be completed in no more than 30 months, Farmer said. Other grants went to the cities of Oxford, Lumberton, Tabor City, Lexington, Rockingham, Raeford, Washington, and Conover. CDBG funding is allocated to the state from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The N.C. Department of Commerce’s Division of Community Assistance administers the program for the state.

Here is my commentary. First, perhaps we would have more ability to do things locally if the federal and state governments did not siphon off so much money into Washington, DC. Second, even though these are "grants", they are still coming from tax dollars. Furthermore, the purpose of the grants are to be for "rehabilitation of housing" and the construction of "affordable housing". The term affordable is subjective. The idea of my tax dollars being taken from me, a man who works a full time, skilled labor job, on the threat of force if I do not comply voluntarily to dole out my hard earned money, and having those dollars inefficiently laundered through the world's largest bureaucracy only to be filtered down to another bureaucracy, then to another, then to private citizens for them to pay minimal money for housing or to renovate their existing homes is just plain repugnant. It is insulting. It is unfair. It is a disincentive to succeed. It is anti-Biblical. It is communistic and evil.

The article from WTSB listed a few other towns that also got grants. Multiply this times hundreds or thousands of towns across the country and you can see how our tax dollars are being wasted on programs that are not even supposed to exist. Take this program and multiply it by the countless such programs that some communistic or ignorant fools have pushed through Congress, and some well meaning but selfish President who wants to get re-elected and play politics with our tax money have passed, and the amount of money is mind boggling.

I just got this in an email today. It puts things into perspective. Government waste like this costs us billions of dollars every year.

This is too true to be very funny.

The next time you hear a politician use the word 'billion' in a casual manner, think about whether you want the politicians spending YOUR tax money. A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into some perspective in one of its releases.

A. A billion seconds ago it was 1959.

B. A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.

C. A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate our government is spending it.

While this thought is still fresh in our brain, let's take a look at New Orleans. It's amazing what you can learn with some simple division...

Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu (D), is presently asking the
Congress for $250 BILLION to rebuild New Orleans.

Interesting number. What does it mean?

A. Well, if you are one of 484,674 residents of New Orleans (every man, woman, child), you each get $516,528.

B. Or, if you have one of the 188,251 homes in New Orleans, your home gets $1,329,787 for repairs.

C. Or, if you are a family of four, your family gets $2,066,012.

Washington , D.C .. HELLO!!! ... Are all your calculators broken??

Tax his land,
Tax his wage,
Tax his bed in which he lays.
Tax his tractor,
Tax his mule,
Teach him taxes is the rule.
Tax his cow,
Tax his goat,
Tax his pants,
Tax his coat.
Tax his ties,
Tax his shirts,
Tax his work,
Tax his dirt.
Tax his tobacco,
Tax his drink,
Tax him if he tries to think.
Tax his booze,
Tax his beers,
If he cries,
Tax his tears.
Tax his bills,
Tax his gas,
Tax his notes,
Tax his cash.
Tax him good and let him know
That after taxes, he has no dough.
If he hollers,
Tax him more,
Tax him until he's good and sore.
Tax his coffin,
Tax his grave,
Tax the sod in which he lays.
Put these words upon his tomb,
'Taxes drove me to my doom!'
And when he's gone,
We won't relax,
We'll still be after the inheritance TAX!!

We have:
Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL License Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Perm it Tax
Gasoline Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)
IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Tax
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service charge taxes
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax (Truckers)
Sales Taxes
Recreational Vehicle Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Federal, 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

STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY?

Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, and our nation was the most prosperous in the world. We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids. What happened? Can you spell "politicians!" And I still have to 'press 1' for English.

How about this one, from the same day's news, the same source:

Pine Level Fire Department Receives $38,000 From FEMA
The US Department of Homeland Security announced Friday that the Pine Level Fire Department will receive $38,000 for operations and safety. The Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG), administered through FEMA, funds local fire departments and emergency medical service organizations. The Dunn and Henderson Fire Departments were awarded $261,250 each for vehicle acquisition.

Like I said, multiply the dollar figures found here times thousands of towns across the nation. Can you see where we as a nation are over taxing, wasting, then over spending?

I just had this conversation with someone today via email. We were discussing this picture. My female friend said:

My point is that was 1955 & this is 2008. A lot of things have changed since then, like women don’t do things like that now.

I said:

In 1955, most women did stay at home and take care of the kids and do the house work. Unfortunately, our tax burden increased substantially necessitating a dual income family. Also, the women's liberation movement only hurt the family structure. The 1960's forward really hurt with the hedonism, atheistic, and hyper libertine agendas. That led to a decline in the family unit, an emphasis on self reliance instead of family reliance, a rise in births out of wedlock, single parent families, divorce, and the need for women to work outside the home.

I value women highly, contrary to the accusations of my critics. I value them so highly, in fact, that I desire for them to do exactly what they were created and given the instinct to do. That is their high calling in the Kingdom. And nothing is more sexy or lovely to see than a woman doing exactly what she was created to do.