I HEART TAXES!

"Of all forms of taxation, [the inheritance tax] seems the wisest… By taxing estates heavily..."

Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:28 -0400

““Of all forms of taxation, [the inheritance tax] seems the wisest… By taxing estates heavily at death the state marks its condemnation of the selfish millionaire’s unworthy life.””

- Andrew Carnegie, millionaire and philanthropist, in “Wealth,” North American Review, June 1889.

From Waukegan High School, a public school in Illinois, Joshua...

Fri, 10 May 2013 00:00:12 -0400

From Waukegan High School, a public school in Illinois, Joshua Bill is the 2012 National History Teacher of the Year. Watch a video of one of his inspiring classes.

Join USPS to Help Stamp Out Hunger

Wed, 08 May 2013 15:55:14 -0400

Sadly, your taxes do not fund the U.S. Postal Service any more. The USPS runs off of its own revenues from stamps, and has survived for decades on that basis despite huge hurdles.

And this plucky little agency doesn’t just deliver the mail. When they aren’t saving lives, letter carriers give back to their communities.

This Saturday, you can participate in the annual Stamp Out Hunger campaign. Just leave a bag of non-perishable food in a bag by your mailbox, and the USPS will get that food to a local food bank or pantry. It’s incredibly easy for you, incredibly helpful to struggling families, and incredibly generous of the Post Office (especially given how ungenerous some politicians have been to America’s letter carriers).

Tax Dollars Hire Veterans

Fri, 03 May 2013 10:00:18 -0400

When our men and women in uniform come home from Iraq and Afghanistan, many struggle to find a job. Here’s one vet’s story of how the federal government helped her and her family get back on their feet:

After serving 7 years in the US Army, I left with the hopes of finding a decent job and starting a fresh new life with my husband, also a vet, and 4 children in our home state of Florida.

It wasn’t long before we discovered how difficult the transition back to civilian life would be. I applied for, perhaps, hundreds of jobs and went on several interviews in a very short period of time. Still, I was either overqualified or under qualified for some of the same jobs in which I held during my time in service. Even with both of us working and earning $8/hour, it simply was not enough. Once money and resources ran out, we lost nearly all of our possessions and were even homeless a few times over about 3 years.

Just before giving up hope, a friend of mine called and informed me of a career fair for vets in Washington DC.

Having full faith and confidence in me, she bought me a train ticket and a new suit for the big day. I arrived to the job fair just as the doors opened early that morning and I left later that night with a job offer for the Department of Veterans Affairs as a Program Support Assistant. Happily, I am now a permanent employee of the Federal Government. My current job duties and responsibilities are to provide administrative support to executive level nursing management within the Community Living and Rehabilitation Center - which includes timekeeping; coordinating meetings, trainings, and job interviews; maintaining employee files; and updating electronic databases. In the 9 months that I’ve been with this agency, I’ve received a Superior Performance Award and a VA Gold Pin Award.

My greatest takeaway from employment with the Federal government is: I love the fact that I can interact with my fellow veterans from many war eras; both employees and patients. Although I am generally extremely busy throughout the day, I am never too busy to stop and greet or converse with the veterans. My door is always open to them when they just need someone to vent their frustrations to or talk about the weather. My agency is appreciative, accessible, and resourceful!

I am also a year away from obtaining my bachelor’s degree in psychology. I plan to pursue a master’s degree in social work ultimately becoming a homeless veteran outreach social worker within the VA.

Visit fedshirevets.gov for more info on how veterans can put their skills to work in public service.

For the first time ever, you can hear Alexander Graham Bell, thanks to the Smithsonian.

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 02:36:19 -0400

From the Smithsonian Magazine,:

A dramatic application of digital technology has allowed researchers to recover Bell’s voice from a recording held by the Smithsonian—a breakthrough announced here for the first time.

For the first time since his death in 1922, the voice of the man who invented the telephone.

One Third of Americans enjoy doing their taxes.

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 10:00:40 -0400

Sure, most Americans think their taxes are fair — but did you know that one third of Americans actually enjoy filling out their income tax forms? In fact, more people like paying their taxes because it’s their responsibility than dislike paying because they think their taxes are too high.

TAX PATRIOTISM FOR THE WIN, says Wendell, the “I Heart Taxes” eagle.

Love for Boston

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 00:33:44 -0400

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” To this day, especially in times of “disaster,” I remember my mother’s words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world.”

— Fred Rogers

Photo Credit: Charles Krupa/Associated Press

Heck yeah, the Census!

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 00:00:32 -0400

The Census helps millions of Americans make smarter decisions. Census data lets local governments assess where schools and hospitals are needed, and helps businesses determine where a new store would find a market. It helps us know whether public policies are working, and it’s what we use to reapportion political districts. Also lots of other serious things, like natural disaster response and military preparedness and public health, all rely on the Census.

As a side benefit, the Census also can answer absurd questions, such as:

Do more Americans work as florists or in nuclear power plants?

Plus: TAX BARGAIN ALERT! In 2010, the Census Bureau got the work done and stayed $1.6 billion under budget.

Tax Evaders, The Video Game

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 16:02:07 -0400

Just in time for Tax Day — a video game where you get to defend your local schools, hospitals, and fire departments from the dreaded TAX EVADERS. A totally addictive game for any pro-tax patriot!

Oh no! The school’s windows are boarded and the lights have gone out at the fire station!

Look what happens when we make sure everyone pays their share!

WHEW! Taxes save the day once again!

Cleaner Burning Stoves for the Developing World

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 00:00:32 -0400

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory helped develop a new light-weight energy efficient stove, which will reduce fuel use, smoke, and cooking time for families in the developing world.

Stoves like this reduce use of forest resources and emission of greenhouse gases.

Photo credit: Envirofit.

Tax Dollars Create Money. Literally.

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 00:00:27 -0400

Those dollars in your wallet? Printed by the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Check out their awesome anti-counterfeiting work — and the high-tech new $100 bill, coming soon.

Taxes Prevent Discrimination

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 00:00:16 -0400

A woman gets fired without warning because she is pregnant.
A man missing an arm is fired, though his disability had not hindered his work.
A women with severe rheumatoid arthritis is ridiculed for her limp, and her supervisor refuses to reschedule her for work after she recovers from surgery.
A man faces persistent racial harassment at his job site, and is threatened by his employer when he complains.

Americans have recourse against discrimination in the workplace thanks to the EEOC. These are just a few of the cases the EEOC has fought and won this year.

Protecting Americans’ jobs and their civil rights: your tax dollars at work.

Like Google Earth? Thank NASA and the USGS.

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 00:00:19 -0400

Here’s a photo of the newest Earth-observing satellite, whose images will be made available *for free* thanks to the U.S. government and your tax dollars. Data from previous Landsat satellites have made whole new kinds of research possible (and are also what power Google Earth).

Launched by NASA, this little guy will be Landsat 8. And how have the previous Landsat’s worked out? Glad you asked:

Landsat 5 successfully set the new Guinness World Records title for ‘Longest-operating Earth observation satellite’ as stated in an e-mail from Guinness World Records sent to NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Outliving its three-year design life, Landsat 5 delivered high-quality, global data of Earth’s land surface for 28 years and 10 months.

Photo: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Taxes are Preserving America's Literary Culture

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 10:00:39 -0400

Americans have written some of the world’s great literature, but increasingly few of us are reading it. As the NEA says, literary reading in America is “declining rapidly among all groups, but that the rate of decline has accelerated, especially among the young.”

So for the past seven years, the NEA has sponsored “The Big Read,” a program to encourage reading across America, especially among young people. The NEA provides grants to local communities, who discuss and celebrate a single great book through a month of local events.

At the Brooklyn Open, a open-mic night and book group explored Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God. Photo by Brenda Williams-Butts.

Less Asthma in Mount Vernon, IN. (Thanks, EPA.)

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 00:00:33 -0500

From the EPA:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Countrymark Refining and Logistics, LLC has agreed to pay a $167,000 civil penalty, perform environmental projects totaling more than $180,000, and spend $18 million on new pollution controls to resolve Clean Air Act (CAA) violations at its refinery, located in Mount Vernon, Ind.

Once fully implemented, the pollution controls required by the settlement will reduce emissions of harmful air pollution that can cause respiratory problems, such as asthma, and are significant contributors to acid rain, smog, and haze, by an estimated 1,000 tons or more per year.

[…]

The State of Indiana actively participated in the settlement with CountryMark and has received over $110,000 to fund a supplemental environmental project to remove asbestos-containing material from an old grain elevator in downtown Mount Vernon. The settlement also requires CountryMark to provide at least $70,000 in funding for a supplemental environmental project that will install diesel retrofit and/or idle reduction technologies on school buses and/or non-school bus, publicly-owned vehicles located within 50 miles of the refinery.

Honoring the memory of Mister Rogers, who passed away ten years...

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 14:01:19 -0500

Honoring the memory of Mister Rogers, who passed away ten years ago. Taxes support public television!

(via mentalfloss)

Social Security Administration: Fast-tracking Disability Payments

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 10:00:14 -0500

You probably think of the Social Security Administration as the people who make sure Grandma gets her retirement benefits. Which is 100% true, and 100% awesome. But SSA also provides benefits to the disabled — and they’re working hard to get people their benefits fast.

SSA has fast-tracked 200 diseases that automatically make a person qualify for disability. So very sick people, like those with Huntington disease or pancreatic cancer, don’t have to fight through a bureaucracy to get the benefits they’ve earned. They can focus on their treatment and their families.

Just another thing to feel good about when you think about your payroll taxes.

America's Newest National Park: Pinnacles

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 15:25:17 -0500

This year, Pinnacles National Monument, in California, became America’s 59th National Park. Pinnacles was first protected by Theodore Roosevelt, who reminds us:

Conservation is a great moral issue, for it involves the patriotic duty of insuring the safety and continuance of the nation.

The Prairie Falcon, a species native to the Pinnacles.

George Takei, Tax Patriot!

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 12:52:52 -0500

Star Trek legend and champion of civil rights George Takei takes up the cause of tax patriotism on his blog today:

I didn’t grow up wealthy. In fact, when I was a little boy, the government took everything away from my family and shipped us off to an internment camp. Years later, when we returned to Los Angeles, we had to scrape our way up from nothing, living on skid row and saving our money, until my parents could start up a cleaning business and move us slowly and steadily back into a middle class lifestyle. I know what it’s like to be dirt poor, and to struggle to make it in this country.

But as an actor today, I enjoy a lifestyle my parents probably never dreamed of. Despite how this country has at times misstepped and mistreated us, I love America and believe in her promise of providing equal opportunity for all. I want to see her back on top. That is why I feel it is not only fair, but my patriotic duty to support higher taxes on the top 2% percent of incomes.

Pro-Tax Nation!

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 13:09:03 -0500

The American people voted resoundingly for higher taxes this year. 61% of voters want to increase taxes:

This is what a mandate looks like. But it doesn’t stop there — voters brought their tax-love right into the polling booth.

In California, Propositions 30 and 39 passed handily, raising billions of dollars for California public schools and universities.
In Arkansas, Amendment #1 will fund new transportation projects.
In Florida, a proposed tax cap and a reduction in corporate property taxes went down to a sound defeat.
In Michigan, voters rejected Proposal 5, an undemocratic super-majority requirement that would have prevented tax increases.
In Oregon, voters saved the estate tax. Teddy Roosevelt salutes you, Oregonians! They also removed their corporate tax rebate, so money goes to schools, not corporations.

The anti-tax grinches in Washington are going to be making a lot of noise in the next few months. We need to make sure that they pipe down and listen to the American people.