Homage

c : an act done or payment made in meeting the obligations of vassalage

by: Brett W. West

"Taxation Without Representation!" was the cry of the founding fathers as they made the heroic decision to secede from England and King George. At that time, England was attempting to levy burdensome (actually minuscule by today's standards) taxes without the colonies being able to weigh in on the matter. This situation among others was the impetus of the American Revolution.

Following the revolution, Americans enjoyed freedom that has never since been seen in the world. Their homes became their castles. The cliché became that although the wind might blow across their threshold, King George himself could no longer enter their homes without their permission. Sadly, the America that our forefathers gave us is no more.

Today, you can pay off the mortgage on your "castle" but you will never truly own it. Once you complete the payoff of the mortgage, you will continue to pay monthly property taxes on it to multiple taxing authorities indefinitely. In old England, this type of payment was referred to as "homage".

To add insult to injury, your taxes will continue to increase over time. If you have a home in the city of North Richland Hills, Texas your property taxes have increased every year for the past 10 years running! Of course the elected officials there will say that the "rate" has not increased and be able to do so in truth. What they will not tell you is that they have raised the "taxable value" of your property instead of the "rate" thus raising your taxes without "raising your tax rate". This type of legalese or doublespeak is in use from city hall all the way to Pennsylvania Avenue.

Property taxes are cleverly disguised in many cases as part of your monthly house payment. The mortgage companies will escrow tax monies for you and pay them each year. This seems a convenience but in truth it is a nice way to keep you from seeing the money flying out of your pocket. Escrowing property taxes uses the same principal employed by the IRS. If employers remove taxes before their employees see them then they will not be as apt to become upset over the fleecing they are receiving. Out of sight...out of mind. Imagine the tax revolt that would immediately ensue if every American was paid 100% of what they had earned and then asked to count out in cash the amount of taxation owed and hand it over to a waiting bureaucrat!

What can be done to reverse the present situation? Here is a list of things to do that I believe would be a great start...

• Work to get people running for office who understand the existing slight of hand that pervades government and are willing to stand against the tide once elected. There are many stories of good people getting elected and losing sight of why they ran.
• Work with those willing to run for office and get out the vote. The best means of doing this is to actually talk to people. Folks will be startled to see a candidate actually seek their audience and listen to what they have to say. Imagine that...representative government!
• Get active in your community elections to insure that all votes are counted properly and elections are clean. The Russian dictator Stalin once said, "It matters not how the people vote...all that matters is who counts the votes." Clean elections are a necessity in a free society. Paper ballots in clear, monitored lock boxes are a good start.
• Attend city council meetings and tax hearings and bring your friends! A single voter may be ignored by a city council but they will respect larger numbers...or get replaced.
• Resist government freebies in any form and encourage others to do the same. America was founded on independence and was never intended to be a welfare state. It is government largesse that sacks your wealth. Welfare should be the domain of family, friends, charities and churches...not the state house.

The fact is that the current bureaucracy is relying upon you to do nothing. Inactivity will guarantee the status quo. America needs statesmen, not politicians. She needs active and aware citizens, voters and jurors...not apathy.