Keeping up with the Joneses

The Joneses' house

You might have heard that Congress and the White House are trying to see if their credit card company will increase their credit limit (of course, they control the credit card company)   ...seems they need to charge some more stuff but the credit card is maxed out. From their conversation I gather they also think that maybe they might need to cut back on spending a wee bit. Some up in Washington think that some Americans (and businesses) have more than they need and should have to give it (by way of higher taxes) to the government to help make some of the credit card payments and buy more stuff. I've got another idea. You know all of us pay sales tax and property tax but, darn it...we all pay the same rates (in the same jurisdiction, of course.) Not being progressive taxes, the only thing that keeps the tax burden from being equal is how much we buy and how big our house is. I know those rich people already pay more in property taxes because their houses are valued higher but that's not really enough. I think people with those big houses and mansions should also pay a higher millage rate than the 3 BR 2 BA folks like me. I mean, who needs 6000 sq. ft. anyway...and a pool? Seems unfair don't ya think? Yeah, I used to want a bigger and better house as I was coming up the ol' ladder but now I see the error of my ways. Why can't we all have the same size house? I know that will never happen but we can certainly make sure those fat cats in those mansions pay more. We don't need to keep up with the Joneses...we need the Joneses to keep up with us!! By the way, a couple of my neighbors work for Mr. Jones. Mr. Jones started his business 30 years ago and worked 60-70 hour weeks building it into something that now employs about 100 people. But he sure has a big house. I wonder how much his taxes are? Not enough I'm sure.