Jack’s Winning Words 3/26/07
“The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.” (Einstein) The Theory of Relativity, for him, was easy. .I wonder if he used H & R Block to do his taxes. How about you? Are you one of the do–it-yourselfers? I have a friend who helps me. As Dionne Warwick once sang, “That’s What Friends Are For.” ;-) Jack

FROM GOOD DEBT JON IN OHIO: Einstein probably saw all of the unintended consequences. Thank W.H. Taft (Ohioan). He signed the bill in 1909. It was not ratified until 1913. The slogan of "soak the rich" automatically aroused Pavlovian salivation among politicians both in Washington and the states. Of course what really happed was everyone got soaked. 1913 was a bad year for America. We were burdened with the income tax (16th Amendment), the Federal Reserve began, and States Legislators lost the ability to pick their Senators. Given the reduction of states rights and the centralization of money in Washington, you could say this was the Socialists finest year. There was an earlier Federal Income Tax in 1893 (Grover Cleveland) that was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1895.

FROM A MOM: In my case, it's my daughter who is an accountant. This time of the year I'm especially glad I let her live when she was a teenager (there wasn't a court in the land that would have convicted me if I wrung her neck!)

FROM REV J.D. IN MINNESOTA: I AM FOR A FLAT TAX. IT IS SIMPLE AND FAIR. EVERYONE PAYS AND THERE ARE NO LOOP HOLES WHICH CAN BE USED TO THE ADVANTAGE OF HIGH PRICED ACCOUNTANTS FOR THEIR CLIENTS. LARGE OR SMALL YOU PAY ACCORDING TO YOUR INCOME. EVEN I COULD DO MY TAXES

FROM B.S. NEAR ORLANDO: My wife is very patient with me. I told her one year that I could do the income tax faster with a typewriter and an adding machine than I can now using this "damn" SOFTWARE. rIGHT NOW i AM AT THE POINT WHERE WE OWE i mILL IN TAXES, you figgure. Some where I misplaced a decimal point . Last week I did more than half and let it sit for awhile until I over came my depression, and when I stuck the floppy disk back into thec machine, it was gone. so i had to start over, but this time with a corrected 1099 sent from Fidelity. Life is crazy, as an example,it is now 2: am, you figgure, at 10 o'clock I had to lie down,and now I am ready to work all night