15 Minutes of Fame

Ok, probably closer to 15 seconds, but the Key West Citizen printed my letter today. Letters to the editor are pretty much the only thing I read in the Citizen. That and the obits. I must be old... Here's what I said:

Dear Editor,

To the gentleman who wrote: "I am going to say three words that no politician dares to utter: 'state income tax,'" I am going to say three words that every sane person around you is thinking: "Are you nuts?"

Do you still work, sir? If so, how much of your income are you willing to give to the state for the common good? How well has the state done with the money they've already taken from productive people?

Read April 21st letters to the editor. There's evidence of your state tax dollar doing valuable work: protecting us from dog poop falling into the 17 quadrillion gallons of Atlantic Ocean, and hiring someone to keep tabs on county employees who apparently have so much time on their hands they can surf the Web at our expense. Maybe we don't have enough problems at the state level.

If you are a good earner today, the feds already claim ownership of 20 percent to more than 50 percent of what you earned. God knows, they are doing wonders with that piece of the pie. Look around you. Aren't our lives immeasurably better with all that tax money going to Washington?

Pouring money into the bottomless pit of government need will never solve our problems. It will only ensure the need grows. There is never enough money for a politician, especially when it's not his money.

Here's how to solve problems at every level: Stop asking your government to solve them for you, to make the world fair and to make it safer. Life is not fair and the world will never be safe enough. Government has never gotten that job done, even with millions spent on consultants first. Let's solve our own problems, with our own money.

Sally O'Boyle
Key West and Costa Rica

Here's where I got the big idea:

"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them."
            - Thomas Jefferson