Columnist - The MAN

The next time you hear a politician use the word ‘billion’ in a casual manner, think about whether you want the ‘politicians’ spending YOUR tax money. A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into some perspective in one of its releases.

A. A billion seconds ago it was 1959.

B. A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.

C. A billion hours ago our ancestors

were living in the Stone Age.

D. A billion days ago no-one walked

on the earth on two feet.

E. A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours

and 20 minutes, at the rate our

government is spending it.

While this thought is still fresh in our brain, let’s take a look at New Orleans. It’s amazing what you can learn with some simple division Louisiana Senator, Mary Landrieu (D), recently asked the Congress for $250 BILLION to rebuild New Orleans. Interesting number, what does it mean?

A. Well, if you are one of 484,674 residents

of New Orleans (every man, woman,

child), you each get $516,528.

B. Or, if you have one of the 188,251

homes in New Orleans, your home

gets $1,329,787.

C. Or, if you are a family of four, your

family gets $2,066,012.

And where does all this money come from? You and me brother, you and me.

Consider the following taxes:

Accounts Receivable Tax

Building Permit Tax

CDL License Tax

Cigarette Tax

Corporate Income Tax

Dog License Tax

Federal Income Tax

Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)

Fishing License Tax

Food License Tax

Fuel Perm it Tax

Gasoline Tax

Hunting License Tax

Inheritance Tax

Inventory Tax

IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax),

IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax),

Liquor Tax,

Luxury Tax,

Marriage License Tax,

Medicare Tax,

Property Tax,

Real Estate Tax,

Service charge taxes,

Social Security Tax,

Road Usage Tax (Truckers),

Sales Taxes,

Recreational Vehicle Tax,

School Tax,

State Income Tax,

State Unemployment Tax (SUTA),

Telephone Federal Excise Tax,

Telephone Federal Universal

Service Fee Tax,

Telephone Federal, State and

Local Surcharge Tax,

Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax,

Telephone Recurring and

Non-recurring Charges Tax,

Telephone State and Local Tax,

Telephone Usage Charge Tax,

Utility Tax,

Vehicle License Registration Tax,

Vehicle Sales Tax,

Watercraft Registration Tax,

Well Permit Tax,

Workers Compensation Tax.

Next, consider this:

Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, and our nation was the most prosperous in the world. We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

What happened? Can you spell ‘politicians?’

And I still have to ‘press 1’ for English.

What the heck happened?

And you want to elect another Democrat for President? Gimmie a break!

That’s my story and I am sticking to it.

(Milo A. Nickel is the former President and COO of Louisiana State Newspapers.)