Please help me refute this spam email...

[Javaman]

Subject: A Billion ... not so funny

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 w ith some
simple division . .

Louisiana Senator, Mary Landrieu (D), is presently
asking 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.

Washington, D.C .. HELLO!!! ... Are all your calculators
broken??


Tax his land,
Tax his wage,
Tax his bed in which he lays.
Tax his tractor,
Tax his mule,
Teach him taxes is the rule.
Tax his cow,
Tax his goat,
Tax his pants,
Tax his coat.

Tax his ties,
Tax his shirts,
Tax his work,
Tax his dirt.

Tax his tobacco,
Tax his drink,
Tax him if he tries to think.

Tax his booze,
Tax his beers,
If he cries,
Tax his tears.

Tax his bills,
Tax his gas,
Tax his notes,
Tax his cash.

Tax him good and let him know
That after taxes, he has no dough.

If he hollers,
Tax him more,
Tax him until he's good and sore.

Tax his coffin,
Tax his grave,
Tax the sod in which he lays.
Put these words upon his tomb,
"Taxes drove me to my doom!"

And when he's gone,
We won't relax,
We'll sti ll be after the inheritance TAX!!

Accounts Receivable Tax< BR>Building Permit Tax
CDL License Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
F food License Tax
Fuel Permit 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,
Telepho ne 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.



STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY?
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!?'

[Whoa_Nelly]

1. Write'em back, and tell'em to practice their Math skills

A billion seconds ago is about 31.7 years...so about 1975, not 1959.

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/trivia/billions.asp

Would just slam them for being academically challenged :evilgrin:

[Lasher]

12. Hah! You beat me to it.

Snopes is the first place I look.

[Lasher]

2. This should help some

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/trivia/billions.asp

[NYCGirl]

3. Here's a really good answer to that:

http://boards.fool.com/Message.asp?mid=26173312

100 years ago we didn't have radio or TV, which require regulation for spectrum space, among other things.

100 years ago we didn't keep one of the world's largest standing armies, nor devote trillions to exotic weapons systems which might never be used, nor spent a trillion or two in an unnecessary war in the Middle East.

100 years ago we didn't have the FDIC, and bank panics were as regular as years with "0" as the last digit.

100 years ago nobody inspected meat, drugs, or anything else that you put in your body, and life-expectancy has improved 40% since then.

100 years ago airplanes weren't carrying people around the world, and when they did start to do that they crashed regularly. The FAA now inspects and mandates safety procedures so you can climb aboard without doing your own pre-flight walkaround.

100 years ago there were almost no paved roads. How do you think those are paid for?

100 years ago there was no unemployment insurance, so when you lost your job you had to take whatever was available; now you can find a job which best matches your skills - improving your own situation. your employer's, and the country's as well.

100 years ago there was no FBI and no CIA. Perhaps you'd like to do without them?

100 years ago there was no Social Security, and 50% of elder Americans lived in poverty. Ah, those were the days!

100 years ago many states did not provide universal education; you went to school if your parents were rich, you didn't if they weren't.

100 years ago much of the country didn't have a paid police force. Some of the big cities did, but outside of that policing was left up to local militia and vigilante groups. Not really a great system. Oh, and...

100 years ago most of the country's fire departments were volunteer rather than professional. Personally I like having people who know what they're doing handle this sort of thing, but maybe that's just me.

Incidentally, 100 years ago there was a liquor tax. In fact, 200 years ago there was one; maybe you missed "The Whiskey Rebellion" in your history class? 100 years ago there was a tax on tobacco. Maybe you missed that one, too? And there were a plethora of tariffs and charges on businesses; mostly that's how the government was funded from the first days of the Republic.

But I'm sure that's of no interest to you, since you seem to think that everything government does is a waste. Pity, really.

As it turns out, there were a lot of things that didn't exist 100 years ago: foreign aid, OSHA, regulation of coal mines, environmental laws, and so much more.

Perhaps you look back fondly to the gilded age, when most people had nothing and when business owners were the only ones who set the rules, but most folks have a pretty good life nowadays, and a fair part of it is thanks to the infrastructure we have built through government taxes and the protections we enjoy in the many and various agencies which watch out for things which we simply don't have the time or expertise to do.

But hey, if that's what you want, why not try living in Paraguay, or Mexico, where you won't have to list all these horrible taxes, and where you will be left alone to your heart's content, your shorter lifespan, your unprotected portfolio, your empty retirement, and your wonderful 19th century lifestyle.

[deutsey]

6. The Gilded Age is not a time in history I want to return to

But that's the agenda of the rightwing in this country. Erase the 20th Century and get back to the "good ol' days." Some of the more extreme rightwingers (especially the religious zealots) want to go back even further and erase the entire Enlightenment.

It's appalling how successful both efforts have been.

[Lasher]

13. This is good, NYCGirl.

Think I'll use it in a reply to a similar email.

[meegbear]

4. The first part can be found on snopes.com ...

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/trivia/billions.asp

The second part is an anonymous poster's writeup on taxes. You can find it on several sites by googling: "Taxes drove me to my doom!", for instance. Here's one search result:

http://www.savingadvice.com/forums/general-discussion/21665-tax-poem-usa-slant.html

[alcibiades_mystery]

5. Tell the writer to practice what he or she preaches

And avoid use of any services developed with all those evil taxes. Specifically, he or she should cease sending emails immediately, since the infrastructure and technology for sending was developed with post-1907 federal tax dollars.

[Javaman]

7. That's really good. I will use that, thanks!! nt

[sarge43]

11. Might also want to mention that basic computer language was developed

by a naval officer whose salary came out federal taxes.

[JHB]

8. If he thinks for a moment that ***each*** resident of NO gets a Half million...

...then I have some oceanfront property in Montana to sell to him.

[MindPilot]

9. Might be time for "A DAY IN THE LIFE OF JOE REPUBLICAN"

"A DAY IN THE LIFE OF JOE REPUBLICAN"

Joe gets up at 6 a.m. and fills his coffeepot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The water is clean and good because some tree-hugging liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards. With his first swallow of water, he takes his daily medication. His medications are safe to take because some stupid commie liberal fought to ensure their safety and that they work as advertised.

All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his employer's medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance - now Joe gets it too.

He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs. Joe's bacon is safe to eat because some girly-man liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry.

In the morning shower, Joe reaches for his shampoo. His bottle is properly labeled with each ingredient and its amount in the total contents because some crybaby liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained.

Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some environmentalist wacko liberal fought for the laws to stop industries from polluting our air.

He walks on the government-provided sidewalk to subway station for his government-subsidized ride to work. It saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees because some fancy-pants liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor.

Joe begins his work day. He has a good job with excellent pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some lazy liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe's employer pays these standards because Joe's employer doesn't want his employees to call the union.

If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed, he'll get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some stupid liberal didn't think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune.

It is noontime and Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because some godless liberal wanted to protect Joe's money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the Great Depression.

Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage and his below-market federal student loan because some elitist liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his lifetime. Joe also forgets that his in addition to his federally subsidized student loans, he attended a state funded university.

Joe is home from work. He plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive. His car is among the safest in the world because some America-hating liberal fought for car safety standards to go along with the tax-payer funded roads.

He arrives at his boyhood home. His was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers' Home Administration because bankers didn't want to make rural loans.

The house didn't have electricity until some big-government liberal stuck his nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural electrification.

He is happy to see his father, who is now retired. His father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn't have to.

Joe gets back in his car for the ride home, and turns on a radio talk show. The radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. He doesn't mention that the beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day. Joe agrees: "We don't need those big-government liberals ruining our lives! After all, I'm a self-made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have."

[RB TexLa]

10. I wouldn't worry about it, America isn't going to send money to Louisiana, they'd have to care to do

that.