Taxes get crazier every year

Since it is fresh on my mind this morning, I thought I?d write about the IRS and taxes being due today.

I don?t know about anyone else, but I think taxes become more complicated every year. This year I reviewed our personal tax return and had more questions than ever before.

Plus, I had given my accountant some IRA numbers that were from 2009 and not 2010. That matter was quickly straightened out, though.

IRAs are a great mechanism for putting off tax pain for a while, at least the traditional ones are. You still pay tax on it later. Roth IRAs are different in that they are based on after-tax money, so there is no tax consequence in the future.

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It?s a mystery to many why taxes are due on the 18th this year. Normally, if the 15th falls on a Friday, you don?t get the weekend.

Turns out April 15 was a holiday in Washington, D.C., and that?s why taxes were not due Friday. They were celebrating Emancipation Day.

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Speaking of income taxes…. Washington is all buzzed about tax rates when it should be fixing the underlying problems with the tax code first. There are so many loopholes that it will make your head spin.

Then, it?s estimated that 50 percent of Americans pay no income tax at all. And I can?t afford a lobbyist like GE can to make my tax liability zero.

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The health-care debate is also flawed in Washington. Most of the health problems in our country are linked to behaviors that cause health problems. Until those issues are addressed, there will never be any way to bring down the cost of health care unless we simply limit who gets fixed and who has to suffer.

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I didn?t even think about healthy eating until about seven years ago when coronary artery disease caught up with me and I had to make some changes.

It?s funny how that works. At first, one is very careful about diet. But as time passes, the easier it is to fall back into old habits.

And if you dine out regularly, tell me how you avoid the things that will be bad for you over time. Tell me where you can consistently get fresh fruits and vegetables and lean meat. Oh, it can be done, but it is difficult.

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Our youngest grandson, Louis, turned 11 today. We called him last night and he sounds so grown up. For a moment, I almost thought I was talking to his mother.

He is into making videos with a friend, and they have quite a few movies on YouTube already. Some of them are made in reverse so you can see them jumping backward up into the trees or water sucking up into bottles.

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We are talking about when and for how long the grandsons will be in Kansas this summer. If what they said last time holds true, they want to be here for a longer time than last.

I know they like it here for the freedom they have, but as they get older they also have more freedom in Atlanta. At some point it will tip in Atlanta?s favor. Until then, we can?t wait until they show up again.

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As I was looking over last week?s Free Press, I asked myself what was wrong with what I was seeing: We are spending money for a new jail and cutting the local school budget by more than $500,000.

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