DOES THIS MAKE SENSE TO YOU?

With all the hullabaloo recently about how the IRS has gone after and “targeted” certain political groups, I’d sure like someone to take a look at how many deductions the average tax payer has lost in the last twenty years.

As baby boomers have aged and lost deductions, such as dependent children and child-care expenses, many of us have also gained expenses that we are not able to deduct, one of which is the out-of-pocket expenses for medications and whatever else our insurance doesn’t pick up. Many of these costs are incredibly expensive.

For instance, I managed to mangle my ankle last week while on the job. Now, thankfully I am insured through Ash’s family insurance plan offered by his company. As a self-employed person, I certainly cannot afford it on my own. Yesterday after more x-rays, the PA attending to my ankle suggested that in about four weeks, when my ankle has had sufficient time to heal, I should have physical therapy. PHYSICAL THERAPY? “Nope. Ain’t gonna happen.” She looked at me shocked and said “You have insurance to pay for this.” Yes, the insurance will pay for SOME of it, but it will not cover my co-pays nor will it pay for ALL the costs incurred for visits to a physical therapist. What our insurance does not pay, we will need to pay. So why doesn’t the government allow us to deduct this added medical expenditure when it comes time to pay our taxes? Same thing with medications. Ash and I each have chronic life-threatening diseases. Between the two of us, we spend over $300 a month out-of-pocket on medications we have to have to remain healthy. That’s $300 AFTER INSURANCE has picked up the majority of the cost, which is 80 percent of whatever the medications cost. And I’m sure I don’t need to remind anyone who has gotten a prescription filled in the last few years—prescription medications are outrageously overpriced.

Those who are able to deduct their out-of-pocket medical expenses are usually on a “flex plan” through their employers (most government workers have plans like these), or they itemize their taxes and their out-of-pocket medical costs are at least 7.5 percent (which by the way, according to an accountant I spoke with, is being raised to 10 percent). However, if a person remains healthy, doesn’t have any major medical catastrophes and is a middle-aged person without reason to itemize, yet is still paying out-of-pocket for medications and regular visits to their doctor, which usually entails at least a blood test for around $200 per visit; doctor check-up equals $95 – 110.00 per visit, plus blood test ranging anywhere from $75 upward to $ 175, every three or four months the total amount is still probably not going to amount to 7.5 percent of the total income for two full-time working people. Nonetheless, the same two people are still caught paying out approximately $4,800 a year in medications and obligatory doctor visits in order to continue to be prescribed the medications needed to stay healthy. That’s $4,800 they cannot deduct from taxes of which they’re already paying a bundle now.

It seems as though the middle class is being punished for succeeding in life well enough to pay our taxes, but corporations, charitable organizations, anything having to do with government, over-the-top super-wealthy individuals with tax shelters, and religious organizations are the only groups not paying their fair share of booty to the IRS. Personally, as a self-employed contract worker I’m getting killed year after year for what the government claims I owe them.

My question is: when will this gouging of the middle class stop? When we simply stop working? Then what? Who will pick up the tax tab then? Minnesota just laid another $1.69 per pack onto those (me included) nasty cigarette smokers. All those who deplore smokers feel no sorrow or pity, and I understand that. However, I’ve never heard of a smoker who had to go to jail on an assault charge, or who had “one too many cigarettes” and sexually abused anyone, or got into a car and smashed into an on-coming car, or ran off the road into a ditch because they had too many cigarettes. Yet the alcohol industry manages year after year to escape additional or higher taxes on the libations they sell. For the life of me, I still don’t understand that one. Is it because there are too many people who imbibe alcohol, therefore it isn’t good for the industry to lay off more taxes on them? How does that make sense?

Will we ever get back to remembering that governments – local, state and federal – each were charged with certain roles, and each had budgets they were to refer to and NOT spend outside those limits? If Minnesota needs a new Viking Stadium expected to be paid for by the people, shouldn’t the PEOPLE OF MINNESOTA OWN IT? If North Dakota really wants a diversion for Fargo, shouldn’t the people of North Dakota foot the bill for it? And before that happens, shouldn’t ALL the PEOPLE VOTE ON IT?

We, the taxpayers of the United States, have become as bad as the government we rail against. We all think things are terrific ideas and we all want to play in the sandbox and have the same toys. When will we begin to understand that everything we supposedly “need” to enhance our lives costs twenty times what it should whenever the taxpayer is enfolded into the mix? That usually means that whatever the government fronts to build or provide, the “average” person just lost thousands of dollars of income to pay for.

I’m all for progress. But when “progress” means the majority loses ground year after year, how does that make sense? And more importantly, what are we as a society “progressing” toward?

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY, EVERYONE! STAY SAFE. IF YOU DRINK, DON’T DRIVE!