Monthly Archives: August 2012

U.S. Olympians and Taxes

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I know this is a little late but I just found out about this recently. Apparently athletes who medal get an honorarium. The amount is based on the medal won. This amount, for U.S. athletes at least, is taxed. This is were the “debate” comes in. Apparently there are those who think these athletes should not have to pay taxes on this honorarium. They reason that these are individuals who have sacrificed a large portion of their lives to get to the top of their game AND they are representing the USA and therefore deserve a pass on paying the taxes.

Ok – here is were the problem comes in for me. If the athlete can prove that they never took advantage of any publicly provided facilities to train then by all means, let them go tax free. If however they used any tax payer funded facility, etc then they should pay the taxes. I am not a big sports fan, and do not avail myself of the publicly available tax payer funded recreation sites available. It angers me to drive through my town and pass by the soccer, baseball, basketball facilities, etc. that my tax dollars help fund. I am not against those things but let those who utilize them pay for them specifically and not penalize those who don’t.

On a side note this goes the same for the hordes of cyclists that clog the roads these days. If you are going to ride, follow the rules, single file, give way to motor vehicles, etc. To often that is not the case. I get behind a group who take the whole lane and you can not pass. Or you get the lone individual who rides in the center of the lane and will not give way. And don’t get me started on the mopeds, Vespa’s etc. If you use the road you should have to pay for that use. Bicycles and their ilk should be licensed and taxed. Oh and you should have a permit, license, etc. to operate it. Period. If you use it, you should have to pay for it and I should not have to subsidize your recreation.

Un-Holy Night

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Just finished. Great book. Author does an excellent job of weaving a plausible alternate history of the three wise men in the birth of Jesus.

It was very captivating all the way through and I would recommend it highly. Am going to start Pride and Prejudice and Zombies next.

The beginning of the end for free enterprise?

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We used to live in a free society where the healthy exchange of ideas was celebrated. Where you could have a difference of opinion, agree to disagree and move on. Could the last two weeks be the time when historians look back and say “That’s when freedom and free speech died!”.

I speak of course of the great Chik-Fil-A issue. The president of Chik-Fil-A, in an interview with a baptist organization, said he supported the traditional idea of marriage. For this, government officials have said this business is not welcome in their cities (to date Chicago and Boston). They have went so far as to openly say that they would do everything in their power, through zoning, etc. to prevent them from being able to open a restaurant in their city.

Let’s set aside for a moment the issue of whether or not you agree with Mr Cathy’s position. Have we really gone so far off the rails that just because we don’t agree with someone’s position that we want to deprive them of their ability to conduct business? By all accounts Chik-Fil-A does not discriminate based on their religious views. So if you don’t agree with their position don’t go to their restaurant. End of issue. But for all their talk of tolerance, the left is most intolerant. If you don’t agree with they views you are labeled with some of the most vile labels out there. Everyone is supposed to be tolerant of the lefts view but where is their tolerance for others?

So whether you agree with their religious views or not, let’s all celebrate their right to have them and show your support by having a chicken sandwich and lemonade at Chik-Fil-A tomorrow!