It's April 15th, Tax Day. And I had to pay. I live paycheck to paycheck, a "wage slave" as it were. I am taxed on what I earn and what I spend. Income, sales, gasoline, utilities... and on and on. And it seems the government tax "reforms" that are in mind are to further benefit those who inherited money or are wealthy. It will further extend the burden onto the majority of us who do the "living and breathing and working and dying" in this country. The proposals to remove taxes on estates, investments, and extend the benefits homeowners recieve will be offset by increasing the amount of taxes taken from Joe Lunchbox, either through new income or the proposed "National Sales Tax."

Sure, on paper, it may seem fair, everyone has to pay the sales tax, no one gets off without paying. Well, for the person who spends all of his income on daily necessities- groceries, clothing, transportation, healthcare and medication, the national sales tax (known in some circles as the "flat tax") will take a percentage out of every single dollar he/she earns. This will make it much more difficult for those of us who can't afford to put money into these tax-free or tax-deferred plans touted by the current administration.

As a former die-hard conservative, I understood the idea of the "ownership society" in which everyone takes personal responsibility, or "owns," their mistakes and successes. However, having come from a background in which I had to work for what I have and "mortgage" my future to obtain an education (student loans), I have taken personal responsibility. And yet, the safeguards for me are being whittled away while those with family money or who have made their fortunes on the backs of others are receiving more and more protections from the government.

It seems the current group of "compassionate conservatives" have more compassion for the "poor" CEO of a corporation who has to pay 37 percent tax on his $10 million salary per year job than the working single mother who is supporting a family of 3 children on an $8 an hour job. Sure, she might have made some mistakes, but it seems it's easier to get ahead in this society if you lie, cheat and steal your way to the top. So the CEO gets to keep a million more, while the working mother has to struggle to keep food on the table and the lights on. All because Americans cling to the notion that the poor probably deserved what they got and the rich should be lauded and treated like nobility, with awe and wonder. It's oh-so 11th century of us.

Sure, people take advantage of the loopholes in the system, but the system is not built for the "welfare queens" of Reagan's world. It is built to help the person who lives the best he/she can but faced an unexpected hardship, job loss or medical issue. Yes, communities should take care of their own, but did that really ever happen? Why shouldn't government look out for the little guy while the corporations and their lawyers look out for the big guys... If government doesn't, then who will.