Taxes; Politics

I'm doing my taxes right now. In the end they are pretty simple this year -- all things considered. Next year, on the other hand, will be a f-ing nightmare. But, let's cross that bridge when we get to it.Let's not get into the coronary I almost had before putting in my mortgage interest and property taxes... disaster averted.There's a lot of talk about taxes, raising them and lowering them in the political arena.Taxes (in theory at least) are what make the government able to (allegedly) function. They have, just like the rest of us, bills to pay.Do I like the fact that I pay taxes? Well, that's a loaded question. To I like to write a check this time every year, of course not. But what do I get from the government? I get roads, defense and a whole slew of things that I couldn't really get.I guess I'm not really complaining. If anything I suppose the most I can complain about is that there are plenty of folks out there that make more than me that pay a lot less, percentage wise, than I do. I'm actually far more pissed about subsidies that some big industries get. You can call them "tax breaks" or "subsidies" or whatever floats your boat, but the net result is the same -- they pay less to the government to keep it running.But in the end the country does need to function.Meh. Time to write a check.Not really a rant. Not a call for change. Just a vent I suppose.