A Tad Resentful

I paid my taxes last week. An obscene amount of cash money because I didn't have withholding for the entire year of 2008.
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The whole withholding process dulls you to the immense amount of taxes that we pay. It is only when you have to pay out a lump sum when you realize the bite that the government takes out of you.
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Imagine that your gross pay is what you actually have to spend. You would be far better off, wouldn't you?
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It didn't bother me as much in the old days, when the Russians were pointing missiles at us. I figured as long as I didn't have to speak Russian, the taxes were worth it. But as I get older, and more savvy in business, and see the incredibly wasteful processes and spending in the public sector, I tend to get a tad resentful.