Wankers R Us....

So I rang the ATO – Australian Taxation Office – aka Anal People Unite – as last year I paid too much tax and receiving a tax instalment letter telling me I should again pay too much seemed a tad odd to me. After the usual press 57 buttons, drink a cup of coffee, swear at government departments and their on hold music while going through the receipts in my purse, I got this woman who basically indicated that yes, I did pay too much last year and yes they expected me to pay in advance again. Why? Well, you’ll get a tax refund next year. But I want to use MY money now. Well, you can’t. Why not? Well, we’ve set it up so you have to pay. Okay then – change it. Oh we can’t do that. That means we have to vary it and varying it means you’re trying to not pay your taxes and you’ll get penalized and have to pay a fine. Fined for not overpaying when I don’t have to? Correct – you don’t want to cheat the government do you? I said have you listened to anything you’ve just said to me? Her response was that she didn’t have to. She was employed to tell me the regulations and that if I didn’t overpay I’d be a tax cheat. Riiiight. I have to overpay so dole bludgers and 17 year old baby making machines don’t have to get a job. No, naturally I’m not accepting that. I escalated the complaint. The staff member said I shouldn’t do that. Why not? Because you’re not supposed to. My response? Honey, I do lots of stuff I’m not supposed to. Wankers.

Cop out...

When I read stuff where people blame the government for kids growing up useless and unable to cope with failure and life in general, I think bollocks. Yep, governments are a collective of stupidly, anal people who enjoy dumb arsed antiquated rules. I had a job with the government once. I didn’t last. I have issues with dumb arsed antiquated rules. However, blindly using Big Brother as a scapegoat for personal failure? For kids growing up useless and unable to cope with life? Get real.

When I look at women like my mother who married poor, whose kids wore second hand clothes from the Op shop (goodwill) and those kids accepted that as a fact of life without bitching about it, when my mother had no money for medical bills or food and often went without both for her kids, when she was injured but had to cope with three kids when her Army husband was away on exercises, when her youngest son was bipolar and self destructive – did she blame the government for bi-polar, injury, lack of money or loneliness? No. She soldiered on and made her kids do the same. She didn’t look for handouts. She didn’t over-indulge, spoil her kids or give them false illusions to compensate for life not being perfect. When we failed – we failed and we were taught to get up and on with it.

In my less than humble opinion, there are two types of people – those who will forge on no matter the cost or conquest because they will survive come what may. Then there are the ones who blame everyone but themselves because life is 'unfair.' Sure, blame the government for your own personal inadequacies if you don’t have the guts to take responsibility.