Archive for April, 2009


My previous post was not about detest to taxation, it was more on the inept pricing of DVD  rentals in that particular public library. I believe that proper functioning of a society requires certain social safety nets, for that you need taxation. But don’t get me wrong, I am strongly against ‘taxation of people to death’ by their government. Taxation definitely is required, but getting an appropriate and effective taxation scheme is more of a challenge.

Today morning, while driving to work, my car spun off the ramp and the engine shut off after hitting the curb. My car was facing straight to incoming ‘office time’ traffic, eager to get off the ramp. There was a high probability that some vehicle would definitely crash into mine on the ramp (while hurrying to get to their work). I dialed 911 and a State Trooper got their in two minutes to slow down the incoming traffic from the ramp. A County Police Car got their in five minutes, giving way to the State Trooper. The County Police stayed there till the towing company towed my car away.

If there was no taxation then there won’t be anything called Police, or any other social safety nets. I doubt anyone would have stopped their vehicle in safe (visible) place and help slow down the incoming traffic. So as long as my tax money is spent wisely, I don’t mind contributing. And if you expect similar help (god forbid if something like that happen), then it would be foolish to decry taxation.

Thank god, I and my car got away without any major incident. God is great.

There are definitely some perks of living close to a big city: like proximity to bigger airports, happening places, lot more friends, lot more visitors and places for you to visit, better infrastructures, etc. But there might be some downsides, even if it’s negligible in comparison to the benefits you reap. I discovered one of them yesterday.
I am a big fan of public library, in fact I love anything that’s public: public transport, public TV, public radio, etc. When I was in Lafayette, I used to borrow a lot from the public library; books, CD’s, and mostly DVD’s. They all were free, you could keep DVD’s for a week, and after that it was $1 fine per day.
Yesterday I went to Baltimore County Public Library to borrow couple of DVD’s. The rate was $2.30 for a DVD (you can keep it for 2 days), after that there was a fine of $2.30 per day. I was surprised with the cost, especially when I pay four times the state tax that I used to pay in Louisiana. What baffled me more was who would want to get DVD’s from this library when you can get newer releases in the Redbox for $1.06 (rate of a DVD per day)? Also, when the older movies nowadays are readily available on the web.

redbox

Picture source: http://tylermuth.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/redbox.jpg

Cherry Blossom

My first ever Cherry Blossom in Washington, DC. Instead of rambling about it, I decided to let the pictures talk for themselves, check out some of the pictures I took of the area.

These plants were imported from Japan and have a certain window for the bloom. If you don’t catch it, then you will have to wait till next year. Click on this link for general information on Cherry Blossom festival in DC.

Cherry Blossom

Cherry Blossom

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