Deduct This

The purpose of taxes, as I've said before, is the influence behavior and buy votes. This is just the latest example. This guy (or girl?) wants to deduct $25,000 for a sex change operation. Seriously. The IRS has denied the deduction but the IRS is being sued as a result. The allegation is that it's discriminatory.

On one hand it seems completely ridiculious that you and I could have to pay for this guy's sex change operation. And yes, I said we have to pay. If his taxes are lower then mine are higher. That's because we're helping him pay for the operation. On the other hand I kinda hope he wins. If he wins maybe people will see how silly this whole aspect of allowing taxes to influence behavior is and we can change the system.

FairTax anyone?

Giuliani Just Lost My Vote

I like Giuliani. I really do. He's got his share of problems, from a messy personal life to views that I don't agree with on abortion and things like that. In my mind a lot of that was offset by the fact that he was such a strong and commanding leader. The man has charisma. He doesn't have my vote, though. The top two priorities in my mind are the security of our nation (read - in no particular order - Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, North Korea, terrorism, and open borders) and our increasing dependence as a society on government (read welfare, taxation, lack of personal accountability, etc.).