Taxes and the tasteless apple
For people in the US, April 15th is the day Americans need to submit their taxes for the previous year.
So, it’s hard to send out a newsletter on this day without a discussion on taxes.
One of the greatest challenges that any government faces is setting the appropriate amount of taxes to fund its various objectives. I don’t think it will ever be possible to “get it right”.
Image Source 1
Contrary to transactions like buying an apple at the grocery store, it is difficult for taxpayers to determine the value they receive for the taxes paid (one reason for sometimes passionate debates). For example, you buy an apple and then you eat it. You directly experience the benefits of your purchase to compare it to the costs, resulting in an easy value determination. If you liked the apple, then you made a good purchase. If you didn’t, then the value wasn’t the greatest and you learn from the experience for the next produce-buying adventure. Simple.
However, most government services don’t have that luxury. How does a citizen of a country experience the national security benefits of the military or the local security benefits of the police? One could say because you have peace. That is one way to know if it is working…but we don’t know all of the actions that occur behind the scenes to make that peace possible. Therefore, we don’t easily know how much we should pay for those perceived benefits. It is like buying that apple, taking a nice bite of it, and then tasting absolutely nothing. You don’t know if it tastes good or not. So how do you determine the value of your purchase?
So the next time you are at the grocery store looking for some yummy fruit and comparing prices, think about the challenges of trying to do the same with government services and taxes.
How can we make government services become more like the apple-buying experience?
Celebrating Dates
Given we are talking about fruit, one may think I’m talking about celebrating eating some dates. Even though I do like dates (the only one in my family by the way), that’s not the topic. I’m also not talking about celebrating dates in terms of courtship.
Nope, I’m talking about celebrating important dates of the year.
Today I celebrated another year I’ve lived on this Earth! Yup, my birthday is the same day as tax day.
In celebration of how old I am, I thought it may be interesting to learn about national “birthdays” of different countries around the world, according to the CIA World Factbook. 2 Below are countries that share the “birth” month as me. Please note that some of these countries have experienced various rounds of birth and rebirth.
As you review these, think about what it would be like to form a newly independent country, especially from the perspectives of currency creation, taxation, and initial government services.
Image Source 3
Austria
no official date of independence: 976 (Margravate of Austria established); 17 September 1156 (Duchy of Austria founded); 6 January 1453 (Archduchy of Austria acknowledged); 11 August 1804 (Austrian Empire proclaimed); 30 March 1867 (Austro-Hungarian dual monarchy established); 12 November 1918 (First Republic proclaimed); 27 April 1945 (Second Republic proclaimed)
Georgia
9 April 1991 (from the Soviet Union); notable earlier date: A.D. 1008 (Georgia unified under King BAGRAT III)
Iran
1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed); notable earlier dates: ca. 550 B.C. (Achaemenid (Persian) Empire established); A.D. 1501 (Iran reunified under the Safavid Dynasty); 1794 (beginning of Qajar Dynasty); 12 December 1925 (modern Iran established under the PAHLAVI Dynasty)
Ireland
6 December 1921 (from the UK by the Anglo-Irish Treaty, which ended British rule); 6 December 1922 (Irish Free State established); 18 April 1949 (Republic of Ireland Act enabled)
Poland
11 November 1918 (republic proclaimed); notable earlier dates: 14 April 966 (adoption of Christianity, traditional founding date), 1 July 1569 (Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth created)
Senegal
4 April 1960 (from France); note - complete independence achieved upon dissolution of federation with Mali on 20 August 1960
Serbia
5 June 2006 (from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro); notable earlier dates: 1217 (Serbian Kingdom established); 16 April 1346 (Serbian Empire established); 13 July 1878 (Congress of Berlin recognizes Serbian independence); 1 December 1918 (Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (Yugoslavia) established)
Sierra Leone
27 April 1961 (from the UK)
South Africa
31 May 1910 (Union of South Africa formed from four British colonies: Cape Colony, Natal, Transvaal, and Orange Free State); 22 August 1934 (Status of the Union Act); 31 May 1961 (republic declared); 27 April 1994 (majority rule)
Tanzania
26 April 1964 (Tanganyika united with Zanzibar to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar); 29 October 1964 (renamed United Republic of Tanzania); notable earlier dates: 9 December 1961 (Tanganyika became independent from UK-administered UN trusteeship); 10 December 1963 (Zanzibar became independent from UK)
Togo
27 April 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship)
United Kingdom
no official date of independence: 927 (minor English kingdoms unite); 3 March 1284 (enactment of the Statute of Rhuddlan uniting England and Wales); 1536 (Act of Union formally incorporates England and Wales); 1 May 1707 (Acts of Union formally unite England, Scotland, and Wales as Great Britain); 1 January 1801 (Acts of Union formally unite Great Britain and Ireland as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland); 6 December 1921 (Anglo-Irish Treaty formalizes partition of Ireland; six counties remain part of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland); 12 April 1927 (Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act establishes current name of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)
Zimbabwe
18 April 1980 (from the UK)
Blue Dots
This last section will be short, as I recommend learning more by following the source’s footnote.
I can’t finish a newsletter with birthdays and getting older as one of the topics without briefly discussing aging.
Several months ago, I watched a short series on Netflix called Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones. 4
It goes into detail about these “blue dots” or zones on the map where there is a higher concentration of people who live over 100 than other areas. The host dives deeply into each area to find common themes and patterns. Before checking out the link/series, try to guess the five locations in the world he visited.
Image Source: 5
It was an interesting series to watch and I hope to incorporate some of the things I learned to help me live a long, fulfilling life. I was already aware of some of the patterns/principles presented but some were new to me.
However, I will leave you with this thought from that show.
One of the keys to longevity is quality social interaction. So I recommend we all reconnect with someone in our social network this week.
Thanks for reading
Apple Image Source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/red-and-green-apples-1402659
Birthday Cake Image Source: https://pixabay.com/photos/birthday-cake-candles-1114056/
Global Image Source: https://pixabay.com/vectors/globe-world-map-earth-geography-32299/
Great article. Thought provoking.