[Monkeyleg]

Those who have read my posts here on THR and back on TFL know that I'm not a kook (or let's hope I didn't come across as one).

Last year the Milwaukee County government made front-page news for months concerning sweetheart deals in the pension plan that gave the top elected officials millions of dollars upon retirement.

For most cities, this story would have been buried on the seventh page of the seventh section of the seventh-ranked paper. This being Milwaukee, though, it garnered enough attention to have some officials recalled.

Lost in all the hoopla was a story that reported that the county employees' pension fund would be short $20 million for last year. It seems the pension board was assuming a 10% return on the fund through the stock market.

Wouldn't we all like 10% return, especially in a bear market?

What was bigger news to me was that the county expected me and the rest of the taxpayers to make up for their mistaken clairvoyance.

An angry call from me to my county supervisor resulted in the following promise: the pension fund mess would resolve itself in less than three months, without an increase in taxes, and my county supervisor would call me to let me know when that alignment of the stars had occurred.

He never called back.

A couple of days ago, the local papers reported that--surprise!--the state government had been running its pension fund in much the same fashion, and has suffered similar losses.

Once again, the government powers-that-be expect the taxpayers to make up the difference between the Dream Returns promised by the pension boards and the realities of the markets since 2000.

Like most people who don't work for the government, my retirement funds have been slaughtered in the last two years.

Wisconsin ranks in the top five states with the highest taxation.

I dearly want to put more money into my retirement funds, but the county and state governments seem determined to force me to pay for their retirees' comfort before I can even begin considering my own Golden Years.

It's now reached the point where I'm giving very serious thought to refusing to pay my taxes, at least that portion that I know is going to prop up the pension boards' stupidty.

If the state of Wisconsin is willing to give me a FULL credit to offset my taxes equivalent to the amount my IRA's have lost since 2000, I'll reciprocate by paying "my fair share" of the state worker's pension losses. If not, they can kiss my skinny white behind and I'll await their visit.

So, to THR members I have two questions: would you ever consider refusing to pay taxes, and how long do you think it will be before they shoot me?

[SkunkApe]

Oh boy. I'd exhaust every other option before doing what you suggest. If you don't pay taxes, they'll eventually come to get you. They'll use force to arrest you if necessary. If you resist viloently, they'll probalby shoot you. If you're lucky, you'll just get the taser. I wouldn't bet on it though.

I'd suggest moving to a state with better fiscal policies. That way Wisconsin won't get any more of your money (except for federal kickbacks), and you won't get tasered.

[cpileri]

here's another one! see link for details
C-
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?threadid=20763

[CZ-75]

Moving from the cheese state would be cheaper and more cost effective than paying penalties (+ original taxes), lawyers, and doing time. Thing is, you won't win, and the state will make you spend money and time on all those things.

If you think you're being sodomized by the govt. now, just imagine how mad you'll be after you quit paying taxes. Doing work that pays cash, even part-time in addition to the day job, would be a better strategy - hide it, don't fight it.

[Smoke]

You could opt to not pay your taxes, but expect the following:

All your accounts will be frozen, checking, savings, IRA's, mutual funds.

If no resolve is worked out, expect to have assets seized, an order to appear and a suit filed against you.

If still no resolve; expect to be arrested. If you resist, expect to be forcibly arrested. If you forcibly or violently resist expect to be shot.

We have a legal system here. You cannot opt out of it no matter how assinign it is at sometimes. Better advice is to move. Or try to work within the system to change it.:banghead:

[matis]

What about retiring to Mexico, or one of the central American countries where they have large ex-pat communities, real estate and cost of living are low -- and your pension would make you rich by comparison to the locals, whom you could afford to hire to make your life easier.

Refusing to pay taxes is NOT smart! You're attacking the governing elite where they live and breathe: their assumed right to live off YOUR confiscated earnings. They may tolerate protests and demonstrations against almost anything. But try to cut off the flow of taxes? Good chance you'd end up dead.

Some rocks it's better to go around than to try to lift.


Matis

[Jerrywahid]

I would quit paying taxes if I had a larger and more powerful army than the United States of America.

[Monkeyleg]

Thanks for the replies; also recognize that in my post I was pretty much expressing a pipe dream. "Contributions" (as Bill Clinton euphemistically referred to taxes) aren't exactly voluntary; they're collected at gunpoint.

What saddens me, sickens me, makes me want to scream, is that the taxpayers just shrug and say, "ok, punch me again."

Is there a federal, state or municipal employee on THR who can respond to this post, and justify why taxpayers should pay for pension fund shortfalls based on lousy management? Can that poster explain why the rest of us must suffer reduced retirement accounts while the government employees get a guaranteed and defined retirement benefit that is, by taxpayer dollars, protected from the rise and fall of stock markets, bonds, and interest rates?

Is there no person who is not so outraged that he's not ready to throw tea--or in the case of Milwaukee, bratwurst--into the waters?

[amprecon]

I would quit paying as soon as everybody else did...........ok, who's gonna start............? :confused: