It is true that
some people live in their own little world. I confess that I have my moments.
After all, I do enjoy writing. And I heard an author once say that a real
writer is the person who, before they even enter the convenient store, has
already played over the entire conversation with the clerk in their head.
Guilty.
But some days my
wildest imagination couldn’t conjure up the real world in which I live. Namely Pennsylvania . This state
really isn’t making it easy to call it “home”.
Most of us who
have our eyes even slightly open will say that the United States of America has come
as close to being a Socialist nation (without actually taking on the name) as a
country can get. I learned recently that Pennsylvania
had a hand in that, lobbying all its forces behind Abraham Lincoln in the 1860
election. Which goes a long way to explaining this state.
Now, Pennsylvania has a lot
of wondrous beauty. It also has a lot of great history (especially in Philadelphia ). But if you
want to live here, be prepared to be taxed to death. I’m not talking the usual
income tax, Medicare, Social Security and state income tax. I’m taking about
the tax for the town you live in, followed by the tax for the town you work in,
followed by paying for all the unemployed people who live in both of them. And
let’s not forget the wonderful thing called “Use Tax”. This is if, say, you buy
something online and don’t pay sales tax on it. Be prepared to report that on
your state income tax and pay for it. (Made worse in Pittsburgh which taxes you another percent on
top of the state sales tax.) And businesses aren’t exempt. They have to pay it,
too. Along with a thing called a “privilege tax”. This is for the “privilege”
of driving into the city limits of Pittsburgh .
Add all this up and I could go to the Bahamas for a vacation.
You would
honestly think that with all the taxes you pay, you’d get some benefit out of
it. But, apparently not. As some of you know, I’ve had a time and half getting
my name changed correctly because these Yankees remain determined to stamp out
Southern traditions. Even with my Social Security card correct, I couldn’t get
my Pennsylvania driver’s license to read “Melissa Sturm Camus” without a 1)
voter’s registration card (which I couldn’t apply for without a driver’s
license), 2) a passport (which takes weeks and Pennsylvania requires you get
your license within fifteen days of arriving in their state) or 3) a W-2 (which
you don’t get until the end of year and doesn’t have your middle name on it
anyway)! So, I had to get what I could and then gather everything else over the
next months. Then, I had to fill out forms again, mail them and wait for my
little card that you put with your actual license that has the change on it.
FINALLY, it arrived in the mail on Friday. And guess what it read:
Melissa Strum
Camus
Really?
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