Your Advice/Response/Input Urgently Needed Right Away...
My family and I refuse any form of government "help," because this always takes away from others in ways that recently cost us our home for property taxes we could no longer afford, resulting in homelessness for our family the past half year (I'm 65, my wife is 61 and our handicapped son is 24). Although the government courts have been ruthless to us -- keeping thousands from the forced sale of our home, over the taxes and court costs, because we cannot afford an attorney to claim these funds -- I believe success is the best "revenge."
We've gotten a brief respite from someone who is sharing their apartment with us for a couple of months, until their lease is up, with just one month remaining to get back on our feet somehow. My background in publishing since 1979, and online since 1995, with our age and health disabilities, make this the best available prospect for my talents and efforts.
Here's How You Can Help...
So I'm hoping the Steemit community can give us some needed timely, helpful input here...
Please comment below to tell us what sort of physical information audio CD topic you think would interest people on Amazon's marketplace, or that you would like to see available there, and I will carefully review and consider all suggestions/comments before attempting to launch our first (we hope and pray) successful attempt at starting a viable, profitable online business venture.
As scripture encourages us: "...in multitude of counselors there is safety" (Proverbs 24:6).
Starting a new business has been impossible for us so far, particularly because our current limited funds are quickly depleted each month on storage, phone and travel expenses, with little (sometimes nothing) left over for food, water or laundry, made more difficult due to age and health problems (peripheral neuropathy, mainly), but I've discovered a way to get started with a very small investment that can be scaled into a profitable business, and know we will succeed in this venture with a little guidance and input from you.
Thank you, in advance, for taking the time to read and respond to this urgent request.
Why refuse government help? You realize that's why people pay taxes, right? Literally around 30-40% of my take home pay is taken and I pay 23% on everything here, but at least there are no homeless. Why not accept the help of your government? Is it just pride?
Actually property taxes go to pay for schools, hospitals, roads and the like. We home schooled, took care of our health to avoid hospitals entirely, and it should be the commercial traffic that pays for the roads, or sales taxes which are more or less voluntary (you only pay these when you want and can afford something that is taxable).
There are other reasons too involved to go into here, but suffice it to say the government is just as unwilling to help as we are eager to avoid their assistance with chains attached.
Well, there you go: should have taken advantage of where your tax dollars went instead of trying to avoid the services that were made for you in the first place (unless it wasn't an option).
Honestly, good luck, I'm not sure where you'll end up with such a rigid mindset, but I truly just wish you the best.
Not so much rigid as stubbornly independent...something no government program/bureaucrat likes or won't try to quash. Also, due to actions of same, this definitely has never been an option for us.
If you have paid into the tax system why not get a return on that investment?
If you do not take the return on your investment (albeit by force) someone who has not made the investment will take it and not even feel bad about it.
We tried to obtain a reverse mortgage, which is now mandated by the state constitution, but found that 1) Both my wife and I had to be over 62 years of age (my wife has another half year to go to qualify), and 2) We couldn't find any lending institutions that are willing to make such loans any longer.
My wife still has a few thousand in income taxes we could get back, if we could somehow get all the paperwork together from a company that is near impossible to reach by phone or otherwise, and we cannot easily get mail without a more permanent address at present.
As the saying goes, it's complicated. Which doubtless is just how the government wants it, so only those who can afford legal help have any hope of navigating their treacherous shoals and deep waters.