Forced savings plan

Since it is that time of year again -- tax season -- I thought I would visit one of my pet peeves on my blog so I don't feel compelled to talk to everyone about it in person. It drives me nuts when people talk about their tax refund as though it were some kind of big windfall. A tax refund is simply prying your money from the hands of government -- money you probably wouldn't have given up in the first place if you had had the good sense to properly update your W-4 form.

Frankly, the government is the worst, most irresponsible institution you could choose to take custody of your assets. Look at what they have done with Social Security. That's a blog for another day, I suppose. In any case, only someone particularly clueless would pay into a zero-interest savings account throughout the year, especially one that would only allow a single withdrawal during the course of the year, yet you do exactly that if you don't manage your federal tax withholdings. As for the argument that, "I don't have the discipline to save, so I like getting that big refund," I have told friends in the past, if you are interested in a big pay-out not just once, but maybe twice or three times a year, feel free to give me your money for safe-keeping any time. I'll be happy to return it interest-free in six to twelve months, after earning a little interest on a CD or two.

What troubles me the most about this attitude toward tax refunds is that it is symptomatic of a larger issue, the reliance on government for every aspect of our well-being. I don't have the discipline to establish a decent savings program or set aside money for large purchases, so I applaud the IRS for hanging on to some money for me? Absurd. The next thing you know, you'll be telling me the government should make sure you have access to free health care or threatening to sue your child's school because he/she never learned to read.

I was troubled yesterday to read that the Bush administration is proposing broadening the power of the Federal Reserve, ostensibly to give the government greater ability to maintain the stability of our financial markets. It should go without saying, but the more power is taken from us and concentrated in fewer hands, the less individual autonomy we have. Unfortunately, there are far too many of us who will trade that liberty for a false sense of security, at both the individual and societal levels.