Jump and Run

Last night around 2am, the police department pulled a man driving a blue SUV that had been reported stolen.  The driver got out and ran, leaving the keys and some belongings behind.  The police call this a “jump and run”.

It was my blue SUV that we reported stolen Sunday morning.  I was thrilled to find out today that it was recovered.  But my glee quickly subsided when I learned I had to pay $85 to get the car back.  Because it was the middle of the night, the police had the car towed.  “Someone has to pay for it” the lady told me, so I forked over my 85 bucks to get back the car that was stolen from me.  That frustration was only compounded when I discovered some of the suspects belongings still in the vehicle, including a county library card.  What idiot steals a car and leaves their library card behind?  And why did I have to ask the police department to use this information to track the idiot down?

The suspect got a nice vehicle to use for 5 days.  A vehicle that I have worked four and a half years to pay for.  A vehicle I have spent countless dollars maintaining.  And while the suspect was off enjoying his free ride, I was spending my work time talking to police officers, detectives and various people at the insurance company.  Over a dozen people, between investigators, the tow truck company, insurance representatives, my family, and myself spent our time and resources dealing with this.  So far I’m out $85 for the recovery, another few hundred for lost belongings, and an unknown amount for the some damage to the driver’s side rear fender.  Tax payers are out who knows how much money thanks to the combined efforts of the sheriff’s department, the police department, and the crime lab.

Meanwhile, the criminal is off scott free.  He ran, leaving a trail of wasted money and resources behind.

Sounds a lot like what’s going on in Washington right now, doesn’t it?  These clowns in Congress and the White House are taking our country for a ride.  Yeah, we left the keys in the car… but they’ve run off with it and are costing us trillions of dollars in the process.  We don’t know where they are taking it, or what condition it will be in when we get it back.  All we know is they are passing the largest spending bill in human history that none of them have even read.  We were promised all bills would be put online for five days for public comment, but that was a campaign promise and doesn’t hold up to our new Obama-reality.  We were also promised the most transparent and ethical White House and Congress ever… yet the bill was decided on behind closed doors and filled with special interest pork.  It’s not their country, their government, or their money… it is ours.  Yet they are taking it for a spin and all we get to do is pay for the ride.  As will our children, and their children to follow.  They will be gone, and the generations to come will be left paying the bills and cleaning up the mess.  Someone has to pay for it.

I’m tired.  I’m tired of paying for someone else who decided to steal my car instead of buying their own.  I’m tired of paying for someone’s home who decided to quit paying their mortgage or wanted to game the system.  I’m tired of paying for failed banks, failed auto companies, and failed government bureaucracies.  I’m tired of being told that the government can do better with my money than I can do myself.

I’m tired of cleaning up other people’s mess and having no choice in the matter.  I give to the charities of my choosing, not yours.

Our country was built largely on a tax revolt and its about time we follow in our forefathers footsteps.  The king may have been replaced by the Capitol, but the ramifications are the same.  Too much confiscation of wealth, too much government interference and control.

We’ve got to recover our country before there’s nothing left.