The BIGGEST Tax on us.

In this political environment we talk over and over again about taxes. Too much tax, too little tax, this tax and that tax and I find it to be too taxing! But in all this discussion we have neglected the two BIGGEST taxes that are placed on us. They are the same tax but go by two different names. I call them the "FEAR" tax and the "OVERREACTION" tax.

Here is what happens at the airport in Las Vegas where I live, I am sure you can relate to WHATEVER airport if you fly at all:
• I've learned to avoid one taxing line by printing my boarding pass ahead of time and not checking any luggage
• But now I run into a line waiting for security - 1 hour
• One security guard checks my ticket and license or passport - 1 bored employee
• People are pushing and shoving to get to the xray line that is shortest - 30 minutes
• Security Staff are bored, annoyed, demanding and overworked, one just tells me make sure I remove all metal objects, another to make sure my wide shoulders don't touch the sides of the xray and makes me go through again, one watches the scanner with another over her shoulder, one ready to pull me out of line and go through my baggage, and a final one sitting in a booth watching the whole thing. - 1 hour and 6 employees
• I run to the gate to find an unsympathetic uniform closing the door to my flight and telling me I missed it. - 30 minutes and one employee

I just SPENT 3 hours dealing with 8 airport employees and didn't get the item I was promised all in the name of security and peace of mind. Here is what doesn't happen in all of this:
• Security is NOT increased
• Peace of mind is NOT enhanced
• Customer Service is NON existent

We pay this fear tax and over-reaction tax at every airport and bus station. We pay it as we pass through metal detectors at High School football games, museums, and at day care centers. We pay the tax every time we spend money to seek reassurance. We pay it twice when that reassurance actually makes us more anxious and not less. We pay the tax when we try to cover our butt instead of doing the right thing and we pay the tax when we take away someone's dignity because we are afraid.

Instead of security and peace we get over-staffing, over-planning, over-meeting, over analyzing, over-checking and only end up with over-kill, over-zealousness and over-looked scams.

Let's give each other a fear and overreaction tax break.