Hundreds join tax protest at Clay County Courthouse

If people spent more time trying to get through this crisis instead fighting and whining we'd be a lot better off. It took the last administration 8 years to put us in this position so we won't get out of it overnight. Save big money and stop giving illegals free health care. If it is given away, it should be to our people.

I find numerous instances of irony in this whole situation. This is possibly the largest gathering of misplaced anger I've seen in Spencer. I can't imagine that everyone out there screaming even knew what they were there for. I applaud everyone for at least getting involved, but that does not excuse ignorance in thought or on picket signs. To all the justified, yet ridiculous sentiments about dealings with China; Do any people with those signs shop at Wal Mart? To everyone with comments about income taxes; You act like this is the first time in your life you've had to pay them. These are the same people who claim that paying their taxes makes them patriotic. I also find that the word Socialism has been branded with nothing but negative connotation, so much to the point we don't even think about what it means to say that. The 21st century has no place for any idea other than equality and unity. To think anything other is nothing but a narcissistic approach to the same problems that have been plaguing us forever. You can't yell "equality" and not be willing to share or sacrifice. I would also expect that everyone out at the courthouse makes over 200,000 dollars annually. Most people don't realize that the tax increase applies mainly to that percentage of the population. Most families are finding they are making 8 to 13 dollars more per paycheck. That's because they actually received a tax break of that much. Which for me, adds up to saving more than I got from our last "stimulus check". It is also designed to be more sustained. Don't get me wrong here. I totally disagree with the spending of money to bail out people that screwed us over to begin with. Which leaves me with my last point. To those who are worried about government taking over our financial institutions; Yes, in a sense they are. On the same token, these are the very institutions that failed on their own by means shady business ethics. They are the ones needing the money, so let's stop going to bat on their behalf by acting like they are "our" institutions. Don't put trust in major corporations of any sort. Especially monetary institutes. To think that this is the result of one administration or that this snuck up on us is ludicrous. But to think we can't change this ourselves is also just as crazy. We can't criticize something if we are going to rely on it. The answer lies with us, not on any "higher" form of control. There has to be a point when we quit bickering and fighting our government, and instead treat it with abandonment. The main reason government fails is because it doesn't relate to people on a human level. The main reason people fail, is because we don't relate to people on a human level. It's time to realize our true potential. It is our ethical responsibility as conscious human beings to help each other out.

Levi - The only irony in your post is the contradictory nature of its entire content. First of all, people don't show up to a cause they are passionate about because of "misplaced anger". They all know why they were there yesterday. Read the article. They are tired of the direction Washington is leading us. Their anger is justified, and they are well versed in their reasoning. To "helped myself" and others who think that the $8.00 a week is going in their pocket. Get a clue. First off, the $8.00 is temporary. Smoke and mirrors. You are paying at least $8.00 more in taxes each week, just not income tax. Your property tax, cigarette tax, sales tax, gas tax, sewer tax, water tax, cell phone tax, and every other tax you can name is climbing higher and higher. Before you get on your soapbox about the cigarette tax, be thankful for it, because if everyone quit smoking tomorrow, the gov't would then have to tax milk (or something else) to make up for the tax revenue they lost from tobacco sales. People who think the government can spend their way out of a recession must also think that you need a shovel to get out of a hole. Keep digging!

read me, "Your property tax, cigarette tax, sales tax, gas tax, sewer tax, water tax, cell phone tax, and every other tax you can name is climbing higher and higher."

This has always been true. The difference now is that the only tax being cut, income tax, is being cut for 95% of Americans, not just for the wealthiest 5%. No one complained when Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest resulted in increased taxes in other areas.

Wow, look at all those Tea baggers - oops, I mean McCain voters.

I can Fix this mess FAST ! STOP THE SPENDING OF MY MONEY NOW ! Get to work to support your own need ! Just wait when all the bills come due and You don't Have a job to pay for it!

You want government control medical ? go to a V A Hospital. And See how long it take to see a doctor !

What ever the Government can give to you It can take it from you and then charge it to you.

savage nation - What is with the random string of messages? I'm not quite sure what the intent is, or what you're really saying. Are these your words, or googled government cliches? The first post I thought was sarcasm, but now I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be thinking. Are you opposing healthcare provided by government means, even though you use the V.A.? I'm pretty sure the wait is no less in a public facility. Does this mean you're willing to give up that benefit? I fully support Veterans getting government healthcare, but does that mean average citizens shouldn't be able to afford it? I have never had insurance, luckily I haven't had too much reason to go to the doctor. However, it would have been nice if I didn't have to pay 1,000 dollars when I broke my wrist just to get two crappy casts put on. Now I don't care if the government ever does a thing for me or not. It's not like they've done a heck of a lot of positive things for me anyway. I'm just curious what you are really trying to get across here.

I wonder how many of the protesters actually voted? Where were your supporters on election day?

This keeps getting more and more concerning to me. Maybe this will cause people to disregard this, and my previous comments, but I am in shock watching anyone from previous generations acting like they had it right at one point. I'm only 21, but every year growing up all I heard was the future is up to me. It is the youth's future. Even at the rally, one of the leading arguments was the concern about children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren having to deal with the mistakes of prior generations. I am officially more frightened and awestruck now than I ever was when I read comments from people that honestly and whole heartedly believe that all of the financial, economic, environmental, and war driven problems, complete with a world that hates us, are all to blame on prayer and women's rights issues. I fully support people's beliefs and faiths being a part of their lives. Even though I don't subscribe to a particular faith, this is part of the reason why. There ends up being no respect for anything other than what one person believes, and in a world of 6 billion people, there is no longer room for intolerance. Also, while I agree that prayer should be allowed in schools, for anyone who wishes to do so no matter what religion or what you pray, I also believe that we need to start taking responsibility for our actions and our lives and stop expecting anything other than human response to be accountable for both good and bad. Abortion and lack of prayer in school are not to blame for any financial or environmental circumstance we are in now. It is true it has been happening for a long time, and no one administration or party is to blame. On the same token, unless we can decipher the difference between people's rights, and peoples imposers, we will get nowhere new. I fully believe in everyone being able to live life how they see fit as long as it is causing no harm. That however, does not mean we can expect everyone to live the same way we choose to. If we go on believing that, we will meet life with nothing but opposition and no results. It is insane to think we can keep flip-flopping the same principles and politics we always have and expect something different. Things were never perfect, so to act like there was a time when things were great and done "the good ole' American way", is to have a nostalgia for a past that never happened.

Culture Warrior - Agreed. You should be able to do what you please with your money. Nobody is stopping you. Federal taxes have always been there, so this is nothing new. Taxes have constantly increased, in one form or another, no matter the administration. If it's money you're talking about, have you calculated how this will affect you personally and how much it will cost you? Does it make it harder for you to live? If it's giving you're talking about, do you not give to your church or the YMCA now because the government took any spare money away? Even if it does cut into finances, if it's truly about caring and giving, isn't sacrifice not only inevitable but honorable? This should not keep you from giving. And if it's government digging into your pockets that is most important to you, then why do you condone the acts of one party over another? Taxes are a part of the system no matter who is in charge. Maybe I should return the favor and clarify as well. I'm not suggesting pure socialism is the answer. It is too broad of a term to even use in this situation. Nor do I suggest that communism, or capitalism for that matter is the whole answer. I don't believe in government being, such as it is, anything other than a problem generator. The fact that anyone speaks and acts on behalf of 303,824,640 people, is ludicrous to me. You said greed was one of the problems leading up to where we are today. I agree whole-heartedly. Greed however, does not only stand on a national or corporate level. It stands on a personal level more than anything. I suppose the rest of my argument will be irrelevant to this subject as it has more to do with philosophies and personal ethics, rather than a solid truth. I guess our versions of greed are two separate ideas. To me, selective giving is nothing more than greed itself, disguised to make it easier on the giver's moral conscience. To give solely to the already well-to-do, in place of giving to people without basic needs, is in my view pointless giving at best. For what good did you create by giving to something that was sustainable on its own, rather than to a person in need? To decipher a difference and choose between the two, is to acknowledge and still condemn the lesser based on preconceived notions. Again this is just my opinion. Just something to ponder while I think about the things you have said.

Agreed Cultural Warrior. Thank you. It's good to see people truly wanting to be involved on any level. :)