Taxation and Monitoring of the Internet

The debate as to whether or not the government should be permitted to monitor and tax our Internet usage should be a one-sided debate. There is absolutely no immediate and apparent reason for the government to step in to yet one more place they do not belong. This is supposed to be a free country. Land of the free and home of the brave is soon going to be shortened to just state home of the brave.

While better control on social networking sites may be argumentative due to recent national headlines, there is no reason to monitor every single action that is taking place on the Internet. Should the government be notified every time my phone rings, too? Should the government step in and tell me what car I am allowed to buy based on my sex, race, age, and other demographics? Should I have to send the government a log of every single television program I have watched each week? Should I fax in an itinerary of my travels each day?

Of course not. These things are silly and a major invasion of personal privacy. It would be the same exact idea if they were to moderate all Internet activities.

If they are going to be nosy enough to do so, it should be only a 'catch all'. For example, if phrases such as 'how to make a bomb' are searched, there should be some 'catch' to stop said person from making such a thing. Children under 18 could have better parental 'spy' programs on their computers, but then again, children these days are usually more computer savvy than their parents and would catch the spy program before their parents were able to check its log files.

The only monitoring of the Internet that is warranted should be by the site owner and parents. If the site itself is dangerous than the web hosting company should be responsible to remove it. If a person posts a How To' article on making explosives they should be put on an IP (Internet Protocol) address ban.

I do know that their are some heinous internet crimes that happen, but that is still not reason enough for the government to invade our privacy yet again. There are acts committed every single day on public streets, heinous and immoral acts, yet there are not monitored cameras everywhere. (Which other than dark alleys, high crime areas, etc. I would not agree with either.)

As for the tax issue, not a chance. The government keeps looking for new ways to tax us because their Master's Degree in Financial Planning was a waste of time, money, and resources. It is not the taxpayers' fault that the government cannot run on a budget and reduce their wasteful spending. Every year we get a new tax of one kind or another.

How about the gas-guzzler tax? That is one of the most ridiculous taxes I have ever heard of. A friend of mine went to a car dealership to buy a brand new Pontiac GTO when they were first released a few years ago. She turned down the contract to buy it when she saw a $1000 gas-guzzler tax. And, of course, on a new vehicle you have the tire tax, too.

The government is taxing us in more ways than our forefathers have ever imagined. Between federal, state, income, property, school, sales, and other local taxes, a low income family will pay out more of their income in taxes than they get.

In conclusion, my reasons for being on the no side of this debate are:

1. Invasion of privacy.

2. Current high taxes.

3. The government as a whole is irresponsible and we should not have to 'bail out' their mistakes.

4. Every single Internet activity would end up taxed (each email, each online paid subscription, maybe even each click)

5. The low and middle class would no longer be able to afford the Internet (That in itself is not acceptable. I receive my bills via email, I pay them online, my son does his report research for school, and the other research benefits of the internet are endless.)

While Internet is not free, it is probably the cheapest recreation ever. There are plenty of free sites for entertainment, plenty of news to read, plenty of articles to read: the possibilities are endless. People do not have to travel, spend $20 on gas, to go spend $30 in a bar, then drive home impaired, and potentially ... well you know what happens.

The repercussions of government moderation and taxing of the Internet and its usage are worse than they could ever imagine.