What a Tradeoff!

 

 

 

A tradeoff worth examining

But taken for granted:

Freedom and security

But towards the latter slanted.

 

Taking away my freedom

So that I can be secure

And this displacement making me

Less free more and more.

 

Because I am feeling scared

I would rather feel safe,

The emphasis being on feeling

Hence, a faulty base.

 

It’s like opting for shadows

The bigger the better,

My pretending it is oh so real

Makes me a trend setter.

 

Imagine you are a millionaire

What can you buy?

What can you change

Each time you fantasize?

 

Feeling truly matters

Only until the reality kicks in

And your reality is your reality

Not what you are feeling.

 

Freedom does not matter

If one doesn’t feel safe

And the Government runs free

With this as its base.

 

Enter taxes and restrictions

To give the assurance,

Government will take care of you

With minimum insurance.

 

Accountants and actuaries

Are brought on board

And with their professional stats

We begin to feel secure.

 

The banking system

They too get in on the act

And in their voracious vaults

Our little become trapped.

 

They show us no interest

Neither in money nor attention

And Government exacerbates this

By taxing our pension.

 

It is all for our freedom

As well as our security

And we daily sing their praises

In our absurdity.

 

What a wonderful tradeoff

We are all enjoying!

The chance to feel safe

While our freedoms are dying.

 

 

The vaccine, you’d remember

Was one such case:

As citizens we were free to take it

But forced to make haste.

 

It was not imperative

Since we were given two options:

Either take the vaccine

Or be severely sanctioned.

 

If you do you die

And if you don’t you’re damned,

That’s Hobson’s choice for you;

That was Government’s plan.

 

What a tradeoff that was

If you see what I mean,

The only thing better than reality

Are fantasies and dreams.

 

Can’t get money to buy land

But you could to buy a car,

Never for a business enterprise

Unless you’re already a star.

Birthright for a little soup

With no paddle up the creek

And the dubious tradeoffs continue:

Blessing lost via deceit!

 

 

Government in hand with

Insurance companies and banks,

And all we get in exchange

Is an inaudible thanks.

 

Stewart Russell © July 19, 2023

 

Life's Vicissitudes

 

 

“Life is real drama”

Oh, yes indeed!

Oft I’ve heard this spoken

Especially when in need.

 

With its “ups and downs”

And its “ins and outs”

Sometimes so frustrating

We have to shout.

 

Looking for a constant

On which to plan,

Thwarted by constant change

Like an oscillating fan.

 

Seedtime and harvest

Life and death,

Periods of great upheaval

Times of rest.

 

 

Little time to settle

Changes, ever so fast,

An apparent open window

But will it last?

 

A near miss there

And an almost hit it here

Mingled with expectant joys

And ominous fears.

 

Was only last week

That we had a long chat,

Cannot believe she is gone

What a disturbing fact?

 

Yes, life is a drama

With many acts and scenes

Changing ever so rapidly

Like a fleeting dream.

 

The now quickly passes

But in a sense still remains,

The only constant realistically…

The constant of change.

 

 

Life is a roller coaster,

Unpredictably so

And the only future certainty

Is what we don’t know.

 

The vicissitudes of life;

The ever-changing times,

Sleepless nights of planning

To meet the daily grind.

 

“What’s become of him?”

“Oh, didn’t you hear?

He recently transitioned,

He is no longer here.

 

Stunned at another passing

A bright future ahead

Such no longer possible

As he is at present dead.

 

Death is a constant

But on such we can’t plan

Except to will our possessions

To our remaining clan.

 

 

 

“Taxes” is a constant

So too is its inevitable climb

Such that one actual dollar

Is now worth one dime.

 

Devaluation of currency

Each and everyday

Though still pegged to the US

But dwindling away.

 

Flies come out at night,

This is not the usual way

And sparrows build their nests

In strange places these days.

 

Cats mess and walk away

Forgetting to cover up

And on these very hot days

That scent just erupts.

 

 

Changes, changes, changes,

Yes, life’s vicissitudes,

And concomitant with change

Is the human mood.

 

Stewart Russell © July 20, 2023

 

An Onerous Tax

 

Does anybody

Ever own a piece of land?

Yet for Barbadians

That is the general plan.

You scope around

And see a piece of land,

You pay for it with cash

Or an instalment plan.

There are a number of taxes

That you have to pay

Ranging from one to another,

This is the legal way.

It will take some years

Before it is your own

Bearing in mind

You must repay a loan.

Thereafter at a set time

And this is every year,

You must pay land tax

That does not seem fair.

 

 

 

How can the land be yours

If you must pay a tax,

And penalties are involved

If you allow it to lapse?

You pay land tax

When you are repaying the loan

And you continue to pay

After the land is your own.

Land tax is set

Depending on the size

And you must faithfully pay it

Until your demise.

It doesn’t end there

For someone else must pay

After you have gone,

That’s the Government’s way.

  

On the land you're paying for

You want to build a home,

Now your next challenge

Is paying a second loan.

You pay for the plan,

An expensive undertaking

And you build the home

But still continue paying.

 

At the end of the project

You say, that home is mine

Notwithstanding of course

It cost a pretty dime.

The land tax becomes due

In the following year

But there is an improved value

Which is then made clear.

You now pay for the land

With the building thereon

And you pay for them both

Until you are gone.

And expect a rise

In a couple years or so,

That property is never yours,

That you should know.

A lease if you please

Might be the order of the day

For you are always paying

Each and every year.

 

 

I trust that you see

What it is I am saying,

The land can’t really be yours

If you never stop paying.

 Title deeds in your hands

The mortgage comes to an end

But that is not all,

You must still pay my friend.

Perhaps land tax

Could be for ten years or so

But thereafter, I believe

Land tax should go.

Then one could say

I own a piece of the rock

Since I no longer pay land tax

On my residential lot.

Until then my friend

I must put it to you,

If you feel you own that land

That is a misguided view.

 

 

My patriotic friends

May want to take me down,

I am patriotic too

But land tax is not sound.

You pay it when you’re repaying

The loan on the land

And thereafter land tax

Is a lifetime payment plan.

This cannot be sound

And patriotic it is not

If at some time

You can’t own a piece of this rock.

I trust the powers that be

Will address this anomaly

Even though it seems

I’m the only one that is unhappy.

Stewart Russell © June 2018