Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Agicult* (for Agricult*)

I'll try and keep this one brief, unlike the tax code, because the topic both befuddles and bores me. Some people view the IRS as a virtual cult, with its byzantine rules and regulations and its virtually undefiable demands. Others may regard tax resistance or the refusal to pay taxes as the more cult-like position to take. AGI, or Adjusted Gross Income, is defined as: "Total gross income minus specific items laid out in the tax code." Almost everyone thinks taxes are too high and hates paying them, but Republicans in particular run campaigns around this issue. George Bush the Elder famously said: "Read my lips. No new taxes." Benjamin Franklin came a lot closer to the truth with his quotable quote: "In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." But I especially like Margaret Mitchell's take on the subject in her 1936 book Gone with the Wind: "Death, taxes and childbirth! There's never any convenient time for any of them." Try and find a convenient time to check your catalog for our typo of the day: Agicult* (for Agricult*). We found 17 of these in OhioLINK and over 400 in WorldCat.

(From Wikipedia, the author writes: "My son in 1st grade demonstrates even the tooth fairy is subject to New York State taxes!")

Carol Reid

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