CNN iReport

Taxes and Health Insurance are two equally expensive line items in my budget. I'm an Architect and I own a very small business. In fact it's just me. There are many professional service providers like myself including other design professionals, lawyers, doctors, etc. When your business is that small, you need every advantage you can get to not only get up and running, but to stay competitive with larger companies in your industry. As a single owner/ employee, I have to be the secretary, the accountant, the owner, the draftsman, and every once in a while I get to be the Architect. Large firms can boast about their vast resources, like 200 employees ready to work on your tiny project. More importantly, they get loop holes and breaks like group health insurance. I have to pay for a very expensive individual policy that does not have the same quality or price as a group policy.

Each month I write a check to Aetna and it has gotten to the point where the amount is about the same as my tax requirement. My premiums doubled in 5 years and when Health Reform began they jacked me up for another $100/ month. I understand paying taxes because I benefit from them just like everyone else. They pay for our military protection, they pay for the national guard in case of a category 5 hurricane, they pay for roads and bridges, they pay for schools, they pay for all things that we enjoy, yet take for granted. That is unless the GOP is giving tax money back to the rich and sucking the difference out of these services. AKA "smaller (more neglectful) government". You remember Katrina and the absent National Guard who was deployed to Iraq instead of guarding the nation like they're supposed to. How many times did Bush go back to Congress for more money and he still sent the National Guard? We spend a trillion per year on military, but we can't cough that up for reform over TEN YEARS! Obviously we like killing people more.

Republicans, Tea Baggers, CONservaties, GOP, or whatever you call these people, seem to think we don't need to pay taxes. These services will magically stay in place. Until a 5000 lb chunk of metal falls onto a bridge reminding us of the "responsibility" word. What's that? Responsibility? That's not in the 200 word vocabulary of the average CONservative. I'm in perfect health (knock on wood) and my health insurance policy is more or less a "just in case" policy. I live in fear of coming down with some terrible condition and not already having coverage. I've been extorted by a system that knows if I get sick without insurance, I'm screwed. I'm paying as much as I do in taxes, yet I'm not getting anything for that money. Why do they need so much money from me when I've been to the doctor a handful of times for routine check ups? My first 6 months of premiums paid for everything up to date, so 4 1/2 years worth have gone into some jerks pocket. If you think you're paying too much tax, then how do you think I feel about being raped for insurance premiums that don't pave roads or lob cruise missiles into enemy territory? Some fat cat billionaire is funding their lavish lifestyle at my expense and I've been struggling in this real estate recession for almost 3 years now!

Small business owners need an exchange, public option, anything to help. It is entirely unfair that our current system expects a small business owner to pay much more for insurance coverage than their corporate competitors. All the advantages are given to the big guy and the only thing I can do is lower my already low prices to compete. What if large companies had to pay the same amount for health insurance as they do in taxes like ME? Would this debate even exist?