Poll: Are you happy with the way your US tax dollars are being spent?

The tax filing deadline is quickly approaching next month which means we get to be excited over the fact that the government will soon be graciously repaying the money it borrowed from us, interest free. In other words, tax refunds!

Before we click that e-file button or staple that W-2 to our 1040 and mail it off to Uncle Sam's count room, I thought it would be appropriate to get your response to this question: "Are you happy with the way your US tax dollars are being spent?"




My answer is no. Wasteful domestic spending is my primary concern. Earmarks and the "$400 hammer" stories make me wonder, "who is running the store down in Washington, D.C.?"

I also have concerns over how the U.S. Government spends our money abroad when we have so much domestic disarray such as inadequate border security, homelessness, individuals without health insurance, a social security system headed for collapse and poverty at large.

How do you look a man living in the streets of Atlanta in the eye and tell him we're building housing for refugees overseas when he's standing in line for free soup and dreading another chilly spring night with only cardboard separating him from the elements?

I am not suggesting that we turn our back on the global community. But we've been so busy running around raising everyone else's barn that maybe it's time to finally finish raising our own.

1 in 4 teenage girls have an STD, report says

Photo courtesy of Flickr user greenmelinda

Now that's a fact that's hard to chew on: One out of every four teenage girls has a sexually transmitted disease. When 25% of any group is effected by preventable disease, it's time to re-examine what's been done to prevent this from happening.

Are there enough sexual education classes available? And I'm not talking about the "sex before marriage is immoral and will get you pregnant so you had better abstain" stump speech. I mean real heart to heart "these are the facts" talks about the risks of sexual intercourse and how individuals can protect themselves.

Are condoms readily available to teenage students? Whenever the media comes out with a story about a certain school issuing condoms out to its students there is always a public outcry about the morality of our youth and how its being corrupted with stunts like this. Many people believe that the simple act of passing out a condom condones and even promotes sexual promiscuity among teenagers.

Come on people, wake up! As teenagers once ourselves we all know that any obstacles put in our way of engaging in sexual activity were just that: obstacles, not deterrents. We always found the opportunity behind a movie theater, at our partner's house while parents were away, etc. Today's teenagers are no different. Teenage sex is going to happen regardless of our wishes and instructions to our children, so common sense should dictate that we as a society should prefer it to be in a safe environment with safety precautions taken such as using a condom.

As a citizen of the United States of America the fact that 1 out of 4 teenage girls have a sexually transmitted disease is as appalling as it is shocking. With the access and reach we have with education and the resources to distribute STD preventing contraceptives such as condoms, there is no way this number should be that high.

Either we're not doing enough or we're not teaching the right message. The re-examination of what we are doing to prevent sexually transmitted diseases among teenagers needs to begin now.