TEXARKANA MAGAZINE
WISDOM & RUBIES BY FRED NORTON, JR.
Wisdom is better than rubies. —Proverbs 8:11
Wisdom may be better than rubies, but wisdom won’t pay the rent. —Fred A h, April. Some believe the month is named for Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, while others contend its name derived from the Latin verb aperio, “I open.” The poet Ovid wrote that “April was named from the open season, because spring opens all things.” His expectant reference to the first flowers of the season from which bees and butterflies begin to gather nectar is lost on this tax lawyer whose thoughts of something opening in April go no further than to a checkbook. I know Jesus teaches us to render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s but making an income tax payment on or about April 15 each year (April 17 is the 2023 payment date) misdirects my rubies and brings me no joy. Article 1, Section 8, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution authorizes Congress “to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States,” but an amendment (the
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BUSINESS & POLITICS
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