No surprise here. I pay 29% federal income tax, 7% state income tax, 15% FICA (which includes the employer portion that would have been paid to me if I was free to opt out of that great Ponzi scheme), 6% sales tax, various property and registration fees for cars and pets, insidious uncountable excise taxes hidden in gasoline and alcohol. Well over half my earnings are taxed by the State. Serfs had it better.
Serfs generally paid a third to their landowners. We are in worse shape. With all the liberal wailing about Bush “lying” to get us into the war in Iraq, why don’t conservatives point out that even if this were true, government usually lies to the people. When the income tax was introduced, the government said that it would never exceed 3%, and only the rich would pay it...the biggest lie ever told.
What makes you think the employer would give you the payroll tax they pay, rather than putting it in their pocket. After all, you will work for what you are getting now. How would you get them to give you a raise if their taxes go down?
Perhaps it is time for an anti-peonage amendment to go along with the indentured servitude amendment to the constitution.
In fact, the new bankruptcy reform act has a pending issue of peonage. (iow forcing those who want to simply liquidate all their non-exempt assets for their debts in ch 13 plans.)