Posted on 02/09/2002 4:16:11 PM PST by jmp702
Difference Between Bondage and Independence
It is ironic, the proximity of the Fourth of July and Cost of Government Day. Of course the national celebration recalling our independence is a day to ponder the blessings of liberty.
Cost of Government Day, however, is quite the opposite, a dramatic reminder of just how much freedom Americans have relinquished to the excesses of big government and profligate spending. It is the day by which the average American family has earned enough income to pay for all federal, state and local expenditures that year.
The American tax burden is the highest it's been since World War II with the typical American family paying over 39% of its total income in taxes per year. In 2001, Americans had to work until the equivalent of May 3rd to pay off the government and begin working for their own families.
Freedom Day was 13 days longer in 2001 than in 1992 when President Clinton took office. In fact, during the Clinton Administration, federal taxes grew by over 61 percent.
A somber event, the date is determined by calculating the number of days Americans must work in order to earn enough money to pay for the government. This year, it will take 173 days of work to afford to pay for federal, state and local taxes and regulatory costs.
The total cost of government in 1999 is estimated at $3.72 trillion up from $3.52 trillion in 1997. This expense translates into a burden averaging $13,939 for every man, woman and child.
Many people think their April 15th tax payment satisfies their civic toll. Unfortunately, it is just the beginning. In addition to taxes, there are a plethora of regulations and government programs which only increase consumer costs, reduce job opportunities, waste valuable time, suppress productivity, and control our lives.
What would Thomas Jefferson or John Adams say about the government they helped design if they could see it today? Suppose you were to observe the pair discussing the matter over dinner at your favorite neighborhood eatery. According to the Americans for Tax Reform Foundation, $11.00 of their $40.00 restaurant bill goes directly to taxes. The remaining $29.00 covers all other costs of preparing and serving the meal.
The taxes on meals includes federal, state and local income taxes, Social Security taxes, property taxes, unemployment insurance taxes, workers compensation taxes, utility taxes, licensing fees, and possibly other taxes depending on the state.
In addition to taxes, the restaurant has to deal with various regulatory agencies like OSHA, EPA, IRS, USDA, BATF, NLRB, the local health department, zoning and licensing boards, and more. After that, the proprietor pays his suppliers, his staff, the mortgage, and if he’s lucky he will have a little left over for himself.
Surely the signers of the Declaration of Independence had something much different in mind on July 4, 1776 when they affirmed, "Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.
"But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariable the same Objective evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."
Fortunately, our founding heroes designed a system allowing us to throw off the yoke of bondage peaceably, at the ballot box. For this reason, the Fourth of July is a festive celebration overshadowing Cost of Government Day.
Taken together, the back-to-back occasions should serve as a clarion call to those of us who still believe the American dream is worth preserving. Indeed, our forefathers waged a revolution against far less than American taxpayers are willing to tolerate today.
Amurcans gots Cable, Pizza an' Beer!
What else is there?
I'm going to try to not make fun of this title.
"Mandatory" spending on Social Security, health care and income security still takes the lion's share of the federal tax dollar as illustrated in the Tax Foundation’s annual comparison.
Assuming that Congress makes no dramatic changes in the President’s FY2003 Budget, 59¢ out of every tax dollar spent will go to three areas — Social Security, health and medical, and income security. These program areas are "mandatory," so the federal government automatically spends a legally determined amount of money.
We might as well skip all of these intermediate steps and go straight to the model used by former communist Russia. We'll give government all we earn, and they will distribute back to us that which they feel we deserve...:)
Let's give credit where credit is due. During the Republican control of the House and Senate, federal taxes grew by over 61%, and with a Republican House and president, these taxes will not even be rolled back to baseline for ten years.
Spending by the GOP House and until recently Senate was greater than when the democrats controlled both.
IMO, should one want a simplistic barometer of whether it makes a bit of difference if the executive and legislative branches are filled with R's or D's, look to the spending.
Winning elections and holding majorities in the houses isn't defeating the enemy of big government.
I have seen reasonable estimates that the waste in that 2.125 is about 1.25 trillion.
Yup! Nobody cares.
Amurcans gots Cable, Pizza an' Beer!
What else is there?
Deductions Exemptions and Tax Credits:
The ability to hide or disguise taxation from the view of large sectors of the electorate allows the Congress to get away with the creation of the evergrowing monster that it fosters.
A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.
-George Bernard Shaw
Liberty and freedom have a price, responsibility. If that price is avoided there are no brakes on the growth of government, the ultimate result is the end of freedom through creeping socialism.
Right now the bottom 60% perceive little to no "Individual Income Tax" burden,(in many cases even a handout) and they continue to clamor for more from government looking for the top 40% to pay for it, corroborated by many recent polls on the subject of people attitudes about tax reduction. That perception continues to grow ever stronger by eliminating even more participants from the Individual Income Tax rolls as proposed in the current tax reduction proposals currently on board through changes in personal exemption limits and other mechanisms such as the EITC.
A prime example of what is happening comes from an analysis of Individual Income Tax effective rates in comparison with the Total rates of Federal taxation:
Those who perceive little burden play the role of Poor little Paul:
| Effective Individual Federal Income Tax Rate (Percent of gross income) | |||||||||||
| Income Category | 1977 | 1979 | 1981 | 1983 | 1985 | 1987 | 1989 | 1991 | 1993 | 1995 | Projected 1999 |
| Lowest Quintile | -0.6 | -0.8 | -0.2 | -0.5 | -0.2 | -1.3 | -1.9 | -2.9 | -3.4 | -5.6 | -6.8 |
| Second Quintile | 3.6 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 2.7 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 0.9 |
| Middle Quintile | 7.1 | 7.5 | 8.3 | 6.8 | 6.8 | 6.1 | 6.5 | 6.3 | 5.9 | 6.1 | 5.4 |
Those that readily perceive some of the burden.
| Effective Individual Federal Income Tax Rate (Percent of gross income) | |||||||||||
| Income Category | 1977 | 1979 | 1981 | 1983 | 1985 | 1987 | 1989 | 1991 | 1993 | 1995 | Projected 1999 |
| Fourth Quintile | 9.7 | 10.4 | 11.3 | 9.5 | 9.3 | 8.7 | 8.9 | 8.7 | 8.5 | 8.7 | 8.4 |
| Highest Quintile | 15.8 | 16.3 | 17.1 | 14.5 | 14.3 | 15.1 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 15.5 | 16.2 | 16.1 |
To play the role of mean ole Rich Peter.
The issue has been around since the beginning. soak the other guy. Onlything is once "the other guy" is in the minority, their are no brakes on the runaway train.
The Coming Crisis in our Democracy
The Honorable James DeMint (R-SC)
United States House of RepresentativesTHURSDAY, APRIL 5, 2001
12:00 noon"In 1996, Congress passed a historic welfare reform law that has dramatically reduced the number of Americans who depend on welfare. In spite of this positive development, Representative DeMint is concerned about the steady growth of a welfare/entitlement state that extends well beyond the poor and is forcing millions of middle income Americans into dependency.
There has been a shift in the relationship between individuals and government, he argues, such that fewer and fewer are paying taxes at the same time that more and more are receiving increasingly generous benefits. If it becomes the case that most voters do not bear a financial burden for this largess, then there will be little to restrain--and significant political incentives to encourage--the continued growth of government. And at that point, DeMint warns, we have reached a major crisis in our democracy."
Excellent point that bears repeating.
The top 1% of income earners paid 39.19% of taxes
The top 5% paid 55.45%
The top 25% paid 83.54%
The bottom 50% paid just 4% of taxes
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