Some Thoughts on Taxation

My father was a FDR liberal, a liberal in the classic sense who believed that government could solve problems and reduce suffering in the world. Not sure how many of those liberals are around anymore. Most Democrats seem to want more for themselves; more subsidized education, more free school lunches, more salary and benefits for themselves, more grant money on projects in their community, etc. The dynamics of paying for this stuff is less important. You can't be truly "liberal" if you want to spend other people's money.

My father understood that government spending costs money and happily paid his taxes: he was fortunate to achieve some upper middle class lifestyle and wanted to help those less fortunate. Oh sure, he worked hard all his life, from the three jobs he had as a teenager and suffered through polio and other medical issues, but he understood that there was good fortune involved.

On tax day, April 15, 2010, I joined the 47% of the population who paid no federal income tax when I received my refund which equalled all of the taxes that I had paid through the year. For the first time in my adult life, I became a non-contributor. Actually, with unemployment and a "small" public pension for my part time military service, I became a net drain on the economy. I had wanted to "Go Galt" but I still have some emotional issues to deal with on this. I am not poor. I live a good life, with money left over every month and no debt. I know that there are millions not as well off as me and I should be, like my father, paying my fair share and helping those people. Frankly, it bothers me greatly that Obama, and George Bush, don't think that I need to pay taxes. They seem to think that I am too poor to pay taxes. I feel discarded and unneeded.

So, the money that once went to pay taxes is now going, by my choice, overseas to help those 2 billion or so who live on less than $1 a day.

Of course, the end may be near. In January, 2007, the per capita share of the publicly funding federal debt was just over $16,000 and by April, 2010, the share was over $27,000. And with $1 trillion annual deficits, the per capita federal debt is increasing by over $3,000 per year.

It is only a matter of time before Congress realizes that the low tax policies of Bush and Obama are unsustainable. Unless, of course, there is a major change in federal spending.