by Maren-
“Your Tax Dollars At Work,” says the CalTrans sign as we drive past on torn up roads. Yes, road maintenance is one of the few things I need my government to do for me. I can’t protect my country from invasion, so I need my government to provide a strong, capable military. I need local police protection to keep my community safe. But I’m watching my government spend our hard-earned tax dollars to the incomprehensible amount of over $4 trillion per year…that’s 4,000 BBBBbillion dollars.
What do you do if money is short in your own household budget? You spend less and/or work more. What does the government do when it needs more money (and let’s face it, it ALWAYS does)? They can’t possibly reduce a penny from any program anywhere and oh, how they’ve tried. Government budgets only grow, courtesy the American taxpayer. There are built-in budget increases every year for every department. For instance, If there is a projected 4% increase and a program gets a 2% increase instead, that's called a budget cut. Is that how it works at your house? That's how Washington works. You see, all money is the government’s. We should consider ourselves fortunate that we get to keep what we do. And as our Vice-President Elect Joe Biden has reminded us, paying taxes is the patriotic thing to do. Like I have a choice.
I ask you to do one thing. Take a good look at your next pay stub. Look at your GROSS income, not just what you bring home. That is YOUR money. Think of what you could do with it. Government invented payroll taxes so they get your money before you even get your hands on it. There’s a word for that---confiscation. They were hoping you wouldn’t notice.
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