| Lesson 2: YOU are paying the bill. |
Rhode Island is one of the highest taxed states in the nation, paying an average of 10.2% of their income in
state and local taxes .* The vehicle excise tax is unique as one of the only fees over which Rhode Islanders
made such a fuss that it was actually repealed. What was special about it? It was a large sum of money for
which people actually had to sit down, write a check and mail it to the government. It wasn't buried in a
mortgage payment, like their 7th highest property taxes. It wasn't added to a purchase, like their 7% sales tax
or their 31 cents/gallon gas tax. It wasn't gradually deducted from their paychecks, or added to their phone
bill, electric bill or cable bill. You see, Rhode Island is a heavily Democrat state. Democrats don't mind
paying taxes. They just want to pretend that they're not. But pretending doesn't make them happy, because
they're still poor. They just can't figure out why.
Poor? Americans? But we have cell phones and plasma t.v.'s, and we get fatter every year. But we don't
have something that our parents and grandparents had: time with our families. Over 40% of our income goes
to funding the direct and hidden costs of government that have metastasized over the last 2 generations. That
means that both spouses must work full time: one spouse to pay for 4 million federal employees and
annuitants, for Grandma's social security and Medicare, Medicaid for the poor, Disability, Unemployment, pet
projects, and capitalizing interest on all of it. Many of these things sound honorable, but we were able to care
for each other on one income before government got involved.
Now we need two incomes, so we turn to government to help us compensate for that lost time: after-school
programs and daycare for our unattended children, nursing homes and daycare for our unattended elderly.
Public school teachers are increasingly asked to play a parental role. All of this costs more money, which
costs more taxes, which takes more of our time...and the spiral continues.
Don't pretend. Remember 4 things:
1. Your employers don't pay any taxes for you. They have a certain amount they're willing to pay for you,
and that doesn't change. How your payroll tax is split up is just a game on paper. You lose the full 13%.
2. People don't go into business to lose money. If a tax goes up, the business raises its prices to compensate.
A tax on a business is really a tax on you. The hidden cost to you from so-called business taxes is enormous.
3. Government doesn't buy anything for you. It only spends your money for you... for a fee.
4. Your tax burden has been designed to be sneaky: gradual, many sources, and much of it via automatic
withholding. The Rhode Island vehicle excise tax was merely an oversight.
* The Tax Foundation
Next lesson: Cut out the Middle Man
state and local taxes .* The vehicle excise tax is unique as one of the only fees over which Rhode Islanders
made such a fuss that it was actually repealed. What was special about it? It was a large sum of money for
which people actually had to sit down, write a check and mail it to the government. It wasn't buried in a
mortgage payment, like their 7th highest property taxes. It wasn't added to a purchase, like their 7% sales tax
or their 31 cents/gallon gas tax. It wasn't gradually deducted from their paychecks, or added to their phone
bill, electric bill or cable bill. You see, Rhode Island is a heavily Democrat state. Democrats don't mind
paying taxes. They just want to pretend that they're not. But pretending doesn't make them happy, because
they're still poor. They just can't figure out why.
Poor? Americans? But we have cell phones and plasma t.v.'s, and we get fatter every year. But we don't
have something that our parents and grandparents had: time with our families. Over 40% of our income goes
to funding the direct and hidden costs of government that have metastasized over the last 2 generations. That
means that both spouses must work full time: one spouse to pay for 4 million federal employees and
annuitants, for Grandma's social security and Medicare, Medicaid for the poor, Disability, Unemployment, pet
projects, and capitalizing interest on all of it. Many of these things sound honorable, but we were able to care
for each other on one income before government got involved.
Now we need two incomes, so we turn to government to help us compensate for that lost time: after-school
programs and daycare for our unattended children, nursing homes and daycare for our unattended elderly.
Public school teachers are increasingly asked to play a parental role. All of this costs more money, which
costs more taxes, which takes more of our time...and the spiral continues.
Don't pretend. Remember 4 things:
1. Your employers don't pay any taxes for you. They have a certain amount they're willing to pay for you,
and that doesn't change. How your payroll tax is split up is just a game on paper. You lose the full 13%.
2. People don't go into business to lose money. If a tax goes up, the business raises its prices to compensate.
A tax on a business is really a tax on you. The hidden cost to you from so-called business taxes is enormous.
3. Government doesn't buy anything for you. It only spends your money for you... for a fee.
4. Your tax burden has been designed to be sneaky: gradual, many sources, and much of it via automatic
withholding. The Rhode Island vehicle excise tax was merely an oversight.
* The Tax Foundation
Next lesson: Cut out the Middle Man