An Open Letter,
I'm not usually one for sharing my political opinion, but today I had to make an exception. I heard a statistic
on the radio that nearly caused me to swerve into oncoming traffic.
"The average American has to work from January
1st until April 9th to earn enough money to cover their annual income taxes." A hard look at my pay stub concluded
about the same as stated above. Tax withholding information so well camouflaged by my own ignorance, I had become
blind to what it truly meant. Why didn't I notice this before?
Allow me to break down what this means:
- 100 calendar
days out of each year is spent working on behalf of our government, before we have earned enough money to start spending
it in the manner we choose.
- 27% of each workday (which is the equivalent to 2 hours and 9 minutes over an 8 hour period) is
spent working to fund the Government.
- The average American earns approximately $40,000 per year (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Average_Joe)
and of that, $10,800 goes to FICA, Federal, and State Tax (if you live in Colorado) never to be seen again.
So, what is approximately
¼ of my salary helping to pay for?
Answer:
- A US Congressman makes $165,200 per year + benefits as compensation for
being a senator/representative (http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_much_money_does_a_us_congressman_make). This is an elected position
without term limits that has become a career for many politicians; who would give that up?
- The President's annual salary is $400,000
a year plus a $50,000 expense account, a $100,000 nontaxable travel account, and $19,000 for entertainment (http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080801095542AAtl2wN).
-
Premium government provided healthcare for all federal elected officials and their families, for life. Coincidently, the
newly passed healthcare bill exempts Congress from the new initiative (per the Kennedy Health Care Bill). Please refer to
Amendment 28 to the US Constitution that states, "Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that
does not apply equally to the Senators or Representatives, and Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators or Representatives
that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States."
In the last 18 months, the government has approved over $1.8 TRILLION (that's 11 zeros
after the 8!) in additional spending for healthcare, bailouts, and "recovery" alone. For 300 million Americans (men, women,
and children), each of us will be expected to shell out another $6,000 to pay for it. And we just gave Haiti $1.18
Billion to rebuild; that's another $4 per person. WELL DONE! In order to do this, Congress voted to raise the
government spending limit - which of course passed with little opposition or media attention.
Had enough yet?
I'm
certainly not trying to imply there isn't a need for government, and I definitely have no problem paying for it at a significantly
reduced rate. As a country it is our duty to provide defense, security, law enforcement, infrastructure, education, and life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to every citizen. So the next time you hear a sexy political ad on TV or listen to the
talking heads speak about how bad it is to reduce taxes for Americans, ask yourself 'how many more days do I have to work to
pay the government?'
The point is - those who do not vote in elections are the ones who accept the current path and
therefore forfeit their right to complain. You can't invoke change if you choose to sit idly by.
Sincerely,
Grant Pallan,
Proud American