That’s the running tally of taxes since my wife and I started working.
I look at that amount and imagine what I could have done with that.
That’s almost three times what I have in my 401k.
How can anyone push that rock up that hill?
Wendy links an essay in the WSJ which opines:
…the tax burden for most Americans is far too high but they do not realize it fully because of tax withholding and the payroll tax hides the true burden they are forced to shoulder.
I know exactly how much has been stolen from me, because I’ve been keeping track for over 20 years.
I didn’t read the article because Murray reveals what he is in his very first sentence, however, ending withholding and making people take action to pay taxes would certainly make them fully aware of the fact that taxation is theft, and whether or not it’s “bad for democracy” would instantly become a moot point just as it should be.
Finished my 2008 self-incrimination servitude, i.e. taxes, last weekend and just today got around to figuring what’s been taken from me over the course of my life: $290,595.45. Last year, the total was $261,369.97. That’s $29,225.48 just for this year, or roughly, a pretty nice new truck. Hell, I could have bought a livable house for that. It’s getting to the point where I could have bought some great ocean-front property in some place that has no winters, unlike the US, where it’s soon going to be winter all year ’round.
I should note that the number above includes my wife’s taxes. It does not include sales taxes or property taxes.
Every year I look at that huge and growing number and imagine what I could have done with that money. Every year I wonder why I continue to be such a victim. Every year I vow to stop being a slave. Every year I fail.