Taxes and Freedom

The founders identified freedom, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as inalienable rights. They believed these rights were granted to mankind by the creator, not by government.

Their vision was a nation of free people deciding for themselves how they would labor and how they would spend the fruits of their labor.

The founders warned about the dangers of government taking the income from one group of citizens and giving it to another. That philosophy prevailed until the early 20th century. Then things began to change. Over the course of the twentieth century the government began to steadily increase spending (see chart below).

Today government consumes a substantial portion of the income of the average American citizen; exactly how much is hard to say. There are direct taxes, such as income tax, sales tax, estate tax, property tax, payroll taxes, excise taxes, capital gains tax, and gift taxes. Then there are fees like, drivers licenses fees, fishing license fees, park use fees, transportation fees, security fees, immigration fees and so on. Direct taxes are fairly easy to add up, but they don't tell the whole story.

As the chart above shows, it took until early April to pay for direct taxation (dark blue line). If you add in deficit spending, which simply represent future taxes, you can see that it moves the date up to the end of May (light blue line).

The true cost of government, however, is hidden from view. Many of the taxes we pay are in the form of higher prices. Government subsidies, tariffs, mandates and regulations simply add to the price of certain goods and services. Corporate taxes, although paid for by business, are simply passed along to the consumer, like all other business costs, in the form of higher prices. These unseen costs of government add greatly to the true cost of government.

One thing seems to be clear: government is very expensive and becoming more so each year. In 2009, Americans worked through April 19th just to pay direct taxes at the federal level. Add deficit spending and the date moves to late May. To fully comprehend the financial burden of government, you must add in the cost of state and local government along with the cost of government regulation and mandates.

According to "Americans for Tax Reform", the combined cost of government at all levels, including the cost of regulations and mandates, requires working all the way into August to pay for the total cost of government. (See charts below)

The simple truth is that the real cost of government is freedom! A growing government means more control over our lives by the ruling class. It reduces our income and limits our personal discretion to make important decisions for ourselves and our families. It robs us of our inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

When will enough be enough? Government spending is exploding. Year after year overall taxation takes a bigger and bigger bite from the income of the average American. The same reasons are always given, compassion, fairness, security and of course the proverbial "the sky is falling" crisis of the moment.

Who Knows Best How To Spend Your Income?

The notion that 535 members of congress can more effectively decide how to spend an "ever growing" percentage of the income earned by hundreds of millions of Americans is pure unadulterated arrogance, and apparently has no limit. One need only to look at the current projected deficits for evidence of that fact. As Nobel prize winning economist, Friedrich Hayek, observed, "We are on the road to serfdom".

More Information About Taxation and Government Spending

Video: ABC 20/20 - John Stossel Goes to Washington