Most people believe we are in economic crisis. Politicians, both left and right, agree that all levels of government are going broke. I no longer believe we are in crisis. Every level of government is figuring out ways to get more of our money. As long as we have money, the government will never be in real crisis. Disaster comes when individuals and businesses no longer have money to tax.
I live in an upper middle class suburb of Chicago. Though the majority of residents are conservatives, government is enormous. Even the government here is struggling. They just announced the layoff of teachers. The town council voted for a 2 cent per gallon tax on gas. We now pay a total of 50 cents for tax on each gallon. The state is proposing a 2/3 increase on individuals income tax and a 1/3 increase on corporate tax. We have the income, so they will continue to raise the taxes.
I was mailed a traffic ticket last week which will cost me $125. My crime – a mounted camera caught me failing to make a complete stop at a red light. I was making a legal right turn on red, but that doesn’t matter. I viewed the video online and it’s true, I am guilty of rolling over the white line as I made the turn. The camera is not there for safety, it is there to get cash for the local government.
The federal government is certainly doing it’s share of getting more of our money. I don’t know if you are aware of this or not, but congress just passed a healthcare bill that includes a few taxes. Here is a list:
- For individuals with “Cadillac insurance plans” ( I don’t even know what that means), there is a 40% tax over a certain amount.
- For small businesses with 50+ employees, they will be required by law to provide health insurance for their employees. They will face heavy fines and penalties if they don’t obey. This is a big reason the bill calls for an additional 16,000 IRS agents.
- For businesses in the healthcare industry – pharmaceuticals, medical supplies, insurance, and tanning salons (yep, you heard right); they will face higher taxes and fees. I’m sure they will cheerfully pay those and not pass any costs on to us.
- For those lucky enough to make over $200k per year, you will have a higher medicare tax taken from your payroll check.
- Capital gains, investment, and interest income will have added tax to pay for healthcare.
- It will be harder to get the medical deduction. Until now you could take a medical deduction if over 7.5% of your income went for healthcare expenses. This bill raises that percentage 10%.
- If you don’t have insurance now, by law you will have to buy it or be fined. This will not be a problem if you have income. Actually, it is not really a problem if you don’t have income. Those with income can be taxed and it will be payed for you.
As long as we can keep paying, there will be no healthcare crisis. If this bill does not pay for itself as the democrats promise, no problem, they can tax more of our income.
The New York Times reported that 2010 will be the first year that Social Security benefit payouts will exceed the receipts from taxes. You could take all the money from the three wealthiest American families – the Buffet’s (Warren not Jimmy), the Gates, and the Walton’s and not begin to provide enough resources for the coming Social Security bailout.
Don’t worry, there is still money to tax so there is no crisis. Whew!
Tags: budget shortfalls, economic crisis., healthcare bill, income, social security, taxes