"Married people with children are in or approaching their peak earning years, and they need all the money they can get, for raising children is expensive. The Republican message of lower taxes is all the more compelling to a voter with mouths to feed."I have not been able to articulate it so clearly, but this is what I feel when I talk about taxes. I am in negotiations with a client to do some developing for them. If I get the job, when I am finished, I will get the largest, lump-sum payment for service rendered that I have ever recieved. To accept this job, though, will require a lot of sacrifice of family time for a short time, so Erin and I were discussing what needs we have and whether the rewards (payment) will justify the expense (sacrifice of family time). As we were looking at the numbers, I stated that we, of course, have to take 10% out for our tithe, 15% out for "self-employment" tax, and 15% out for our income tax bracket that we are in. When we looked and realized that 1/3 of what I have the possibility to earn will be stripped for government payment, we were outraged (this, of course, is a very limited picture of the true scope or taxation).
God has blessed Erin and I, and we are comfortable. However, we are not rich and 1/3 of what we make is a lot of money to us. We are a young family. We have a house payment (on a 1,395 sq. ft, 3 bd, 2 bath that will need to be upgraded when we have another child), a very little credit-card debt (which will be gone by end of summer we hope), and student loan debt. We don't have any car payments and we have chosen a lifestyle that allows my wife to only work part-time outside of the home. I work one full-time job and have 3 clients for my side business (which takes up about 15-20 extra hours a week). Yet, we can't get ahead or make an impact because 30% of our salary is used for taxes. It is sad.
I want one liberal who can justify to me why it the government's goals are more lofty than mine to the tune of 1/3 of my check. Erin and I would rather use our money to shore up our financial status... save for another adoption...give more money to our church's building project...put some more money away for retirement...save for another down-payment on a bigger house...buy some new furniture (everything we have was given to us as hand-me-down's from family memebrs)...buy a storm door...etc...etc...etc... Can some liberal explain to me why these goals are less noble than some of the expenditures listed here? Please?
Life is expensive. Sure we made some financial mistakes when we were younger that we are now paying for (I will never go into debt again, except for a mortage). But, I know that the average American family who is our age has twice the amount of debt we do and I don't know how they make it. It is no wonder that Generation X has no emergency savings, no retirement planning, and is up-to-thier-eyeballs in consumer debt. When government takes 33% of your income, you don't have a whole lot left to live on.
I know that only one of the two major parties is willing to even consider letting me choose the best way to spend the money we earn, and that is the Republicans. So, it is in my financial best interest to continue to support Republican politics, though I disagree with them on some personal choice issues. I also wish they would go back to their roots of smaller government so that they could enact even more tax cuts. A piece of good news, though, is that the Fair Tax is actually getting more publicity and more recoginition. I would love to see some kind of total tax reform on the radar screen (whether national sales tax or flat tax*...I don't care...just pick one). However, since Bush and the Republicans can't even get Social Security Reform passed, I won't hold my breath.
* Good implementation plan of a flat-tax outlined here.
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