That Small Tax Increase In Your Paycheck Just Cost Our Economy at Least $180 Billion [OPINION]

I've been thinking, and you know how dangerous that can be! Let's say you're the President, how is it at a time when your economy is in a very slow recovery, you think it's a good idea to raise 70% of the nations workers payroll tax 2%? Let's do some math!

I know that 2% doesn't sound like much, for most individuals it's probably less than $100 per month. But wait, for a family of four with both parents working that's about $200 per month. I don't know about you, but taking $200 per month out of my household budget hurts. It hurts my ability to pay bills. Going out to eat? Forget it, ain't happening. Sending money to the college boy? Nope! I don't know if you've have noticed or not but while everything else keeps going up, your paycheck is headed in the opposite direction.

If we continue to work the math let's just say that 150 million people work in this country and the average tax increase is $100 per month, if my calculator is working that comes to $180 Billion that has just been yanked from this nations struggling economy per year. And President Obama wants more!

To you and me $180 Billion is an unthinkable amount of money, to American business $180 Billion is a lot of money, enough in fact that I'm willing to bet there will be far more small businesses going belly up this year than we've seen in a long time.

Here's the kick in the gut though, the federal government spends $10 Billion per day. $4 Billion of that is either borrowed or printed. That means that $180,000,000,000 will cover exactly 18 days of government spending.

So the world of hurt that the feds have just put you and I into doesn't even scratch the surface of helping our nation pay it's bills. The tax increases the President wants on the "rich" would only raise another $80 - $100 Billion in revenue, that's only 8 or 10 more days of federal spending. What about the other 337 days?

If you do the simple math on these things it's pretty hard not to see how badly we, the American, people are being screwed by everyone on capitol hill. Some may be telling the truth, but most are not. Most politicians dance around it and try to paint a rosy path better days if only we will increase taxes on the rich, or support this bill or that entitlement program.

Pro golfer Phil Mickelson has been verbally beaten up this week over comments he made since he came to the conclusion that the federal and state government is not entitled to over 60% of his income. They didn't work for it, he did, but that's what he's paying while living in California. You want to take any bets on a near future move for the Mickelson family to say Texas or Florida? Huh, anybody?

Small business according to the SBA, employ half of the nations private sector workers. How much of that $180 Billion loss is going to affect small business? I have no idea, I'm not an economist, I'm just a guy running the simple math. But as I think you can plainly see, the numbers don't add up.

Take a look at what happens when we can't afford to go out to eat anymore. A restaurant's business declines, when it goes down enough, it shuts it's doors. 40+ people get laid off and enter the unemployment rolls. Which puts them on the government paycheck which is paid by the rest of us who are still working. Which in turn the government asks for more money to pay the new unemployed people, then I have to cut my budget even more which causes more small business to fail and more people to go on unemployment and more taxes on those who still have jobs... that is a vicious cycle indeed. Look around, it's the cycle were on right now. You cannot now, nor has any economy ever been able to tax itself into prosperity. Ever!

The conclusion is straight up easy, cut spending. That's what you and I have to do when our revenue goes down, and that's what the federal government has got to do in Washington. It's the only way to fix the nations problems. Smaller government, smaller bills, and stop raising taxes, yes even on the "evil rich". Because every dollar that is taken out of our paychecks and sent to a government who can't control their spending is another dollar removed from an economy that small business needs desperately to survive.

We don't need the feds to pay for more bridges to nowhere, we don't need more federally subsidized art or television, we don't need to pay foreign aid money to countries that hate us, we don't need to pay for research grants on the mating habits of... anything!

We need common sense to prevail, we need constitutionally limited government, and dammit I need that 2% back in my paycheck!