Middle class is Shocked! Shocked! at tax increase

Jan. 13, 2013

By John Seiler

Wait! Weren’t the tax increase supposed to hit only the rich? President Obama, Gov. Jerry Brown and thousands of Democratic politicians insisted that the wealthy must “pay their fair share.” Democratic friends of mine even said that to me.

Now middle-class folks, having voted for Obama and Brown’s tax increases, are Shocked! Shocked! to find that their own taxes going up. Brown’s quarter-cent sales tax hike is harder to see.

But Obama’s 2 percentage-point payroll tax increase sure is obvious as people get their first paychecks of the new year. Republicans in Congress who pushed the tax increase, especially House Speaker John Boehner and Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, also are to blame.

Here’s one story:

“Gabriella Hoffman’s paycheck is a little lighter today, thanks to a payroll tax increase that is forcing millions of Americans to make the kind of tough budget cuts their representatives in Washington lawmakers seem unwilling to tackle.

“Hoffman, a 21-year-old Virginian who works at a nonprofit, estimates her paycheck will be roughly $30 less this biweekly pay period, or about $780 annually, thanks to the end of a two-year cut on payroll taxes, which fund Social Security. The tax has risen back up to 6.2 percent from 4.2 percent, costing someone making $50,000 annually about $1,000 per year and a household with two high-paid workers up to $4,500.

“’As a newly-graduated person, someone coming straight out of college, I don’t like the idea of having less money coming to me due to the selfish interests of people in Congress who don’t have any interest in reducing our financial problems, Hoffman told FoxNews.com. “This is an impediment for future economic growth. It’s going to make it harder for young people like myself to get married, find a better job, you name it.’”

I don’t get my first 2013 paycheck until Tuesday. Then I’ll see how big the hit is. I’m nowhere near being a rich person. I’m pretty close to the California median income.

Personally, I’m cutting back on expenses, especially dining out. Maybe I’ll also lose a few pounds doing so. Being healthier means I’ll be less likely to need Obamacare and face one of those Death Panels. So in the end, the tax increases could help me, maybe save my life.

It’s sort of like a guy I just read about in today’s FT.com, Sidney Rittenberg. For a while he was a top commie sycophant to Mao. But a couple of times he was imprisoned and nearly starved to death. Now he’s 91 and “looks, perhaps, 70.”

Supposedly fasting makes your body conserve energy, so if it doesn’t kill you, you live longer.