Govt. robs my paycheck even more
Jan. 15, 2013
By John Seiler
This morning my first paycheck of the year was plunked into my bank account. The amount is sharply down from my Dec. 31 paycheck.
The government robbed me again.
This was part of the “fiscal cliff” deal that President Obama promised would increase taxes only on the rich because, as he and so many others insisted, “they need to pay their fair share.” But 77 percent of Americans got hit with the tax increase.
The Republican leadership also agreed to this assault on taxpayers, beginning with House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
If Republicans can’t stop tax hikes, then what good are they? Of course, they needed the money for the special interests that own them.
The tax increase means that Obama, Boehner and McConnell believe that 77 percent of Americans are filthy rich and so in need of tax increases to “pay their fair share”!
Coincidentally, one of my credit cards just raised my credit limit. I’ve been a good boy. If I were the government, I then would continue my previous spending by borrowing the money. I could call it “Personal Quantitative Easing.” Time to live it up!
Instead, I’m responding by cutting all the expenses I can. No more eating out. Cancel Netflix. Cancel cable TV when the contract runs out. End all extraneous purchases.
Doing so will damage the economy because those people won’t get my trade. So they’ll be worse off. Once again, government robbery ripples throughout the economy. The tax increases from the president and Congress don’t just hurt the taxpayer/slave (in this case, me), but everybody the taxpayer/slave supports by spending that has to end.
This also is another good reason to consider leaving California. If I did so, I would escape to a state with no state income tax and strong protection of the Second Amendment “right to keep and bear arms.” Probably Texas.
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April 25, 2013 By John Seiler The Democrats who run California believe they are “progressives.” They want to “help the
yeah…funny how that payroll tax restoration slid by without so much as a whimper from the bloviating talking heads….
What they also missed….and which will have more impact than anyone first imagined….is the economic damage it will do to the economy. That 1% or 1 1/2% may not seem like much, but consider its impact on DISCRETIONARY spending.
If Republicans can’t stop tax cuts, then what good are they?
==
I think you mean they cannot stop tax HIKES.
(Editor’s note: Thank you for the correction, which I amended in the text. — J.S.)
I once rented a car from Budget–terrible experience. After that I went to Hertz–paid the increased cost, and never looked back. You can choose to live in a state that is less desirable than CA if you have a job to take with you. The 20,000,000+ people who are unemployed don’t have such choices. You are living in the best country in the world. Stop your whimpering!
SeeSaw: I want to help those 20 million+ unemployed people by buying things from companies they would work for. But the government keeps stealing more of my money, so I can’t.
— John Seiler
@Seesaw… So tell me what is so desirable about living in California? The schools (according to just about everybody) suck. The taxes are ridiculous. The overbearing Sacramento clown party is regulating just about everything… I’m waiting for them to regulate when I go to the bathroom. The roads are awful. There is no meaningful mass transportation. The unions control the government.
So tell me again… what is it that is so wonderful???
I own a small retail business. 2012 was the WORST year ever. It started sliding in 2009 but took a nose dive this year around August. XMAS didnt even help recuperate for this year. Why? Because people are not spending money whether they have it or not. I am about 50% off now.
The first of two weeks of this year is just a continuing slide from last year. Folks, its not looking good. When someone ask me if they can have a discount on a $7 item…….you know it sucks.
California is only desirable any more to those who are wealthy enough to not care about tax increases, those on government assistance, or those on a government salary and/or pension.
It’s easy to sound like a bleeding heart when the latest income redistribution does not impact you.
Katy
U s citizen,
We are people who have spare money, but have elected to cut back. I feel that uncertainity rules for many people, and like us, have chosen to reduce spending.
Between the reaction of the higher income households to higher taxes(shift monies arouund to avoid tax hikes) and spending reductions for many, that is a classic formula for a return to a recession. I do see more construction than in several years, but that may have peaked. At best, California finally stabilized, and the normal reaction of higher taxes is a spin backwards. The president continues to talk higher taxes, and the return to the higher payroll tax rates(2% Jan 1), contributes to his lack of credibility i.e. about no tax increases on the middle class. Get ready for a wild ride. Anything is possible, gov t shutdown, loss of confidence in dollar, another market crash, big time bankruptcies(GM, JC Penny, Sears),war against Iran. Add your own. Tough times to invest, tough times to invest.
.SeeSaw: I want to help those 20 million+ unemployed people by buying things from companies they would work for. But the government keeps stealing more of my money, so I can’t.
seesaw is a gov trougher, one of the types who you dientified who still will live here;
California is only desirable any more to those who are wealthy enough to not care about tax increases, those on government assistance, or those on a ***government salary and/or pension. ***
Tax Target, if you live in CA you should not have to ask me what is good about it. Each person has their own set of likes and dislikes. I like the climate, the diverse population, the entertainment choices; the convenience of being close to everything I need. You will need to decide what you can and can’t abide, and where you want to live–just like I do. I come, originally from WY, a beautiful state that has top-notch schools. I could go back there any time I want. The town is what I now refer to as a boutique village–not the blue collar town I grew up in. Everything changes–that will be the case, anywhere you go.
Your statement that the unions control the government is a downright lie! So there! If you don’t like the State of CA, you are free to go anytime–with my blessing!
No meaningful mass transportation? What is it you need that you don’t have? There are rail lines, buses, and planes. What is more mass transporting than that! As far as schools go–my children were schooled in CA; I have three grandchildren that were also schooled in public schools here CA–all three are enrolled in top CA universities right now–two private and one public.
I am government retiree–very modestly, middle-class. The combined total income for my spouse and me, counting one public pension, one private pension, one SS pension, and one 457 DC plan, is less than $100,000/yr. We are affected by the payroll tax hikes just like you, Katy. They take withholding from our pensions, and I will have to start paying additional estimated taxes this coming year–something I got by without having to do, the past two years.
My biggest concern is for the unemployed. Perhaps you should talk to the government about using our tax money to put forth some jobs programs.
US citizen, sorry about your bottom line. I hope it improves for you. It would certainly help you if all these unemployed people had jobs so that they could patronize you.