Taxes always on my mind

Most people agree that some taxes are necessary and some government is necessary — but I’d be a lot happier if our federal government were half as big and my taxes were half as much.

The truth is, despite a record windfall in federal tax revenue — it’s up 26% over the first five months of fiscal 2022 — Washington is currently spending $2 trillion more than it’s taking in.

The more revenue that’s sucked into DC, the more the politicians in charge there want to spend it — and the more they want to raise taxes to do so.

The “Biden Administration is proposing $2.5 trillion in tax increases over 10 years,” reports the Wall Street Journal.

Our national debt already stands at an incomprehensible $30 trillion, yet we keep spending with abandon and ignore the advice of genuine leaders who worried about our spendthrift ways long ago.

“As we peer into society's future, we — you and I, and our government — must avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering for our own ease and convenience the precious resources of tomorrow. We cannot mortgage the material assets of our grandchildren without risking the loss also of their political and spiritual heritage. We want democracy to survive for all generations to come, not to become the insolvent phantom of tomorrow.” - Dwight D. Eisenhower

Well, Ike, we sure could use more leaders like you today — both Democrat and Republican — who see reckless government spending for what it is: robbing future generations to subsidize the current generation.

All I know is that though I can extend filing my tax return until October, I still had to pay my estimated taxes by April 18, 2022 — which meant, as usual, I had to dramatically downsize my savings account.

That’s why taxes are always on my mind.

Tom Purcell is an author and humor columnist for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Email him at Tom@TomPurcell.com.