Paying the Piper
Urbanna, Va.— April 15 looms. It is a special day because it is the deadline for Americans to file federal income tax returns. Many Americans overpay federal withholding taxes during the year and receive a refund. But others must ante up to pay more taxes to Uncle Sam.
Some tell me they feel fortunate to pay federal and state income taxes. Others report they feel they work too hard and for too many months just to pay taxes to the government. Regardless, on April 15 we celebrate “we the people” day and recognize all those who pay the bills of society and who support government.
But, we the people also have every right to be concerned about exorbitant government spending. After all, it is our money Congress is spending. The mushrooming size of the federal deficit is alarming.
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| by Mary Wakefield Buxton |
Stop the wild, unchecked spending, I urged a Congress that reminded me of an out-of-control teenager using a credit card for the first time. It was good to utilize my right to protest, speak my mind, and perhaps help bring attention, as others have, to what was going on in Washington, D.C.
But Congress did not heed expressions of concern. The national debt is now reported to be $8.6 trillion and estimated to grow to $20 trillion over the next decade.
Even more sobering news is that for the first time there is more money being paid out in Social Security benefits than coming into the fund. How long before Social Security will not be able to keep its promise to retired Americans?
It is not just federal government that makes promises without enough regard for deficit spending. State, county and even Urbanna’s government occasionally follow national trends to live higher on the hog than we can afford. I almost fell off my chair when I read my beloved Town of Urbanna was in the red by almost a half million dollars. If a population of 600 people can’t live on a budget, what hope is there for others?
Urbanna apparently found itself in red ink, in part, by receiving federal grant money that had to be matched to some degree by the town. The grants helped beautify the town with many stunning additions and even provided a waterfront marina, and I am thankful for them. But how does such a small population pay off such debt?
Please don’t suggest raising taxes. Urbanna residents already pay “double taxation” because they pay real estate and personal property taxes to both the county and the town. Many people in Urbanna are retired and can’t afford higher taxes. In a down real estate market, they can’t even sell their homes and move to another area of the county where they can escape double taxation.
The problem is when citizens ask for more benefits from any layer of government, it automatically adds more government employees, which adds even more layers of burden on taxpayers. The new health reform legislation is a good example of how this works—it calls for over 100 new federal bureaus and 16,000 new IRS employees to manage the new program.
Taxpayers have a right to ask government how much of their money goes to pay employee salaries, benefits and pension plans, rather than how much is spent to actually help Americans who are in need.
The irony is just as Americans are learning to live frugally by following strict budgets at home, government is creating historic debts. Why should private citizens have to cut back when their government is irresponsible?
The really tragic part is that many older Americans are receiving federal benefits, but our children and grandchildren will be stuck paying for our benefits in higher taxes. Many in the younger generations do not yet realize what has happened in Congress and how much they will be penalized in future tax rates.
Just as there is “no free lunch,” the piper will not pipe for free. The $20 trillion borrowed in the next 10 years will have to be paid back. Ultimately, we the people will have to decide just how big we want all levels of government to grow and just how many benefits we expect to receive . . . or, perhaps better said . . . just how much government we can afford.
http://www.marywakefieldbuxton.com
