Let me be clear,
... when looking at the pay stub, the gap between gross and net can feel painful.
... when having to write a check to pay estimated taxes or end of year additional taxes, I don't feel happy.
Yet ... I like functioning police departments. I want a Center for Disease Control that inspects food. I want basic science funded. I want regulation of the market place. I want ... a lot that I can't do by myself and that requires collective, governmental action to achieve.
To help ensure these are in place, robustly,
Madame Speaker, Please raise my taxes!
To be clear, I don't love paying taxes but, well, I do care about the best interests of our society and our nation.
Many, too many, Americans face much tougher situations than a few years ago. And, while the wealthiest have seen their incomes going up near exponentially, the growing disparity between the wealthiest and the 'poorest' half of the nation has grown to absurd and dangerous levels.
Right now, Madame Speaker, we face a choice:
- Let all of the reckless Bush Tax Increases on the Unborn (inappropriately known as the Bush tax cuts) expire with benefits to the budget but increased pain on America's middle class in hard economic times,
- Reinstate all of the reckless Bush Tax Increases on the Unborn (inappropriately known as the Bush tax cuts) for a cost of $4 trillion in debt to the Chinese to be paid by our children, or
- Put into place Obama tax cuts covering 98% of Americans that will cost $700 billion or more less than option 2.
While they certainly won't be structured how I would want them, at this point in time, my response is: Pick Door #3 and (possibly) raise my taxes.
As to raising my taxes, a moment to place the situation. Throughout my career and marriage, that 'upper 2%' moniker never applied to the household. We've carved out a pretty decent life, nice home, food on the table, no complaints (okay, I can complain but that would be absurd when their are people unable to feed their families, without jobs, etc ...) but certainly not in the lofty "upper 2%" space.
Now, a year ago, my better 95+% was laid off (unceremoniously although better than other colleagues -- first person laid off not escorted out of the building by security and allowed to enter the office during a two-week severance period). And, well, my own employment seemed shaky. Stress was increasing and times were looking uncertain.
After a few months of (somewhat stressful) unemployment, my wife ended up joining a former colleague's company as a part-time contractor -- much, much better work atmosphere that is morphing into a full-time position with greater compensation. Phew ...
And, well, I have prospects for a fork in my career road that could give me a (significant) bump in compensation along, much more importantly, with greater ability to have impact with Energy Smart concepts.
Perhaps our timing is wrong, but rather than the prospects of both of us being unemployed, we see a potential that we both will be earning more than the past and a (substantial) household income jump into that rarefied air of $250,000+.
After nearly a decade of (too) low taxes for that income group, our timing (if the stars align and these changes occur) stinks ...
Madame Speaker ...
I recognize that my household is lucky ... but so much of that luck is due to a strong society, with (often) good public education, (sort of) functioning roads, (sadly inadequate) business regulation, and basic functioning governmental services that enable people the opportunity to 'make something of themselves'.
Madame Speaker, Raise my taxes ...
I want reasonable compensation for public servants so that quality people will want to 'serve' me and my neighbors and our children and to look out for our interests.
I want government investment to help secure a better future for my children.
If the stars align and our household income jumps, I won't be gleeful at writing a check to the IRS -- a bigger check -- but it will be the right thing to do.
Madame Speaker, listen to Mary Jo Kilroy, Alan Grayson, Raul Grijalva and 30+ other Democratic Party Representatives. Hold a vote on The Obama Tax Cuts prior to the election.
And, Madame speaker,
Raise my taxes!