Conservatives have good reason for concern about potentially crippling tax rates under a Democratic administration. For one, we remember the malaise of the Carter years all too clearly; incidentally, we remember the way President Reagan’s tax-cutting, pro-growth agenda gave America a booming economy and victory over the Soviet Union.
More than that, we remain concerned about the increasing size and role of government in American life. Consider that this year the average American will spend more money on taxes than on housing and healthcare combined. Tax Foundation data also reveals that all taxes as a percentage of income has risen from 5.9 percent in 1900 to 32.7 percent in 2007. Granted, the size of our country has grown exponentially in that time, so some of the increase in taxes as a percentage of income was certainly good and necessary. However, a steady, seemingly unstoppable growth in government’s confiscatory powers does not portend good things for the future.
One problem is determining where and when the growth stops, and that’s a difficult task when faced with taxation by a thousand cuts. The Tax Foundation claims we work 43 days to pay our individual income taxes; 30 days to pay social insurance taxes; 16 days to pay sales and excise taxes; 12 days to pay property taxes; 14 days to pay corporate income taxes; 4 days for other taxes; and 1 day for estate and gift taxes. That’s 120 working days for one individual to pay his or her share of the tax burden.
Another problem is fighting against the inertia brought about by government power. The higher our tax rates rise, the less power individuals feel they have to change them. Democrats bank on this reaction, for it enables them to consolidate power at the expense of seemingly helpless citizens.
But we must not accept this false impulse, for there is much we can do to push back against our tax burden. Certainly we can support groups like the Tax Foundation that defend taxpayers in Washington. We can also vote. And when we do we should ask candidates what direction they would like to see Tax Freedom Day move on the calendar. Some of them have already given us an answer.