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Remember when you were 3 or 4 years old, and you went to your first county fair? As your parents walked you past the man at the cotton candy booth, you were mesmerized as he spun a cone of fluffy pink stuff. You were so entranced that when he handed it to you and said, “Here kid this is for you,” you did not notice that your father had paid him. You just thought he was a nice man who gave it to you for free.

After the first few bites, you realized that it looked better than it tasted, and it was messy. A lesson that would be repeated for several years. Gradually, you realized the friendly man was not giving you anything, someone was paying for it. Meanwhile, that fluffy stuff that was so enticing when first seen was nothing more than an illusion of something fun to get. Most of us growing up then and now experienced this. Likewise, this ritual re-occurs with your own children and grandchildren.

Some in the woke community appear to have missed the fact that the nice man was not giving you the cotton candy for free. They continued to think that someone was going to keep giving you something for free.

Biden, Warner and Kaine are currently acting the role of the cotton candy showman. They, as well as some of our Congress members, are doing a great razzle dazzle job of promoting all the great things that are being loaded into a spending plan. As they brag about what they are giving you, they forget to tell you that someone is going to have to pay for this $3.5 trillion spending of tax dollars.

They talk about no one making less than $400,000 a year will see their taxes go up. Likewise, they say everyone should pay their fair share. Let’s look at these issues more closely.

First, the issue of fair share. What is actually a fair share? Undercurrent tax policy, nearly half of the families pay no income tax. There is merit for our society not to tax those who are barely scrapping by, but, if they are paying nothing, how is that a share, fair or not.

As for those who are paying tax on their income, the vast majority of that tax comes from the highest earners. According to tax reports for 2017, the top 25% of earners pay 85% of the tax, and, of that group, the top 1% of earners pay over 38% of all income tax. Because they are doing well they can pay it, but is it fair?

Most of us who hear the incomes of the founders of Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, etc., have little or no compassion for what these folks pay in taxes. However, these folks often structure their income in various ways to use every loophole available. (New loopholes are being added to this bill.) The ones that will be the most affected are those doing well but are not the ultra-rich. Is that fair?

Second, consider the promise of not increasing the taxes of those earning under $400,000 annually.

The Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) found “the Committee’s $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill would increase taxes on Americans earning over $50,000 by 2027, while some proposals would result in taxes being raised on workers earning between $30,000 to $40,000 annually.

The House Ways and Means Committee is considering a proposal that would substantially raise excise taxes on tobacco, from cigarettes to vapes, to raise $100 billion over the next 10 years. Like or dislike smoking, those taxes would be passed along to consumers of these products, who tend to have lower incomes.

Inflation

In addition to these increases, the secret that big government advocates don’t tell you is that whenever there is inflation, there is an automatic increase in income taxes. Considering the inflation inducing policies now being implemented, each will cost you more in taxes.

Presently, even before President Biden’s Tax and Spend legislation, everyone’s taxes have gone up, some by regulation others more directly. For example, President Biden’s directive to block gas and oil exploration and pipelines has driven the cost of fuel up over $1.00 a gallon, a tax on the lives and jobs for all families.

We love to hear from you! You can reach us at Sen.Ruff@verizon.net, (434) 374-5129, or P.O. Box 332, Clarksville, VA 23927.