Tuesday, March 22, 2011

I have absolutely no doubt...

If people actually had to save their money throughout the year and actually write a cheque for their tax bill in April, we would have a lot less government spending.

Exhibit "A"

I mentioned to a client the other day, and I've mentioned on this blog in the past, that it's time to treat governmental budgets like you treat your household budget - The household budget has to include principal repayments of outstanding debt, and debt repayment obligations are generally limited to 40% of income. Why doesn't any government have to follow that same guideline?  Paying down or off debt requires surpluses.  Why is it as politically suicidal to continue to generate surpluses in order to pay down debt as it is to deficit spend?  How much less often would a person say "let government do it" if a person actually had to write a cheque to the government each spring in order to help them continue to spend your money the way they feel it should be spent?  This year, I would have written a check for just about $19,000.  I get very little out of this payment - infrastructure is covered by the fuel tax on fuel.  If I had to cut a cheque for that amount all at once in the spring, I would be even more unhappy about taxing and spending than I currently am.

Judging from the Federal Budget today, I suspect more people might be unhappy as well.

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