Monday, January 7, 2013

Fiscal Cliff NOT Avoided!

Hi All,

Wow has time passed.  The holidays are over and the New Year has begun.  Apparently, our wonderful leaders in Washington have come together to pass a bill that will not increase taxes.  The only problem is that when I received my first paycheck in the New Year it was smaller than the last paycheck of 2012.

I thought there was a mistake so I took the liberty of using Excel to help me determine what has transpired.  After a fews keystrokes I find that federal taxes AND social security tax have both increased.  But you say, President Obama has clearly stated in speech after speech that taxes on the middle class will not increase.

I clearly must have made a mistake and my calculations must be off since President Obama has spoken so clearly.  A second and third review yields the same results.  Taxes increased!

In fact, taxes have increased by 2.3%; 2% for social security taxes and 0.3% on Federal taxes.  Mr. President, I must be mistaken for that 2% of the population that are the "wealthiest" and need to pay their fair share.  However, I'm clearly the definition of middle class living in a home built in 1940, two vehicles with the newest one 8 years old, and three kids that view eating out at a restaurant as vacation.

With the tax increase, my net pay will be less this year.  Mr President, if you have problems balancing the budget here's a tip, spend less than you make.  There's also the idea of eliminating redundant services and positions.  Another option is to improve current processes.  Private sector calls it "efficiency".  This is obviously a foreign topic when walking through any federal building.

I expect to wake up from this nightmare to find my next paycheck with the tax percentages similar to last year.  If not, Mr. President please do not look into the camera during your next speech to say that taxes on the middle class have not increased.  If you do, you are clearly lying.  The last two presidents that were caught lying had some serious issues.  One was impeached, Nixon while the other stained a dress!

Until next time........