By Frank Aquila
South San Joaquin Republicans
    
The average taxpayer will work more than four months a year to pay federal, state and local taxes, making a day in the first week in May Tax Freedom Day.

But is Tax Freedom Day really freedom from taxes? The government solution to solving a problem is by spending money. The government raises taxes or invents additional taxes, tolls, fees or any other term that generates government revenue from the people.

Own a car, house or buy food? You will pay registration tax, gas tax, property tax, snack tax, coffee tax, tobacco and liquor tax.  Your telephone bill will list about 10 different taxes you pay. 

When we get married, we must pay a marriage license tax.  Or if you fish or hunt, you pay fishing or hunting license tax as well as a dog license tax.

After you have paid taxes and manage to save money to leave to your children or grandchildren, the government steps in again and charges them an inheritance tax.  And the Democrats are trying to reinstate the death tax to those who die after 2010.

This unfortunately does not include all the taxes, including several taxes imposed on businesses and corporations, which they view as another business expense to them. They naturally have to pass this expense on to the consumer in the form of a 22 percent hidden tax, embedded in the cost of everything we buy. 

The 2006 and 2007 Congressional Pig Book reported by non-partisan Citizens Against Government Waste reports $43 billion of congressional waste, including wasted money for the International Fund to finance the World Toilet Summit, the Water-free Urinal Conservation Initiative, the Sparta Teapot Museum in Sparta, N.C. and a telescope searching for extra-terrestrial intelligence. (Maybe they should have looked for their own intelligence). That was a sampling of a total of $43 billion of waste. Our government has too much money to spend, but wants more taxes.

While taxation is important for our function of government, government spending is out of control. We should hold our government leaders accountable to find solutions to limit spending and reduce the taxes we pay. The Constitution states no taxation without representation. 

Ironically, the Democrats new slogan is "Change," which is all the American people will have in their pockets as they continue to raise taxes.