The social justice issue liberals refuse to discuss
You want social justice? I'll give you social justice.
A report from the Tax Foundation reveals that "Tax Freedom Day" – the day the nation has earned enough to pay its tax bill – will fall on April 24 this year. That's 114 days that every penny you earn goes into the coffers of federal, state, and local government.
This year, Americans will pay nearly $5 trillion in taxes, which includes $3.3 trillion in federal taxes and $1.6 trillion in state and local taxes. This amounts to almost a third of national income.
“This year, Americans will work the longest to pay federal, state, and local individual income taxes (46 days),” states the report. “Payroll taxes will take 26 days to pay, followed by sales and excise taxes (15 days), corporate income taxes (nine days), and property taxes (11 days). The remaining seven days are spent paying estate and inheritance taxes, customs duties, and other taxes.”
Tax Freedom Day is one day earlier than last year because projected federal tax collections are lower than they were in 2015. However, if you included federal borrowing, which represents future taxes owed, Tax Freedom Day would fall on May 10.
The report also finds that Americans will spend more on taxes than they will on food, clothing and housing combined.
The Tax Foundation calculates Tax Freedom Day for the nation as well as each of the states. Tax Freedom Day arrives earliest in Mississippi on April 5 followed by Tennessee on April 6 and Louisiana on April 7. Connecticut will be the state with the latest Tax Freedom Day of May 21, followed by New Jersey on May 12 and New York on May 11.
“Tax Freedom Day gives us a vivid representation of how much federal, state, and local tax revenue is collected each year to pay for government goods and services,” said Tax Foundation analyst Scott Greenberg. “Arguments can be made that the tax bill is too high or too low, but in order to have an honest discussion, it’s important for taxpayers to understand the cost of government. Tax Freedom Day helps people relate to that cost.”
The left has appropriated the very notion of social justice, claiming that their agenda is the only social justice agenda.
This is nonsense. Conservatives could easily have a social justice agenda that includes tax issues like this one. How fair is it for someone to pour every dime he earns for 114 days into the coffers of government? How fair is it that Americans pay more in taxes than they spend on food, clothing, and housing?
The forced appropriation of wealth by government is necessary. But to this degree? Only a nincompoop would claim that every dime collected by government at all levels is vitally necessary. And if it isn't, social justice demands that we root out that spending that is frivolous, corrupt, or unnecessary in order to create a more just society.