The phrase “free at last” is associated with spirituals and the emancipation movement. Today, physical slavery isn’t a threat; but economic slavery looms. And the economic shackles are growing heavier and tighter.
The Tax Foundation says that Friday, April 9, will be Tax Freedom Day. The organization defines Tax Freedom Day as “the date on which Americans will have worked long enough to have earned enough money to pay this year’s tax obligations at the federal, state and local levels.”
The Tax Foundation also tracks Tax Freedom Day by state. For Texas it was yesterday, April 5. It could be worse—and in a few years it WILL be a lot worse. It could also be a lot better.
Alaska was the first state to reach the goal this year, March 26. And Connecticut will be dead last, on April 27.
However, Tax Freedom Day only counts what we pay in taxes, not the actual obligations the Obama administration has been racking up. If this year’s deficit spending were included, Tax Freedom Day would get shoved back to May 17. Another 38 days of working for the government.
The Tax Foundation has been calculating Tax Freedom Day since 1948, and this year’s deficit-inclusive date is the second latest on record. The first? Why last year, President Obama’s first year in office. It wasn’t until May 21.
Of course, none of that counts the Democrats’ new health care bill. The taxes will begin soon, whereas most of the benefits won’t start until 2014.
So expect to see Tax Freedom Day—especially the deficit-inclusive version—pushing toward June, or even July, in a few years, as the tax burdens rise and Americans work longer for the government every year.