Tax Hikes you can't blame on Obama

The economy is in deep decline and more and more Americans are scrimping and saving in an attempt to make ends meet. Foreclosures are running high, unemployment is at record levels and there simply isn't enough money to go around.

So what's the government doing about it?

Well, the federal government's already discussing doubling tax on fuel.

Last year, gas prices more than doubled, crippling most lower-income families budgets and contributing to the sudden spike in home foreclosures. As a result of the whopping gas prices, Americans simply stopped driving as much. Americans drove billions of fewer miles and demand for overpriced gas sunk as people simply stopped using their cars.

Which led to a problem. Congress, who stick almost 20c on the price of a gallon of gas, suddenly saw a decline in their tax revenue, brought about by the decline in gas sales. So what do they suggest? Doubling the tax rate (and raising the price of gas across the country.)

Likewise, many local governments are seeing similar declines in their tax revenue due to the recession, so across the board, many of them are thinking of making steep increases to their (already astronomical) property taxes.

It makes no sense at all.

Americans have less money to spend, so the government taxes them more?

The lack of consumer spending is plunging the economy into decline, so the government pinches the pockets of taxpayers even more?

Barack Obama has identified that the only way to get America out of it's current economic crisis is by issuing tax-cuts to get more spending going. However, the $500 a year he is trying to give back to the average working American (through cutting payroll takes by about $80 a month) is instantly cancelled out by different branches of federal and local government increasing the tax burden on these same Americans.

I find it ironic that Americans are being forced to dig deep and make radical changes to their spending habits and lifestyles, just to make ends meet. Instead of doing the same, the sneaky fringes of federal and local government somehow sees the answer to be increasing the pressure on working Americans.

Republicans claimed that Barack Obama was going to raise taxes. This just proves them wrong. The issue isn't with the president (who is advocating major tax cuts) but with the engine of government itself. Whether it's congress or the local township, their governments are bloated, self-serving and corrupt. Both Democrats and Republicans are equally guilty of frittering away taxpayer's money.

Our president might represent 'Change You Can Believe In,' but it appears the American Government, in all its forms, still doesn't.