By Gordon Bishop on Apr 23, 07

Most Americans, especially voters and taxpayers, really don’t know how much our federal government spends and where all that money goes.

We have become accustomed to a “tax-and-spend” government, regardless of the real need for such give-away spending.

So it comes as somewhat of a surprise when a U.S. President actually has the guts and the will to give us worker-bees a tax break. The motto in Washington seems to be “tax ‘till it hurts.”

You feel this way especially during tax time – April 15 of each year – when we sit down and file our annual tax reports to the federal government and those state governments that collect income taxes.

Ouch, it does hurt!

On the bright side of the ledger is President Bush’s rather historic tax cuts he made law, but which expires in three years.

Here’s how that works – by the numbers:

$2.4 Trillion: The overall tax increase faced by America families, seniors and businesses if President Bush’s tax cuts expire in three years.

$1,716 Trillion: The average tax increase for over 100 million Americans if tax cuts are allowed to expire.

$2,034 Trillion: The average tax increase that will hit 17 million seniors if President Bush’s tax cuts expire.

6.24 Million: The number of jobs that would be created over the next decade by making President Bush’s tax cuts permanent.

$69 Billion: The cost of reinstating the Estate Tax, also known as the “Death Tax.”

$29 Billion: The amount spent in 2006 by Congress on frivolous “pork” projects that use taxpayer funds to reward local special interests and pressure groups.

44 Million: The number of married couples affected by the Marriage Penalty before it was reduced by President Bush. These families will be hit hard once again if the Marriage Penalty is reinstated.

$1,480: The average cost in 2000 for couples punished by the Marriage Penalty.

$108 Billion: The reduction in the federal deficit in 2005 thanks to economic growth sparked by The Heritage Foundation-backed tax cuts.

The U.S. House of Representatives have been talking about erasing the historic tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003. Cost to taxpayers: an average tax hike of $1,7 16 for over 100 million Americas.

If those who control Congress succeed in rolling back tax cuts, working families will once again face the Marriage Penalty. According to the Heritage Foundation estimates, this could punish 818,115 couples,

Allowing President Bush’s tax cuts to expire as they are currently set to do would bring back the Death Tax on grieving families, which is supported by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco and other members of Congress. According to recent estimates, this would increase taxes by some $69 billion.

Pelosi claims tax relief “does great damage to our country,” and that tax cuts are “fiscally reckless” and “morally irresponsible” – even though this tax relief has helped create more than 7 million jobs since 2003.

The Heritage Foundation is a conservative “think tank” based in Washington, D.C. Contact them at 800-546-2843. Heritage needs your support in fighting the tax battle in Congress, which seems bent on raising taxes, instead of helping the working-class taxpayers battle government waste and political bureaucracies.

(Gordon Bishop is a ‘Who’s Who In America’ national award-winning author, historian, syndicated columnist and New Jersey’s first “Journalist-of-the-Year”—1986/New Jersey Press Association.)

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