Tag: taxes
Seven Ways to Lower Your Cost of Government
For most people, especially those doing the 9 to 5 grind in a high-tax state, their biggest household expense is government. Way back in October of 2015, I wrote a post based on the household expenses of a California family being featured in Money magazine. The total tax bill for this family was $45,000. This…
Second Wednesday of Month Politics: Giving Back by Giving Up
The national debt is up to $20 trillion. To pay that off, the federal government would have to run a $500 billion budget surplus every year for the next 40 years. We are in a shitload of trouble. The answer to this fiscal nightmare is rather straight forward. We got to pay a lot more…
Why Aren’t You Stealing from the Government?
A couple of weeks ago, Mrs. Groovy and I needed some minor electrical work done on our house. Two outlets and three switches needed to be replaced. The electrician we hired was very professional and very competent. He took about an hour to do the job, but that was only because he took the time…
Are You Overtaxed? The 2016 Edition
Last year, I suggested that the price of civilization (i.e., government) should be no more than 15% of your income. I further suggested that any taxation beyond this level would be tyrannical. Fifteen percent is obviously an arbitrary threshold. Your “tyranny” threshold may be higher. But before I make the case again for 15%, let’s…
How Much of Your Portfolio Do You Really Own?
Last week, I came across a very interesting post over at physicianonfire.com about the value of money. Physician on Fire, or PoF as he likes to call himself, correctly pointed out that some money is more valuable than others. Here’s how he summed up this crucial point. “If you’ve been earning and investing for a while,…