I've got to admit to a guilty pleasure. Sometimes, schadenfreude does appeal to me--on occasions like this morning, for example... As I was reading numerous stories of people complaining about the decrease in their first paycheck of 2013, I must confess that I found myself softly chuckling. Seriously, why is there surprise? Actions have consequences. President Obama got re-elected. He promised the rich will now pay more of their disposable income in taxes, and he's keeping his promise. But you will pay higher taxes, too. What did you expect? Our nation just voted to re-elect this president, the most prolific spender in the history of the United States. There should be no surprise. The really scary thing is that, in stark contrast to reality, President Obama just informed Speaker Boehner that he doesn't believe we have a spending problem. That can only mean he still thinks the current fiscal crisis in America is caused by an insufficient revenue stream to the federal government. The Treasury obtains revenue through taxation, so that can only mean that Obama plans to demand even higher taxes. Here's a news flash for those who might celebrate that idea--even if you pay zero taxes and live on government support, you're about to take a big hit in your personal spending power. Your standard of living can only decline as our currency continues to lose value. Your future entitlement dollars also will buy less because inflation has been continuously driving retail prices higher. Remember Quantitative Easing I, II, and III? Actions have … [Read more...]