"I could end the deficit in five minutes. You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than 3% of GDP all sitting members of congress are ineligible for reelection."
-Warren Buffet
When it comes to personal finances, the government has taken steps to dirty the waters. While we do have access to all the information we need, it's not easily understood nor focused on by the general population. Some areas of concerns are:
- Income tax used to be taken from people's paycheque AFTER the employee had received them. This allowed the person to see first hand how much the government was removing but it created an uproar which is why now income taxes are taken BEFORE the employee receives his paycheque - many don't even notice it.
- Inflation, at 2%/year on average, is a hidden tax on citizens' savings. While it's shared, the impact of it isn't clearly understood.
- While we know our country is in debt how we got there isn't that clear. Repaying the debt doesn't seem to be a priority.
- Currencies not based on the gold standard. What is the currency even based on now if not on something as tangible as the amount of Gold a country as?
While we haven't actually seen a tax raise in years all the above items are negatively impacting our finances in ways that are not easily understood. The information is available but the responsibility of connecting the dots has been given to the citizens knowing full well that most won't bother which allows the government to do as they please.
How many people could retire if half of their paycheque wasn't going to the Government? What's the point of saving money if it looses value every year at a rate of 2%? These are some of the frustrations from learning about these hidden, not so hidden, concepts impacting our finances.