Draw your own conclusions: The top marginal rate of federal income taxation is 36%. At that rate, a medicare tax of 2.9% also kicks in. Add to that five percent for the top marginal rate for Arizona state income taxes. making a total marginal rate of 43.9% marginal. When those rates are reached, a person’s itemized deductions begin to reduce. In addition, the alternative minimum tax kicks in, which has the effect of diluting the value of itemized deductions even further. If President Obama gets his way, the cap on social security tax will be eliminated, increasing the top marginal rate another 12.9%. That would make a top marginal tax rate of 56.8%. So that at the highest marginal rates, the federal and state governments will together take 57 cents of each dollar you make, leaving you with only 43 cents. If and when that happens, I personally will stop working, and take more time off.

Besides income and payroll taxes, there are many others: If you own a home, you pay property tax, regardless of how much income tax you have paid. It has gone up emormously recently. You also pay a tax on your phone bill. You also pay 8.2% sales tax in most Arizona cities. (It was four percent when I was a youngster.) You also pay a tax on each gallon of fuel that you buy. You pay taxes on your power bill and water bills. What is not taxed? Only food and medicine.

You quickly can see that taxes are ridiculously high. What do we have to show for our money? The education system is a miserable failure. Child Protective Services doesn’t seem to work very well. The border is not secure. The federal government is dysfunctional.

Republicans are Republicans because they don’t raise taxes! That’s the first step towards limiting the power of government. The power to tax is the power to take from me to give to the politically connected.

We need to let Gov. Brewer know that we want her not to raise our taxes! Find other solutions!

Rule 1: I said it but I didn’t really mean it.

Rule 2: That was then and this is now.

Rule 3: (John McCain the author, which applies only to Republicans): When I get into office I will abandon principle to get the media to like me, even though they will kick me under the bus when a real liberal runs against me.

This is the rhetoric which we receive during September – November election run-ups but. unfortunately, it always seems to be replaced by “We’re occupants of one big tent” and we “must reach out” in the post election Januaries. It seems that Gov. Brewer is continuing the tradition.

Republicans are strong and principled when out of effective power, but sadly, often do not know how to rule.

Methinks that this behaviour betrays a fundamental lack of confidence in the above stated principles, because they always seem to be set aside at the time when actual policy is being created and enforced.

Opposing a tax cut is not ideological, it demonstrates a basic knowledge of economics. Keynesians, classical economists and supply siders all agree that a tax increase in a recession is bad policy (see Hoover, Herbert). Even PAUL KRUGMAN has acknowledged a tax cut is good policy, not a tax increase.

Voting to jack up taxes of a few to continue ruinous spending beloved by many is not courageous; it is cowardly and unprincipled.

Tax increases are not a necessity, spending cuts are. If you want to bring the economy back, put more scarce resources into the hands of people with competitive incentives to use them efficiently, as opposed to the folks running the post office and the DMV, who have no competitive incentives.

Brewer is afraid of the Republic and the Star and is letting them run the state. If she breaks her oath on taxes, she should be turned out of office in the primary.