Stop raising taxes

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The following is a piece I will talk at a local toastmaster club.

Thank you, Toastmaster! Fellow member and distinguished guests!

The current issue of Forbes carried a story on how taxes change human behavior! That got me thinking about the rising tax burden facing all of us!

Yes. We are all nice people. Who wouldn't want to provide high quality education for our kids, free healthcare for seniors living under poverty and fancy sport facilities for all Ohioans? All noble causes! And all these good deeds don't cost that much. The new Worthington school levy will only cost $530 more on top of the $4537 we are already paying a year. I mean, who doesn't have additional $500 flowing around in his house, or hers. The added city income tax will only cost $500 more a year. A little bit here, a little bit there. But if we add each and every tax up, the figure is staggering. Remember, every tax dollar collected by the government is one dollar you can't spend on your kid, your parents and yourself.

The ever increasing tax is supporting waste, duplication and other irresponsible fiscal behaviors in our government. It is impossible to list all the extravaganzas in 7 minutes. I will only list three examples. In Worthington school district, the enrollment is down and expected to continue, but the labor contract contains element guaranteeing an automatic 5% annual raise. Revenue is down, the need is down, but the cost is up. The trend is continue. How irresponsible! Another one, can anyone tell me why we have so many layers of government? We have state government, city government, county government and township government, school board, sport board and bill board! When a company gets bloated, it is wise to cut the middle layers to make the structure more flat, more effective. The same for Ohio government! Another one, trash removal. Aren't we going to save a buck if the city pay Waste Management to do it? If so, why not sell the equipment and personal to Waste Management? Cut the refuse division!

The ever increasing tax burden will also drive jobs out of Ohio! As communication technology advances, a lot jobs no longer require worker stay in a certain location. Working from home becomes more and more popular. Given a choice getting the same salary, performing the same function for the same boss from Florida where I pay no income tax or from Ohio where I pay 7%, I will choose working from Florida. Here is a more extreme scenario. I can stop working or work on less pay but more flexible jobs. My living standard will not go down. Actually, it will go up! Since I have more time, I can enjoy the sport facilities, public library and metro park more often. Those are funded by tax while I pay no tax or very little tax. Not a bad deal! Also, the state and local law subsidizing poor seniors regardless if they ever paid taxes before will only attract people around the globe to retire in Ohio, people who pay no Ohio tax or as a matter of fact, no US tax when they are working but enjoy the benefits funded by Ohio tax when they are not working.

In summary, raising tax will tempt both government and individual with unproductive behaviors. More importantly, we can't afford more taxes in Ohio!