One last thought before I head to the VA...

and that's this fiscal cliff deal.

There's a truth buried in all of this discussion about how the end of the "holiday" for payroll taxes ending will result in most Americans breaking even between lowered income tax and increased payroll tax, or even end up paying more in total when all is said and done.

The problem with this mindset is that the "holiday" was a bad decision to begin with and was supposed to be temporary.  Temporary reductions are dangerous in taxation because the mindset of the taxpayer doesn't include temporary things.  They see more money and they expect to continue to see more money in that net paycheck.

But the Social Security system isn't being fully funded for the future of those working today at the pre-holiday rate of 6.2%.  Dropping it to 4.2% made that future even more bleak.  Now with the holiday ending, people are complaining.  They don't grasp the fact that this is a classic case of robbing Peter to pay Paul.  And we all know that only results in doing harm to Peter...in this case the future retirement of those getting the tax break today.

So when you see those higher FICA taxes in your paychecks, don't think about the fact government is taking more of your money.  Think of it as an investment in a retirement benefit for your future.  Assuming of course Social Security is still going when you retire.  It probably will be, but whether or not it will is a subject for another blog.