Michele Bachmann: “It strikes me to think that the serfs in the Middle Ages paid over about 25 percent of what they earned in the year to a…”

“It strikes me to think that the serfs in the Middle Ages paid over about 25 percent of what they earned in the year to a nobleman. We could only wish, many of us, that 25 percent was our total tax burden. We haven't seen that in this country for many, many years. It is almost unthinkable that the serfs in the Middle Ages would be better off from a tax point of view than the average American taxpayer today. We are far beyond 25 percent of our income. As a matter of fact, don't you agree, Congressman, that it would be I think very enlightening for most Americans to learn that they spend more on their tax bill, they pay more on their tax bill, than they do for food, clothing and housing combined? The average American works 108 days to pay for their food, their clothing and their housing. They work on average 113 days to pay their tax bill. Just think of that. Those are necessities that Americans can't do without. You have to have food, you have to have clothing, you have to have housing. But the one thing that will happen is that you will go to jail if you don't pay your tax bill.”