Rod Grams: “1 week from today, we will mark the anniversary of two infamous, manmade disasters. One may slip by unnoticed. I am…”

“1 week from today, we will mark the anniversary of two infamous, manmade disasters. One may slip by unnoticed. I am certain the other will not. The first disaster we will commemorate next Tuesday is the 85th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, an event made all the more tragic because it could have been prevented. The story of the Titanic is a sad story of excess, of man's ongoing reach for something bigger, something more powerful. The second manmade disaster is the arrival of tax day. Now, I do not mean to draw a direct comparison between the loss of life in the Titanic incident and the plight of America's working men and women. But for many Americans, April 15 is another potent symbol of man's ongoing reach for something bigger and more powerful. The bigger and more powerful entity in this case is not the world's largest ship, but the largest government the world has ever known. And Washington's constant need to expand its reach has imprisoned working families in a disastrous cycle of taxation. Look what our outrageous tax burden has done to families over the past 40 years. Taxes today dominate the family budget. The annual tax bill for a typical family now averages $21,365-- significantly more than they spend on food, clothing, and shelter every year. Factor in State and local taxes and the hidden taxes that result from the high cost of government regulations, and a family today gives up more than 50 percent of its annual income to the government.”