Theres little outrage because the money is taken away in small parcels.
"How many people do you know who can afford to lose nearly $400 annually without it affecting their budgets? "
That comes to about 34$ a month. I can see A LOT of people not even noticing it.
I bet you these same "poor" people spend twice that amount in lottery tickets :o)
It's called embedded tax. It is embedded throughout the chain of manufacturing and production. In the case of a loaf of bread the taxes are included by and passed up from the seed producer, to the wheat farmer, to flour mill, to the baker, to the wholesaler, to the grocery store, and paid by the consumer at the cash register. Each stage in the chain of production includes it's own tax in its selling price. The consumer is paying a tax on a tax on a tax etc., for as many stages there are in the production chain.
On a basket of goods, 22% of the price is embedded tax.
Embedded taxes increase consumer prices by 22%.
Solution: FairTax
Geez, if the oil companies are making all this money, why not invest in them? Wouldn't take too much of an investment to make $34 a month in dividends and stock price increases.