I track my finances carefully with quicken categories. I track taxes, savings, investments, and consumption separately. Over the past ten full years, my taxes paid are more than 120% of what my wife and I have spent for our total living expenses and all categories of consumption.
If those tax dollars had been spent for defense or for infrastructure like highways, ports, etc, I would have little to complain about. But since two out of every three tax dollars are spent by Democratic politicians to buy votes through socialism, I feel and realize that I am not as well-off as a serf or an endentured servant; I am a victim of involuntary servitude.
If you track your finances in Quicken or some other personal financial tracking program, you can set up classes or simply create a category called consumption, one for taxes, one for savings, and one for investments and move your other categories of expenses under consumption. I chose this because it allows me to track the four major areas of interest to me quickly, efficiently, and accurately. If you do track your expenses, how do your taxes compare with your total true cost of living? Are you a slave and simply haven't realized it yet?
There is a rather diabolical sleight of hand when you pay federal, state, and local property taxes. People should reflect on the taxation burdens of our a dual citizenship status - being docked for U.S. federal and state. Add property taxes and it's triple citizenship. What a farce!
Whoever invented the idea that you OWE money to the government for your own house? Lucifer, maybe?