Column courtesy of Matthew Flaconer:

Milton Friedman said "the total tax on a people is the sum of all government spending." Government spending equals taxes. It does not matter what the government spends it on, how they collect the tax, or whether they call it a tax, a toll, a fee, an assessment or a revenue enhancement. Every nickel the government takes in comes from your pockets and more importantly does not go to a small business in our community.

Many taxes are hidden in the cost of everything you buy. Real estate taxes and impact fees are passed on to small business owners in the form of higher rents. The higher rents increase the cost of the goods you buy (which is why it is hard to get a lunch for $10 today). People are rightly upset about the recent toll increase, but you pay a toll every time you purchase something. At the gas station, at the grocery store, at your favorite restaurant. As much as 55% of every dollar you spend goes to taxes.

So what is wrong with this? The answer is high levels of government spending (taxes) are harmful to our economy. Government spending diverts money from small business and when you raise the price of goods people buy less of it. Taxpayers go out to dinner less and restaurants close. When restaurants close they lay off employees who are no longer going to the movies or getting their nails done. Increases in taxes create a downward economic spiral.

Putting numbers to this trend, government spending in all of Orange County doubled over the last ten years to $7,000,000,000 a year in 2008 (population increased about 15% using school population as a measure). If government spending increased only by the rate of inflation plus population growth, unemployment would likely be less than 8% like other states.