Cost Of Living As Relates To Government.

Every elected official I know of is worried about the cost of living. The middle class is said to be the hardest hit, yet the middle class has more available income than the lower class does.

Part of the high cost of living, in any area of the United States, is directly related to the fees government charges for nearly every thing. Run up the price of water, sewer, garbage collection, and business licenses. The price of everything goes up and, according to some; elected persons are caught by surprise.

How can this be? Three counties in Oregon have just voted to increase property taxes by twelve dollars a month. This means that every business will raise the price of everything accordingly. Landlords will raise rent prices, forcing business owners to raise prices of everything that they sell. It drives up the cost of food, cars, insurance, transportation, utilities everything does mean everything.

The much storied, harried, middle class is not going to grumble much about the increase in their property taxes. They will grumble some about the price of a candy bar, or sofa, increasing by two percent. The lower class has no recourse but to cut their spending. They cannot pay the additional cost of goods, like food or healthcare, so they drop their health insurance and then purchase less.

The result, since there are more lower income people than middle, or higher income people, is business go out of business. Unemployment increases; commerce halts, and elected persons increase the cost of services to counter a loss of income.

A viscous cycle that feeds the cost of living and directly forces the lower income families do go without. The new administration has given no indication that they care about the working poor. On the contrary, they are worried about the middleclass. After January twentieth becomes history the working poor will be forgotten.

Government accounts for ten percent of the cost of living and I cannot find a single elected person that really cares. Raising the price of goods and services makes sense in good economic times but make no sense at the present time.

What would happen if government froze their payroll or put a cap on income when money becomes tight? The cost of living would become static or drop. How would that be bad?
Egor