Reader: Do the Math Before You Vote and Choice is Clear

To the Editor:

The Democratic platform is more government. The Republican platform traditionally is less government. So let's do the math to see which platform makes fiscal sense.

Hire a public employee for $100,000. Government pays the $100,000 (plus benefits). Employee pays federal income taxes of $28,000. Net cost to the government in simple terms: $72,000 (plus those costly benefits)

Move that job to the private sector. Private employer pays $100,000 (plus benefits). Employee pays federal income taxes of $28,000. Net cost to the government in simple terms: $0. Net gain to the government in simple terms: $28,000

Taxes are more complex than this, but the concept is clear. Government jobs cost more than they bring in. Thus the government can only sustain so many jobs before it runs out of money. For the government to survive the private sector job market must be larger than the government by at least 3 times.

If 47 percent of the population is receiving some kind of government check, then the country is not bringing in sufficient taxes to offset the outlay of public subsidies (entitlements, etc.).

This simple math doesn't account for so much more federal overhead like the cost of all those government buildings, supplies, regulations, the military, CIA, FBI, prisons, the bribery handouts to countries that hate us, supporting the UN, building roads and bridges and dams and public parks.

For America to survive, it must tighten its fiscal belt. The only fiscally responsible position is to vote to support the Republican platform.

Joan Liska, Middletown