What do March 25, April 9 and April 15 have in common? It’s “Tax Freedom Day” for Alaska, the United States and Washington state. Respectively, we taxpayers spend 23 percent, 27 percent and 29 percent of our work year paying Uncle Sam’s taxes.

Washington state has the fifth highest tax burden in the nation. In other words, here in Washington you don’t take home a paycheck until after April 15. The rest of the year you get to keep your money.

As bad as that seems, we’ve got it easy compared to businesses. Nov. 26 is known as “Black Friday” not for doom-and-gloom, but because it’s the day businesses stop running in the red and start making a profit. Though this is not a perfect analogy, it is startling to realize that a businessman does not keep any of his money until after Thanksgiving. When businesses stay in the red, they close their doors and your neighbor loses his job. Those of us still employed make up the difference with Uncle Sam; a gift from the Bush-Obama administration.

Today’s businessman spends 82 percent of his year paying taxes and bills before turning a profit. In consumer lingo, a businessman doesn’t get a paycheck until after Thanksgiving! Those job creators who stay in the black “give thanks” for “Black Friday.”

Next time you pass a business, say a prayer for the workers and owners because they have one hell of a fight keeping their doors open in these over-taxes, over-regulated, high-unemployment times.

Ken Morse