Lefty...Right On!!

I have always been a big Phil Mickelson fan. I live in Arizona and have had the opportunity to watch him play ever since his days at Arizona State. I love to follow him every Phoenix Open for the pure excitement that he provides, good and bad. Besides, I hate Tiger Woods.

The other day when "Lefty" said "So I'm going to have to make some changes" I thought he'd striped it down the fairway, something Phil doesn't seem to do enough of with his Driver in his hands. What he was referring to was his tax bill as a California resident. He said he was in a group targeted both federally and by the state. The fruits of his labor, something that he's worked a lifetime to perfect were going to cost him. A whole lot.

It's not usual for a professional athlete to open up about his personal finances or talk tax rates. I really cannot recall another time when I have heard anything like this. We all know these guys make a bundle and likely pay the max to Uncle Sam. This time it came from someone with a fresh take on what a higher tax bill really means and what one can do to just say no.

I had a conversation the other day over lunch with someone with a differing view on taxation and he was rather surprised by the actual math of every sixty-three cents of Phil's dollar going to the taxman. It hit me, people are either too stupid  or too lazy to do the simple math. Why is it that we only are surprised to hear those we classify as wealth object about their tax bill. Why doesn't every working American take a real look at their "take home" pay and raise a ruckus. All Americans should be united, yet there are way too many that object to the type of success that Phil Mickelson has achieved in his life. He did it all himself. No one else put in the work.

So when I heard Phil sort of backpedal and say that he no long will publicly criticize the government for taking most of his paycheck, we lost an important voice of reason. I hope Phil will reconsider and drill his Driver directly at Washington and for his sake Sacramento.