BREAKING NEWS: There were two explosions this afternoon at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. There are initial reports of multiple people killed and others with serious injuries. 

Happy Tax Day! 

It's April 15th -- the day every Washington liberal loves -- Tax Day! That's the day when you pay for their big government schemes. Here are some interesting facts to keep in mind as you are writing that check to Uncle Sam and rushing to the Post Office. 

• The tax code is roughly 74,000 pages long. In comparison, the Bible is roughly 1,300 pages. (And the Bible requires you to give only 10%!) 
   
• The fiscal cliff deal in January raised the top tax rate to nearly 40%. Partly because of that deal the government estimates it will take in record revenues this year. Yet even with these record revenues, Obama just released a budget with a $744 billion deficit. 
   
• Despite the left's claims, the tax code is very progressive. In 2009, the top 1% of earners paid 37% of all income taxes collected by the government. The top 10% of earners paid 70% of all incomes taxes collected by the government. 
   
• "Tax Freedom Day" this year is April 18th -- five days later than last year. That is how long it takes for the country to earn enough money to pay the nation's tax bill. If you factor in deficit spending, Tax Freedom Day is May 9th.

Obama's Medicare Tax Increase 

As we reported last week, President Obama's budget aggressively targets the rich with even more tax increases. But as folks dig deeper into the proposal, they keep finding hidden tax increases on the middle class. For example, the president wants to dramatically expand means testing for Medicare recipients. 

His budget calls for the creation of nine income brackets (five new brackets in addition to the four already existing brackets) that will increase Medicare premiums as a recipient crosses the threshold into each higher bracket. Currently, five percent of Medicare recipients pay higher premiums as a result of the existing means testing formula. 

Conservatives have often agreed with this approach, which started in 2007 under President George W. Bush. But Obama's plan has a major problem: It does not adjust any of the figures for inflation, and as a result over next decade it will hit 25% of all Medicare recipients -- reaching deep into the middle class. 

Don't miss what is actually happening here. This approach looks like it goes after only the rich, but it is essentially raising taxes on the middle class. As incomes increase due to inflation, you're not getting any richer. But you will be paying more for your health care because the inflation will push you into higher premium income levels. 

We have been telling folks that there is no way to balance the budget just by sticking it to the rich. As Margaret Thatcher famously said, "The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money." There are not enough rich people to tax. So the politicians use inflation to paint a big bull's eye on the back of the middle class. 

By the way, Obama is proposing to do this again with his "chained CPI" plan for Social Security. 

The question is: Why are some conservatives acting as though this is a good idea? The left wants to take more money away from the middle class and give it to the poor. It makes total sense for liberals, who want as many people dependent on the government as possible. 

Conservatives don't believe the poor are truly helped by government transfers of wealth, but by hard work and economic growth. That will be harder without a growing middle class. 

Defending Faith & Family 

Last week I joined a dozen pro-family leaders in signing a letter to RNC Chairman Reince Priebus warning him not to take values voters for granted after the Republican Party's so-called "autopsy" report suggested that the GOP might also "evolve" on certain social issues. For the moment at least, it appears as though our message was received. 

At its spring meeting in Los Angeles Friday, the Republican National Committee UNANIMOUSLY approved a resolution reaffirming the party's platform position on marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Committee members also approved a resolution calling on the Supreme Court to uphold Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act. 

That's encouraging. It is worth pointing out that this was not a vote of Beltway consultants, but elected party leaders who are closest to the grassroots activists at the state and local level. The contrast between the two parties on values issues will, for the time being, remain clear and stark. 

By the way, the effort to normalize polygamy is well under way. Check out this column at Slate. The conclusion says it all, and it is exactly what conservatives have warned about for years: