The past month has been a taxing time in the American heartland state of Indiana where I reside. 2007 property taxes were adjusted for new assessments and in Indianapolis - the biggest city in the state - the average increase was 35%. Some property owners received hikes that were several hundred percent higher.

Thousands marched on the capitol in protest waving signs and shouting slogans. Demographically and politically - the protesters were representative of every section of society and the only common thread was the unwillingness to pay taxes. Of course, everyone wants the state, municipal and social services that the taxes pay for but paying the bill is not fair!

I won’t bore you with why this happened (the general theme is overspending and undertaxing), but the real lesson here is that individual citizens are in trouble financially and their primary asset (the home) is at the center of the problem. Some said they would have to sell and other said they could not sell because no one would want to buy their house even though prices were dropping. The governor stepped in and ordered that all 2007 taxes be the same as last year. It calmed the anger, it allows for time to come up with a solution and it avoided a likely tax-payer revolt. Since then, Indianapolis voted to increase income taxes to make up the shortfall from the frozen property taxes and some programs are going to be cut or underfunded.

Many Americans are struggling and even though it might be only $300 extra per year, they say they cannot afford it. So when you hear that jobs are plentiful, earnings are high, consumerism is strong, personal debt levels are fine, well I wish you were here to see a different reality.