A coworker noticed his paycheck was a few dollars short this month. And yes, more taxes are being withheld than they were a couple of months ago. When Obama took office, he provided a “tax cut” to a large swath of the population, but he did it by changing tax withholding rules, which meant everyone got a few dollars more in their paycheck. Most of us maybe got enough to pay for an extra movie ticket—two if you’re paid monthly. Raise your hand if you noticed.

Thought so.

So, along comes January and the tax cut expires so people’s tax withholding goes up, and that some people notice. There are lots of reasons, some of them trenchant and sarcastic, but mostly I think people will just tend to notice when they get less when they may not notice just a little more.

The net effect, though, is that no one knows they got a tax cut but the first thought many people had when they opened the first pay package of the year was: damn. Obama snuck in a tax hike.

No credit for a tax cut. But full blame for a tax hike which did not happen. What brain trust did that amateur-hour policy come out of?

The Democratic party. Of course.

Perhaps this should be a post about health care reform instead. But if you’re wondering to yourself how a party with the strongest political majority in generations—even after Tuesday night’s shameful loss in Massachusetts—can fail to pass any substantive legislation, turn that story over in your head. See if the light doesn’t dawn.