“We taxed ourselves out of growth.”

First-quarter growth was revised downward — way down — yesterday. Commerce had reported growth at 2.4 percent, annualized. Actually, it was just 1.8 percent. A big reason, according to CNBC.com Senior Editor John Carney:

The main culprit behind the consumer pullback seems to be what Fed ChairmanBen Bernanke calls “fiscal headwinds.” Specifically, the end of the payroll tax holiday left less money in the hands of consumers to spend. We taxed ourselves out of growth.

There’s a basic truth that those who claim the government doesn’t take in enough money fail to understand. When you take more money out of the pockets of those who earned it, they respond, and their response impacts the economy.