Poor, Poor Lefty

So I guess we're supposed to feel sorry for golfer Phil "Lefty" Mickelson when he says that he might cut back on his golfing because higher taxes just don't make it worth the effort. "The effort," of course, being walking around a lush, well-manicured park for a few hours each month while concentrating on his golf swing.

Phil Mickelson said he will be making "drastic changes" because of recent tax increases, including California's new, highest-in-the-nation income tax on the wealthy, and he suggested that the tax was one of the reasons he withdrew from the investment group that purchased the San Diego Padres.

"There are going to be some drastic changes for me because I happen to be in that zone that has been targeted both federally and by the state and, you know, it doesn't work for me right now," Mickelson said after his T37 finish at the Humana Challenge in Palm Spring, Calif. "So I'm going to have to make some changes."

Unlike most of his fellow PGA Tour players who live in tax-friendly states like Florida and Texas, Mickelson chooses to live in high-tax California, his home state, where residents voted in November to raise tax rates to 13.3 percent from 10.3 percent for those making more $1 million.

Mickelson made over $60 million last year. I'm not a mathematician but I think 3% of $60 million is roughly $2 million. So instead of making $60 million, he'll only bring home $58 million this year.

This is a photo of Mickleson's house in California...

It's for sale for over $7 million.

There's two things I'm very sure of at this moment:

1. I don't feel sorry for Lefty.

2. Phil Mickelson voted for Mitt Romney and is a very, very loyal Republican.



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