I don't know if I can live on my income or not — the government won't let me try it.

Bob Thaves (1924–2006), best known for his syndicated cartoon panel “Frank & Ernest,” also circulated one-liners that were frequently reprinted in quotation columns and humor anthologies. This quip belongs to a long American tradition of tax-humor: the speaker jokes that high taxation (especially income tax and payroll withholding) prevents him from ever discovering whether his earnings are sufficient to live on. The line is typically presented as a standalone aphorism rather than tied to a specific “Frank & Ernest” strip narrative, and it is often quoted in discussions of government revenue, personal finance, and the everyday frustrations of wage earners.

The joke hinges on a reversal of the usual problem. Instead of wondering whether one’s income is adequate, the speaker claims the government preempts the experiment by taking a portion first. Beneath the humor is a critique of the felt distance between gross pay and disposable income: what matters to daily life is what remains after taxes, not what is earned on paper. The line also plays on the language of self-reliance (“live on my income”) to suggest that taxation can make personal budgeting feel like an externally constrained test rather than an individual choice. Its punch comes from framing a political grievance as a practical, almost scientific impossibility.