Lower Taxes and the Funding of America
Sarah Palin declared to Joe Biden during the VP debate, “You said recently that higher taxes or asking for higher taxes or paying higher taxes is patriotic. In the middle class of America, which is where Todd and I have been all of our lives, that’s not patriotic.”
On this statement, Thomas Friedman writes, “What an awful statement… I only wish she had been asked: “Governor Palin, if paying taxes is not considered patriotic in your neighborhood, who is going to pay for the body armor that will protect your son in Iraq? Who is going to pay for the bailout you endorsed? If it isn’t from tax revenues, there are only two ways to pay for those big projects — printing more money or borrowing more money. Do you think borrowing money from China is more patriotic than raising it in taxes from Americans?” That is not putting America first. That is selling America first.”
As much as I hate having money taken from me, taxes are the dues we pay to be a part of the American Club. No alternative system (where taxes are unnecessary) has yet to be devised that ensures cooperation on such things as public works projects or national defense.
However, our current tax code is so complicated and overextended that has every single line protecting some interest group. We do need a simpler, more easier to understand method of taking our money. Does anyone even know how many pages the U.S. tax code is anymore?
Weekend reading assignment: read the U.S. tax code.
taxes are the dues we pay to be a part of the American Club
It should be considered differently. Our taxes should be considered a privilege by those we elect to spend our hard earned money (including paying them to represent us) in the most possible frugal, responsible manner possible. And not considered a privilege for us taxpayers to keep.