Thanks for Taxes!

Suppose that you work at a store and a person walks in, picks up a new DVD player, and then takes it out of the store without paying for it. The store alarm goes off and you rush over to check the person's receipt. The person says that he really didn't want to pay the money for the DVD player and that it was unfair for you to make him pay for it; he thinks he should get to have it for free.

Does this sound far-fetched? I hope it does, but the concept is actually quite common. At this time of year (Spring), we're reminded of the taxes that are due to the Federal and State governments. You have probably had the shock of looking at your paycheck stub and seeing the difference between the gross pay and the net pay. Is it fair for the government to take so much money from us? Not unless they are giving us something in return...which in fact they are.

Think through some of the things that government provides for us: military defense, public schools, roads, law enforcement, health standards, etc. These things and more are such a part of our daily life that we take them for granted. Once we recognize what we're getting in return for our taxes, it's easy to see that they're not all that bad.

Not only are taxes not inherently bad, here are two reasons that they are good:

1. If I tried to purchase the same goods or services with my own money that the government does, it would cost me substantially more because the government can buy things in bulk and therefore get a huge discount.
2. If I was responsible for paying for things out of pocket, I would probably be a little stingy. I would not take care of everything that I probably should. If everyone is like me, our communities could quickly become run down due to people not wanting to pay for things like maintenance and public services.
   

Most of the campaign promises that I hear regarding taxes have to do with lowering them or maintaining their current level. When I hear that, I get nervous. The government can only spend the money it has, and I don't want to lose any of the services that we currently have, and I don't want a bunch of people to lose their jobs due to government budget cuts.

I think that the real thing people want to see is that the government is being wise with the money they have. The government's job is to be wise spenders with the best interest of the country--not themselves--in mind. The citizen's responsibility is to vote for representatives that they believe will represent them in making laws, then cheerfully "chip in" for the goods and services that they receive.