Taxes

Rand Paul, Libertarian Behind the Shutdown

The government runs on taxes and fees. This tends to be forgotten when rabid Libertarians rant about the evil of government. Without government, there would be no trains, buses or roads. Are those the evils they are ranting about? No. The evil they rant about is their civic responsibility to chip in and pay for things just like everybody else. 

I make very little income by modern standards, but I pay taxes on it. Every quarter, I visit the appropriate government sites and make my payments with a groan admittedly. However, I usually reflect on what a privileged life I have led due to those taxes. I have social security, in the true sense. I will struggle in old age with weakness and pains, but I can rely on having a roof over my head and something to eat. That makes me more fortunate than the vast number of aging people on the planet. 

The young and healthy have no sense of government's importance in the individual life until they collect unemployment benefits or encounter an accident which requires costly medical attention. Those who have accumulated fortunes through whatever means feel immune to need, until a major catastrophe washes away their assets. Then they are the first in line to apply for government assistance. Remember the bail-outs?

This week's shutdown of Federal services by Congress is an insult to the taxpayer. How dare they? This is tantamount to walking off the job and still getting paid for being obnoxious. This is not the fault of government. This is the fault of fanatics and those in the Republican Party who have caved to them. This is the fault of those who vote for them. You know who you are.

I have a municipal tax bill on my desk. I will pay it promptly as I always do. That is my civic duty. I do not do it because I am afraid of the consequences of not doing it. I do it because I understand that the life I enjoy in a civilized society depends on my doing it. And, as is shown by the growing avoidance of paying taxes my the wealthiest Americans, I know that American life will deteriorate as defaulting on that civic responsibility becomes a more and more popular trend.