Where those tax dollars go
I don’t know anyone who likes paying taxes, but Jim Chase’s rant against paying taxes only talks about one side of the equation [“Growing up can be so taxing,” Feb. 13].
The rather large elephant in the room that Chase doesn’t seem to notice is some of the things those taxes pay for:
• Our military personnel in harm’s way in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the up-armored vehicles they need to avoid having limbs blown off by IEDs;
• The capabilities of NASA and JPL that make us one of the few spacefaring nations in the world;
• A system of magnificent national parks and monuments for the enjoyment of all;
• The fire crews that stop wildfires before they reach homes, the police officers that respond to your 911 call and the flood control workers who clean out debris basins to protect our neighborhoods from flooding;
• The interstate highway system and other major government-funded infrastructure projects that act as a foundation for the creation of wealth and opportunity;
• Government agencies that struggle — in spite of insufficient funding — to help keep our nuclear reactors safe, our air and water pure, our medicines safe and effective, our peanuts non-toxic and our commercial aircraft properly inspected and guided safely in flight.
In other words, provide for the common defense and promote the general welfare.
Those things that I’ve mentioned are just the tip of the iceberg. If Chase wishes for some entity other than government to provide those kinds of services to the American people, and if Chase wishes not to be taxed to pay for those services, then he needs to step up and tell us who will provide those services and who will pay for them. Treating taxation as nothing more than a burden is no different than declaring that citizenship is nothing more than getting all you can for yourself, and the hell with everyone else.
Chase mentions that his son now has a “real” and “legitimate” job at Starbucks instead of the jobs he held when younger. The obvious implication is that prior to Starbucks, his son was working off-the-books for cash under the table. If that is true, I’m curious to know why Chase raised his son to behave more like an illegal alien than a responsible American citizen.
