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I liked the sentiments expressed by Chad at UtahOpinions about paying a fair share for government. It’s easy to accuse those who advocate for smaller government of being stingy, selfish, or just not wanting to work for the best good of society, but many people feel like this:
Believe it or not I am proud to pay taxes to support our national interests (i.e. national security, immigration, roads, airports, etc.). But my pride ends there. . .
It is also a reminder to me why I joined the Republican party in the first place. As part of the Republican platform are these statements:
- I BELIEVE government must practice fiscal responsibility and allow individuals to keep more of the money they earn.
- I BELIEVE the proper role of government is to provide for the people only those critical functions that cannot be performed by individuals or private organizations and that the best government is that which governs least.
- I BELIEVE the most effective, responsible and responsive government is government closest to the people.
Huh? You mean Republicans stand for these principles? Well, at least I know I do and I thought Republicans did.
Chad does a nice job of breaking down how much he’s paying in taxes for various government programs. Like Chad I’m proud to pay my fair share for government. I won’t go to any lengths to minimize my tax burden, I just take whatever deductions are simplest and that makes it easy for me to forget why most people find tax season such a headache – I do my taxes in a matter of two hours because I don’t do any financial contortions to reduce my tax burden.
That does not stop me from doing anything I can to remind my representatives that I’m looking for government to do as little for me as possible – I’d rather be responsible for my own success or failure without paying for a government safety net (with all it’s inflations of inefficiency) for everyone regardless of the legitimacy of their need.
2 replies on “Proud To Pay My Share”
I loved Chad’s post. But in today’s society, it seems that Americans have generally turned JFK’s statement on its head. Only a few ask what they can do for their country. Most ask what their country can do for them. And many buy into the class warfare slop, expecting the “rich” to pay an even greater share of their resources, so that these folks can ask their country to do even more for them. (Heck, the rich can afford it, they think. Never mind that government puts these reources to less efficient uses than the private sector, meaning less jobs and opportunity.) And I’m just talking about Republicans!
Sad but true. There are plenty of Republicans asking what their country can do for them – specifically they want it to give their taxes back while micromanaging their local school system. These same Republicans deride those Democrats who honestly believe that what they can do for their country is find a way to afford a universal health care system. While I don’t believe that can or should be done I can still recognize the difference between those who want something for nothing and those who are really trying to make the best use of our resources. (I think that might be part of the problem – we talk about “our resources” rather than “my resources and your resources.”)