Given what our good wingnut friends are doing today, it might be good to think about why it truly is good and patriotic to pay taxes.
The idea for this diary comes from Kansas Jackass.
Let's not forget what Oliver Wendell Holmes said about taxes.
I like to pay taxes. With them I buy civilization.
After the fold, why I gladly pay taxes.
I'm the product of public education. I do have an undergraduate degree from a private university, Northwestern, but a significant portion of my tuition was paid for by the taxpayers of Illinois and the US government.
Because of that investment in my education by the good people of Peoria, Illinois, and the US, I'm a contributing member of this country and am able to repay that investment.
Of course, this notion that government education is an investment in people showed itself with what the Navy Seals accomplished several days ago.
I pay taxes so that if my house is on fire or someone is breaking into my house I can get help.
The cars I drive, the roads I drive on, the food I eat, many of the products I buy, are all better and safer than they were several generations ago because of taxes.
I'm now 59 years old. Over a hundred years ago, most people my age were dead. I now have to consider some medical procedures and the doctor began the discussion with the notion that I'm still relatively young. Taxes made this possible.
There are many things I oppose that government does, but we live in a democracy and we have to fight to change that.
In the end, I'm proud to pay taxes. Are you proud to pay taxes, too?