There's a phrase that's been in use in American politics with greater frequency in the last decades that bothers me. That phrase is Taxpayer.
The use of this phrase frequently shows up in anti-Government group names which seek to limit the role of government but essentially don't like to pay taxes for anything. But I also see it popping out of the mouths of even progressive politicians (I was prompted to finally write this by seeing Jack Conway, Democratic nominee for the Senate in Kentucky, talk about how his only priorities are 'taxpayers' and 'Kentucky families').
Let's be clear here: 'taxpayers' come in many forms. They include foreign corporations, illegal immigrants, and six-year-old children. Paying taxes and being a taxpayer is not the basis for one's political and civil rights in this country. Being a Citizen of the United States is. I wish that we would return to the use of 'Citizens' when addressing the concerns of the body politic. More kvetching on the flip.
The things done in the name of "taxpayer rights" are often outright anti-Democratic. Because of initiatives here in California, the will of the majority of the people on many issues is continually thwarted. There are various now State-Constitutionally-established thresholds for passing certain kinds of taxes: 55%, 60%, even 67% of voters must say "yes" to a tax measure for it to become law. The libraries in our county and some of our towns have been closed recently even though 66% of the voters voted for initiatives to support them.
Here's another example. PG&E, our big energy company out here, is sponsoring a proposition they call "Taxpayers Right to Vote" initiative. The whole proposition, even the title, is full of lies. "Taxpayers" don't have a right to vote in this country, voters do. You become a voter by being a Citizen. The proper order of things should be "Voters Right to Tax". Yet this initiative's language would make a requirement that municipalities basically can't do anything around energy production or distribution without a vote of 2/3 of a majority (of the voters that bother to vote), which defies both the common sense definition of a majority and the role of our democratically-elected municipal officials in making decisions as duly-constituted representatives of the people.
I looked up the US Constitution. The word "Citizen" is used in 25 different spots, in many contexts. Articles pertaining to taxes are less common; the word "tax" appears only 15 times. The word "taxpayer" appears nowhere. It is true that many states had property requirements to be a voter, and that there was a tax required to vote (the odious poll taxes, which referred to a per capita tax), but these are now explicitly forbidden by the Constitution.
Citizenship means something. I find it perplexing that the same people who often yap about "taxpayers' rights" are the same ones who are so exorcised about "illegal immigrants" using up government services (when in fact undocumented persons in this country are net contributors to the government and pay more in taxes than they take out in services). If the concept of citizenship -- or Citizenship with a capital C -- means anything, it's understanding that we all have rights and responsibilities as citizens of this great country.
Not as taxpayers. I'm a taxpayer, bigtime. I accept that this is a legal category created by law that endows me with specific responsibilities, and also specific rights -- that are restricted to the tax system. Saying that because I'm a taxpayer makes me an elevated special class in society is akin to saying, oh, say, somebody who becomes a pilot by having passed an FAA certification and paid certain fees becomes an elevated member of society. It doesn't.
There's an odd parallel here between the idea of a "taxpayer" and that of a consumer. I frequently find people think that they are owed good government of a certain type by dint of the fact they pay taxes, and are correspondingly demanding. Don't demand government be efficient and wise because you pay taxes; demand it because you're a citizen, on behalf of all citizens.
Paying taxes is part of the social contract, which was well-understood by the founders. They sought to set up a regulated system by which tax laws were passed, imposts collected, and the revenues then used on the proper business of government. I welcome a discussion about what that proper role of government is. But please -- and I say this as much to progressives and Democratic candidates as anyone -- don't elevate the "taxpayer" to super-status in our political discussion. We are citizens, let us act as good citizens and address one another accordingly.
UPDATE: changed the diary title to pimp it.