Legislators often fall prey to the no-tax lobbyists, those alt-right yawpers who believe that highways build themselves, the police work for free, hospitals and clinics operate gratis, schools are free and the grass in parks cuts itself, that the lights come on and the water flows from the faucet and the trash removes itself – among other things.
A county, township, and city, if worth inhabiting, involve expenses (taxes); even the dead (cemeteries) need attention.
The road to a farm needs upkeep for obvious reasons, as do our streets, bridges and highways. Thus the quality of life in a place depends upon the wisdom of its governors and the understanding of its taxpayers.
People understand and approve of taxes when they know the investment is wise and proper. Taxes are not evil, they are not something to dread. Taxes are the lifeblood of a community; the good ones avoid anemia, even if it seems painful, because the wise citizen knows that a community operating on the cheap is likely a community heading for the cellar.
Kansas has fallen victim to no-tax fanatics only to come face-to-face with bankruptcy; its services, from law enforcement and transportation to public health and education, have withered and are growing wretched. Each day, or week, that we go without fessing up and adding up, is a day or week that we fall further behind, and the bill for this negligence grows higher and higher.
It will cost us a lot to make up, and more to pick up, where we left off five or six years ago. But if we care at all about our communities, our state, its government, we will pay up – and vow never to fall for that “no-tax” lunacy ever again.
By now the smart people should know the difference between being frugal and being cheap.
‒ JOHN MARSHALL
John,
You mean the other guys should be paying more taxes, not you – right? Lets see you last 3 tax returns, Big Spender.