LIARS, LIARS, AND DAMN LIARS!

"I am going to CUT your taxes!" As soon as you hear a politician, any politician say that, first, think "They are a dirty, stinking, rotten liar!" (DSRL's) This is the season where many politicians running for a wide variety of offices are saying that and each one is DSRL. No matter what party or office (excepting US President) they are a DSRL. Why can't politicians cut your taxes? Because of what taxes are used for, things you want!
This was an exercise I used in my classes. Students listed all the things that government (any) does FOR you. The list filled the board--providing roads, education, police protection, fire departments, snow plowing, libraries, museums, clean water, garbage pick-up, sewerage, courts, a system of laws, prisons, military protection, and on and on. Then, the questions, first, "Which of these things do you want done away with?" and a consensus had to be reached to eliminate anything. So, some wanted museums or libraries scrapped as they did not use them, and just as quickly, others protested that they did use them and wanted them kept. Eventually we decided that we (collectively) WANTED these things to be kept. Then, the next question, "How do we pay for these services?" Easy answer--taxes. Then the big conclusion, if these are good things that we want and taxes pay for them, then by the old mathematical reasoning, if A = B, and B = C, then mustn't A = C?, we can conclude that if services are good and services are paid by taxes, then taxes are good!
WAIT! I've always heard that taxes are bad, especially high taxes. Which of the services that government provides do you want to take care of yourself? Sewerage? Garbage? Fire protection? I've never had to use the fire department, but I am more than willing to pay taxes to have them there if I ever do need them. I'm glad that the government has a system of laws and courts and prisons. I like clean water and safe foods and traffic laws and police and ....... These are not free. Our taxes pay for everything that government provides to us and they provide a lot.

Now Mr./Ms Politician comes along to promise lower taxes. Your question back to them should be "What are you going to cut from the services I receive to lower taxes?" Usually you will get a response that indicates that they will get rid of wasteful programs. Which ones? They will eliminate waste in government. Good, no one is in favor of waste. But, your waste may be my favorite service. Is there significant waste ending to significantly reduce your taxes or does your tax money make your community, state, nation the type of place you want to live?

Many communities have boulevards or gardens or park areas where landscaping and flower planting takes place. Your tax dollars pay the parks department to do that. Is that a waste? Would you be happy if your local government decide to end that and pave over those areas so as not to have to cut grass or care for those areas at all? I choose to live where that flower planting is done. It was beautiful this summer. Spend my tax dollars on some of that. I like it.

Taxes are good.