“Good article. I know I am feeling less “patriotic” these days.”
Yes, a good article...but I certainly don’t agree that paying income tax is the “glue” that holds our society together, or that income tax — or taxation in general — provides the “much needed revenues” for the federal government. Anything beyond the night-watchman function of the state (i.e., defense) is illegitimate and represents an encroachment of the state into personal liberty, which DOES hold our society together.
The reason the elites’ non-payment of taxes is unacceptable is not that it proves they are unpatriotic; it is unacceptable because it implies that only they are permitted to live as free citizens while the rest of us are expected to be serfs.
Good point. It isn’t the “privilege” of paying taxes that motivates people to be good citizens. But still, there is a fine balancing act in a nation such as ours between expecting some sacrifice of everyone and asking for too much sacrifice. When taxes are kept at a reasonable level, most people won’t balk at paying them, especially if they see the benefits coming back to them in terms of national defense, interstate highways, and such. The problem is, the balance right now is way out of kilter. As you noted, too many are not paying anything (and still getting “tax credits” or “rebates”), added to the others who are wealthy and not paying or paying only when they get caught. We have always had those wealthy enough to shelter their income but it has been less common or at least open that they are also dictating tax policies for the country Now we have Kennedys, Buffet, Soros, Gates, Geitner, etc making laws to force us to pay more while they exempt themselves.
One thing I fear is a time when the underlying anger of the populace—at a lot of issues like taxes, corruption, immigration, crime—suddenly boils over. An old saying is “Beware the anger of a patient man”. Everytime we see someone get away with cheating at taxes, someone exempt themselves from rules for others, someone walk free because of a legal technicality, someone illegally here demand we support them, the anger grows. Unless it is released from time to time by seeing justice apply, it just builds up steam until it blows even a metal pressure cooker. At this point, I don’t think it would take much to blow out, and the more pressure put on the middle class, the sooner it will blow. (I’m not saying there’s going to be bloody revolution or anything like that, but I think you will see people just dropping out of the civic contract, refusing or failing to pay taxes, refusing to pay fees, opening more underground markets, a whole host of efforts to stop feeling like a slave to the government.)