It’s that time of year again, and I’m not talking about the upcoming NFL draft, the NBA playoffs or even the beginning prognostications of the 2012 MLB season. I’m talking about taxes.
April 15 is as much “around the corner” as it can be, and who isn’t excited about that?
In some respects paying taxes is just like Christmas (kind of), at least in the “White Elephant” sort of way. You throw some money into a pot with everybody else’s money (ideally) — and poof — we all get stuff!
It’s a lot like poker, too, only with taxes, we all win. To think, we don’t even have to wear those silly sunglasses or neon visors to do so.
Some, however, as State Press columnist Carlos Alfaro highlighted earlier this week, choose instead the path of The Grinch, or non-believer — a hater, if you will — when addressing the absolute awe and beauty that is tax season.
Alfaro used an analogy of a “thief” stealing “a small amount of cash” from a “rich man” (why not “a woman,” or “person?”), and asked how the immoral act of stealing can be “OK,” regardless that, by Alfaro’s own admission, “both involved parties are essentially OK” in the end. He went on to admit that some use of taxes are beneficial, but that somehow doesn’t actually “justify taxation” in his argument.
Implying that the government is akin to organized crime, Alfaro maintained that, while everyday people like you and I have to “work and produce products, services or voluntarily trade to make an income,” government (in Alfaro’s assumption) does not.
Thankfully, my colleague Savannah Thomas in her Tuesday column pointed to several key areas where, in fact, the government does work to produce a product or service. Because they’re worth being reminded of, here was her list in no particular order: national defense, public schools, police and fire departments, life-saving scientific research, providing public defenders, financial aid to students, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
While every cent isn’t represented on that list, the point is clear: If you are born in the U.S., or an immigrant, you are expected to adhere to the “laws and regulations of the state,” which includes — gasp — paying taxes. That’s the point. This isn’t Nazi Germany.
Being frustrated with how your taxes dollars are spent is understandable. As an American, you have a say in where your money goes. It’s called voting. Provided you’re 18 or older, legally registered and not a felon, you get to vote.
If breaking the law is how you wish to express your freedoms, fine. That’s your right. Many have paid with their lives (and even money) to ensure that right for you. Make the best use of your time (and money) as you can. But remember — others have paid it forward in ways you could never imagine just so we can be here now. Fight it if you want, or do your part.
Personally, I’m going to pay my taxes. I like drinking clean water, walking on sidewalks and going to bed at night knowing that I live here. If I can pay rent, ATM surcharges and insulting transaction fees for small purchases, then I can pay my taxes.
So should the rest of you.
Reach the reporter at jbfortne@asu.edu
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