Taxes

Question of the Week:

Why Do We Have to Pay Taxes?

Why do we have to pay taxes?

I asked my kids to ask me some political questions to get the ball rolling here. This is the question that immediately rolled off the tongue of my oldest.

Thanks for starting me off with a non-partisan issue my little cherub.

*Yer mom.

The age old question, how shall I answer thee??

Because a bunch of rich old assholes want to take our cash and keep it for themselves?

Hahahaha, just kidding. Or am I? I suppose it depends on who you ask.

This is a multi-layered subject with multi-layered opportunity for perception. Here's mine:

We're taxed because we like driving on roads and teaching our kids and having the flames engulfing our houses extinguished. We pay taxes because we care about helping impoverished nations, impoverished children in our own nation, and about the elderly and their health.

Some of the reasons we're taxed are for things we don't always agree with, for instance I'm not a fan of war yet the majority of the United States budget is dedicated to funding the military industrial complex.

Basically what it boils down to is this: The Constitution's very first line:

"We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish..."

Taxes.

Okay, maybe the first line doesn't end on the word "taxes" but for the sake of answering this question I think we can pretend it does...

What do YOU guys think? Am I right? Or should I shove a boot in my mouth?