Why We Pay Taxes....

Today is Tax Day.  While I hate filling out the paperwork as much as the next person, I consider it my duty as an American citizen.

In response to all the Teabagging brouhaha, Jane Fleming Kleeb, head of the Democratic Young Voter PAC, wife of 2008 Senate candidate Scott Kleeb, Nebraska resident, honorary MOMocrat and all around great person wrote this on Facebook earlier today:

I pay taxes so my little girls can go to public schools #teaparty #teabagging

In the comments to that on Facebook, many people brought up other reasons they pay taxes and I realized that we need to do that here.  So I'll start the list off and I'd like everyone to add to it in the comments.

I pay taxes so....

1. uninsured children can have health care
2. children will have enough to eat
3. my country stays safe
4. my children can breathe clean air

I could go on all day, but I want to hear from all of you.  Tell us in the comments why you pay taxes.

Stephanie also blogs at Lawyer Mama and is the New Media Director for Blue Star Families.

Comments

[Donna]

I pay taxes because I like knowing that if my house is on fire, I can rely on a crew that's on call 24/7 to put it out.

[Mickiki]

I pay taxes so that our troops are fully funded as they fight the Taliban and Osama Bin Ladin in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

[PunditMom]

I pay taxes because I want to know that the roads I drive on won't stop when I cross from one state to the next (and that's really important when you live in the DC/VA/MD area!)

[cynematic]

I pay taxes because I think libraries, public schools, and public universities are a good thing.

[Melissa]

I pay taxes so NIH can do research and find things like surfactant and steroids that keep premature babies like my godson alive.

I pay taxes so my grandmother can collect my late grandfather's Navy pension and Social Security.

I pay taxes so I can take public transit to work.

I pay taxes so my daughter can go to a licensed day care center. Do you think the inspectors would work for free?

I pay taxes so I can flush my toilet and get clean drinking water. Also: heat, electricity, etc.

I pay taxes so I can have green space to roam in -- national and state parks are pretty nice.

I pay taxes so we can provide some meager assistance to those abroad.

[Sarah]

I pay taxes so that all those accused of crimes, even the poorest among us, can have the effective assistance of counsel.

[WineWonkette]

I pay taxes so that

1) when I drive through an intersection I can have the good faith belief that someone won't drive into me (traffics lights)
2) I can reasonably rely on lack of rat poison in my TEA.
3) when my brother has a heart attack while riding in a public park, emergency personnel will take him to a hospital.
4) Corporations don't dump toxins into my drinking water.
5) I don't have to pay private mercenaries to restore order during a hurricane or other natural diaster.
6) wealthy Republicans can take a day off work to have a Tea Party, obviously!

[WineWonkette]

And I pay for taxes because I am not a selfish bastard that cares only about myself and my family to the exclusion of every other person in my country.

[Julie Pippert]

Oh wow everything I had to say just dried up in the face of WineWonkette's last comment, "I pay for taxes because I am not a selfish bastard that cares only about myself and my family to the exclusion of every other person in my country."

How can I top that!

But I will add in one I tweeted earlier:

I pay taxes so when my Gov (no comment!) declares my area a disaster after a hurricane, we get FEMA in here to clear our roads and yards, provide housing for those who lost their homes, and help our community rebuild.

I pay taxes because I know they go to providing housing for our troops, because it seems the least I can do for those who provide such service for our nation is make sure they have a roof over their heads.

And for many other reasons as well as those above!

[Wendy]

I pay taxes so my daughter can have speech Early Intervention now instead of costing more education dollars later.

I pay taxes so my art teacher friend can continue her program teaching and inspiring students to express themselves and compete for the many jobs using the arts.

I pay taxes so the kids with nothing at home can have two hot meals at school before riding public transportation home.

I pay taxes so we can have tsunami monitoring on the West Coast (sorry Gov. Jindal).

I pay taxes so the Secret Service can make sure whatever some idiot threw over the White House fence is not dangerous, just tea. ;)

[Robin]

I pay taxes so illegals can live here indefinitely committing crimes against me and my family
I pay taxes so my kids can go to a crappy school
I pay taxes so there's not enough left for my kids to go to college
I pay taxes so all kinds of people can stay at home and do nothing except probably drugs and have more kids
I pay taxes so people can get every kind of freebe there is and never ever think to pay it back
I pay taxes so all the idiots in government, Republicans and Democrats, can have the ultimate in health care, cars, houses, dinners and retirement for life.
I pay taxes so that I can barely keep my business open and struggle constantly
I pay taxes so when I go to the hospital for a simple ear ache it costs $1000
I only want to pay federal taxes to protect me. Military FDA prisons etc
I only want to pay state taxes for roads police fire dept etc
That is enough!!

[LeeMan]

No one is saying "No taxes period". The upset is for some of the things that govenment is spending money on that they shouldn't be. Here is a short list of some of the things.
I don't pay taxes....
So chidren can have abortions
So that the government can bail out big corporations(yes I realize Bush did it first and I was not happy when he did it either)
Tatoo removals is California
Pet projects
Bridges for Microsoft
So the nany state can tell me what to do
To have troops in countries that we have no buisness in being

There are many more, but that should get you started ; )

[sarah]

I pay taxes so the guy who harasses me on the bus (while I'm on my way to work so I can pay my taxes) can continue to ride the bus all day instead of maybe getting a job (or help if he really needs it - doubtful)

[midlifemom]

I pay taxes because without federally guaranteed student loans and Pell Grants I wouldn't have earned a BS, a MS and a Ph.D. - regardless of how capable I was.

[Gomer Pyle]

I like our army to have big guns so we can blast punk terrorist countries that mess with us. I like our navy to have big ships so we can have Navy seals blast punk pirates who don't even say ARRRRR. I like our air force to have big planes that carry big bombs so we can blast anyone who messes with us into a billion pieces. Oh and lots of Marines that go Oorah!!!!!

[Nick]

I pay my taxes so they can be redistributed to other individuals (not necessarily American citizens) like any good socialist.

By the way, I was at a tea party and there were no "wealthy" Republicans there that I could see. And it was after work not during.

Also, the Republicans, democrats, and independents there were not protesting paying their taxes. They were protesting the unrestrained spending of our elected officials and their disdain for peaceful resistance.

But whatever CNN tells you to believe I'm sure is good enough to believe...

[Nadia]

taxes pay for community desposal pick up trucks