You Can't Call Yourself a Patriot Unless You're Willing to Pay Taxes

Taxes; the bane of every citizen's existence, the government's toll on all of us for going about and living our lives in our free socity. We all hate them, yet, at the same time, benefit from the wide variety of services they pay for while, most of the time, forgetting what they actually go towards.

While we all may not agree on each and every cause that tax money goes towards, we can't deny that they are a nessecary evil to our existance in this country we all like to call our home.

Currently our country is facing the greatest economic challenges it has seen since the early 20^th century. If our democratically elected lawmakers cannot agree to terms within the next week, we will face economic problems like none of us have ever seen. Why? Because some of our lawmakers find it unfair for the richest of the rich to see a very slight increase in their taxes in addition to fixing exploited loop holes in tax codes.

This movement to stop increases in taxes is mostly lead by ill-informed citizens who brand themselves as the "Tea Party." This group poorly attempts to embody the spirit of true Americans from Boston so many, many years ago. They have even elected officials to our main bodies of government and now threaten it's very fundamentals by practically proverbial holding weapons to it.

The lessons we were taught by the actual tea party were that our citizens would be fairly taxed by its governing body and not exploited by corrupt officials. The expression "No taxation without representation" emerged from this movement and still lives on today. Unfortunately for these people, there is fair representation in the taxes.

Today, we enjoy some of the lowest tax rates in the world as well as one of the largest disparities between the upper class and the lower class. This Tea Party's elected pawns will not allow a single adjustment in taxes or tax codes and we are all suffering for it.

Tax money goes towards countless benefits and causes such as Medicare, the V.A., our multiple wars, supporting those devestated by natural disasters, government workers (you probably know several), roads, highways, public works, public servants...the list goes on and on.

Personally, I don't make a whole lot of money (at least not as much as I should or would like to) to qualify paying for most (if any) of the proposed modest tax increases. However, as a citizen of this great nation, I would pay an increase to help my country in this time of need, especially if I had the means to do so.

If you dont feel so inclined to pay taxes, feel free to opt out of all of the wonderful public services you take advantage of probably each and every day. If a tax increase on the upper 2 percent actually affects you, welcome to the rest of the population where you have to make decisions about your spending (but probably not).

Of course, taxes suck. If you're not willing to do you patriotic duty and pay them, don't run around in red, white, and blue or wearing a flag pin or dressed as good old Uncle Sam. Certainly don't call yourself a patriot.