Let’s Talk About What We’re Paying For
I made what I thought was a pretty simple post:
Before someone complains about taxes, they must list every public service they are willing to personally give up.
Roads?
Fire departments?
911?
Public schools?
Libraries?
Clean water?
Food inspections?
Go ahead. Be specific.
The responses were fascinating.
One person said they’d happily give up libraries because of a bad experience at their local branch.
Another pointed out that they have a private well and septic system.
Someone else immediately shifted the conversation to immigrants and foreign aid.
And that’s when I realized something.
We don’t actually have a tax debate in America.
We have a public services debate disguised as a tax debate.
Most people say they want lower taxes.
Far fewer can tell you exactly which services they want eliminated to make that happen.
Want lower property taxes?
Okay.
How are schools funded?
Want lower state taxes?
Okay.
Which roads won’t get repaired?
Want lower federal taxes?
Okay.
What happens to veterans’ benefits, air traffic control, food safety inspections, disaster relief, national parks, border security, Medicare, Social Security, and the military?
These aren’t trick questions.
They’re the actual questions.
The person with the private well and septic system made a fair point. There are advantages to being responsible for your own infrastructure.
I grew up with well water and septic.
I also remember the well going dry.
I remember the septic system needing repairs.
Neither was cheap.
That’s the thing about infrastructure.
You pay for it one way or another.
Either collectively through taxes or individually through repairs, fees, insurance, maintenance, and replacement costs.
The money doesn’t magically disappear because the tax bill does.
As for libraries becoming irrelevant?
That’s another conversation worth having.
But libraries today are often much more than books.
They provide internet access, job search assistance, educational programming, community meeting space, technology access, and resources for people who otherwise couldn’t afford them.
The bigger issue is this:
Too many tax debates begin with what people don’t want to pay.
Very few begin with what people are willing to lose.
And until we’re willing to answer that second question honestly, we’re not really debating taxes.
We’re just complaining about the bill.
Scarlett says no.