taxes and politics

I have friends and family who will vote for the Republican ticket in the presidential elections next month. This disheartens me to no end. The main reason I hear is because of taxes - they don't want to pay more taxes. For some, it's because they have a very high income and they want to protect their assets. For others, they feel they pay too much. They want their taxes cut. Well, what do they think happens when taxes are cut? How will they receive public services? How will their communities remain nice places to live? How do they think their standard of living will go up?I wish someone would say that it is patriotic to pay taxes, because taxes are what keep our communities and our country running (addendum - Joe Biden did say this during the VP debate).

I have my summer property tax bill right in front of me. It is for $3,179.72. It covers public schools, city services, and county education - special ed and community college. I believe these are all services that benefit my family and community. We have a terrific library. We have beautiful public parks, we have our garbage picked up and our roads plowed in winter. We have children with severe physical and mental disabilities who need special care. Why wouldn't I want to pay for these services?

The taxes I pay through my paycheck mainly come back to me in terms of Medicare and Social Security and are based on my income. Currently I am supporting people who are already on Medicare and Social Security, and the generation behind me will support me.

Of course, there are all kinds of additional taxes. On meals. On material goods. On clothing. On cars, on gas, on cigarettes, on airplane tickets. Taxes are so woven into our lives that it is impossible to even sort them out. So which taxes or what part of taxes are you against? What part of your lifestyle do you want to give up? How will your quality of life improve if you pay less taxes? How much money do you think it will add up to? What will you do with that money that will change the quality of your life so dramatically that you will vote Republican over Democrat?

The Republicans, under the leaderless George W. Bush have destroyed the integrity of our country. They have trashed trust, respect, and honor. They have hijacked honesty. Do those of you who don't want to pay more taxes want to continue this secretive, arrogant, narcissistic, bullying presidency? Is it really worth that much to you not to pay more taxes (vs. tax breaks) in order to bring our country back to one of dignity? I guess we'll find out when we know who our next president is.