How Taxes are Good

People have come to equate "taxes" with "evil". The fact is without taxes we would not have roads, schools, prisons, a legal system that, at least in theory, is unbiased; killer-catchers, fire- fighters, parks, public beaches, air quality control, health inspectors for restaurants, running water, sewer systems, flood channels that keep the city from flooding every storm season, or someone to rescue you when you have perpetrated the terrible sin of making a nearly fatal mistake of any kind.

And if you are so unfortunate as to die for any reason, it's tax money that carries your body to a nice cool place where it won't rot on the street and disturb the neighbors. Taxes are good if well spent. Life is expensive. Payment should be fair, and there is much debate about the definition of fairness, but next time someone dismisses taxes as simply wrong or bad, consider providing ballast.