Thank Taxes: Putting Tax Day into Perspective
April 13th, 2011
As the tax filing deadline nears, we are given the opportunity to reflect on our shared values and the public structures we have built that embody those values. Those public structures are the foundation of our economy.
Without them, our businesses would not be able to be successful, and our families would not be able to thrive.
Things, like K-12 education that ensures opportunity for all children, affordable community colleges that prepare our workforce for jobs, police and fire protection that ensure our community well-being, and an elaborate infrastructure system of roads and utilities, are often at the top of my mind when thinking about the public structures that assert our shared values.
Our taxes also do many other things that we often take for granted. Here are just a few of the things I have had the opportunity to do today because of taxes, all before even getting to work:
- Breathed clean air
- Brushed my teeth with clean tap water
- Went for a run on a public trail
- Cooked breakfast for my family using safe food from the grocery store
- Traveled safe roads to take my son to preschool
That list does not even scratch the surface.
Taxes not only ensure economic opportunity through education, infrastructure, and public safety, but the choices we make about taxes now affect our prosperity and well-being in the future. Our parents’ and grandparents’ taxes built the interstate highway system, top notch schools and universities, health clinics, libraries and parks. I think tax day is a day to wonder: What are we building? Are we making sufficient investments to secure prosperity for the next generation?
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