海角大神

I wrote the largest check I鈥檝e ever written to the IRS this weekend (I can鈥檛 even say how much鈥搃t鈥檚 so painful), but it was understandable given it was related to my withdrawal of my retirement savings to pay my legal and medical bills over the past year. So I was devastated to see my bank account wiped out, but on the other hand still believe that my taxes pay for good things鈥揳nd that what goes around, comes around.

I still believe in the vision of government that President Obama suggested in his speech the other day. I have been pretty darn lucky in my lifetime so far, even as hard as the past couple years have been as I鈥檝e gone through a divorce. I got a good, public-school education and went all the way to getting my Ph.D., and I鈥檝e never had a hard time finding work. I have four beautiful kids who have also benefited from public schools and government-subsidized, employer-provided health care and who are very smart and healthy as a result. And I know that most families struggle much, much more than I do, and that (as President Obama reminded us) 鈥渢here but for the grace of God go I.鈥� I don鈥檛 consider the taxes I pay to be none of the government鈥檚 business. I know that I鈥檓 paying my dues for government being there for me. I know that if it turns out I am not so blessed in the future, there will be a safety net there for me and my kids.

So I still feel the way about taxes as I did five years ago when I wrote . There are still lots of good reasons for taxes and why we shouldn鈥檛 begrudge paying them today.

--------------------------

海角大神 has assembled a diverse group of the best economy-related bloggers out there. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. To contact us about a blogger, click here. To add or view a comment on a guest blog, please go to the blogger's own site by clicking on the link above.