I'm a taxpayer too

For some, namely Republicans and Tea Party folks, the label of "taxpayer" is an important one, albeit in a schizophrenic way. Their status as taxpayers gives them power and a voice. The burden they carry as taxpayers gives justifies their demands. But, that burden also weighs down on them in such a fierce way that they are constantly fighting to lessen it. And the focus is very much on the burden, rather than what is accomplished by their 'sacrifice.'

I, for one, would like to help these folks out. I would like to take the label of "taxpayer" away from them. That would make their lives easier, and all of our lives appreciably better. They really should not be able to use "taxpayer" anymore.

No one should be able to make an argument for anything as a taxpayer, because I have some startling news. Those of us who disagree with you ... most of us are taxpayers too. We're Americans too. We're patriots too. We love our country too. We just don't agree with you, and what's more we're allowed to be all of those things and still disagree with you. There is no extra power in your argument because you're an American or a taxpayer. Besides, by calling yourself the Taxpayers for a better suburb or whatever it is you call yourselves, you are letting everyone know that unless they are a Republican or a Tea Party person or a self proclaimed conservative they should completely ignore you.

We should also not allow anyone to argue that a tax should be cut, without also telling us what was funded by that tax. Taxes aren't just a burden. Sometimes money raised through taxation is put to good use. Before we cut a tax, we ought to understand what we'll be losing other than the tax itself.

And, while we're at it, if we're going to hearken back to our history of fighting taxation we ought to remember the rest of the story, hell we just need to remember the rest of the phrase and what it means. "Without representation." This means that with representation (and newsflash, we have a representative system ... you can't go around saying that we are the greatest thing since sliced bread and then say that we don't have a representative government ... that would be hypocrisy) we can have taxation, and that our founding fathers were OK with taxation. Taxation isn't evil. It's actually a good thing, a good thing that pays for a lot of things that all of us benefit from.

Plus, we need to agree that just saying that taxpayers paid for something is not an argument. Yes, the free museums in Washington D.C. are supported by taxpayers. So what? Is that not a good use of money? You don't want to preserve our history and allow all of us to have access to it?

Also, the use of tax dollars to help your fellow citizens is not socialism. Socialism is another word that should be banned. At the very least it's use should be licensed. You should have to prove you know what it is before you can use it.

Really, what this comes down to, is that calling yourself a taxpayer doesn't excuse you of the need to use logic or present real support for your arguments. It shouldn't give you immunity from the burdens of common courtesy or real problem solving. It doesn't give you an exclusive patent on what is right and good and American. It shouldn't be tolerated any longer.