America’s corporations are sitting on close to $2 trillion in offshore bank accounts in places like the Cayman Islands and Bermuda. That’s cash that is not being used to create jobs, build factories, or improve infrastructure. In a country where upward mobility is virtually impossible, corporations have become less committed to workers well-being and more contemptuous of their communities.

The Fox zombies are always whining that their tax dollars shouldn’t be wasted on funding for WOKE stuff like The Arts, healthcare, science, education or anything else to do with the public good, because the government has “bills to pay” and we can’t afford it. Or some such nonsense. The reality is that IF the One Percent simply paid their [already outrageously low] taxes, we’d all be living in a utopian society right now – with no need for austerity or spending cuts of any kind.

The current notion that the One Percent should be allowed to avoid paying tax is morally bankrupt, un-American and economically stupid. History has shown that when you give tax breaks to mega-corporations and the super-rich, the money goes offshore where it can maximize returns.

But when you give a tax rebate to working people and small business owners and the money is recirculated into the local economy, stimulating bottom-up demand.

Instead of viewing our responsibility as taxpayers as analogous to being mugged by the “big, evil government,” we should think of it as more of a tithing, or a fee that we pay to enjoy the comforts of modern life.

FDR once said that, “Taxes…are dues that we pay for the privileges of membership in an organized society.”

Oliver Wendell Holmes put it this way: “I like to pay taxes. With them I buy civilization.”

In civilized countries, social benefits are paid through taxation. The codes are straightforward, taxing income from labor and pensions progressively so that those with higher incomes pay more. In many cases, the government does all the calculations for you and simply sends you the bill. No need for H&R Block or TurboTax or any of those “pay-to-play tax services” – which equals more savings. Although foreign taxpayers are entitled to dispute the amount, most gladly pay up because they know what they’re getting in return.

If we believe the United States is an institution dedicated to doing good works and promoting the public interest, then we should be proud to pay our taxes so that we can contribute to a healthy society. We should feel happy about all of the good our tax dollars are doing.

The hypocrites can’t continue to support the things the government does – such as caring for the elderly, establishing justice, providing education, fighting terrorism, building roads and protecting our food and water – and still maintain that paying taxes to support those things is BAD.

Throughout history, taxes have been the lifeblood of civilization. If the government is basically good, then so are taxes. Or so the argument goes…

It’s about being part of a community and caring about future generations. People pay fees to join a gym or a country club. They didn’t pay for the facilities with their membership; they were built and paid for thanks to other members. All the current members maintain and upgrade the facilities by paying their dues. It is the same thing with America – it pays to be a member in good standing of such a remarkable nation.

When politicians talk about cutting taxes in America, they’re not talking about lowering taxes for working people. They are talking about cutting taxes for their benefactors: multinational corporations and billionaires. That’s their sole constituency. Working-class stiffs like you & me don’t count.

If we apply a true ‘tea-party’ ethos to this equation today, only the wealthy should be paying any tax because they are the only ones being represented in the current political climate.

I pay plenty of taxes and I get nothing but misery and humiliation in return. As it stands now, my tax dollars are being used to uphold an evil system committed to doing exactly the opposite of what I would choose to do with my money.

It’s time for a real tea party.

[Repost from 2016]