Why do we have a government in the U.
S.
at all? Why pay taxes to any government? In our country today, taxes are an anathema.
Politicians state that tax money is the people's money and should be returned.
Otherwise raising taxes is totally unacceptable.
But that poses a major question.
If reducing taxes is good, then reducing them more is even better.
Therefore, reducing them to zero is the best.
But a government without money is anarchy.
Is that what we want? Logically citizens need to pay taxes in order to support the government to the desired level.
Taxes pay for the services which the majority of the citizens demand.
If another country attacks us, if a hurricane harms us, if a flood overcomes us, if a fire destroys our town, most of us expect or demand some level of governmental aid.
We want good roads, schools, police to keep us from harm, fire departments to save our property and many other services.
None of these services can we supply for ourselves.
The problem is determining what level and how well-financed these required services should be.
Interesting, those oppose to raising taxes are the first to complain when a fire house is closed near them.
Let's start at the beginning with very early man.
The caveman realized that he alone could not fight off large predators or other groups of rival people.
He had to do something to prevent being killed, robbed or enslaved.
Early peoples formed into groups.
No group of people could undertake any actions without someone to offer direction.
In establishing leadership people gave up some liberties or freedom.
The group became more important than a lost freedom or a potential loss of life.
Time went on, people formed bigger groups.
The leaders became kings.
A king knew that he needed support from those he ruled in order to perform what his subjects demanded of him.
The serfs offered a portion of what they grew, by way of food, for those who ruled over them.
This was a prior form of taxation.
Those above the serfs, the petty-landowners offered the kings military service, upon demand.
Everyone was relatively satisfied.
People knew their place and responsibilities to others.
Everyone did their assigned job and obtained a peaceful existence.
Each person was surrendering some form of liberty, including the king.
He specified the duties and responsibilities he had to those he ruled over.
There were major problems from highway robbers when a person left the immediate boundaries of the castle or walled town.
Therefore, the king knew he had the responsibility of maintaining what was then called, "the king's peace.
" That was safe and free passage over the byways of the kingdom.
As any government developed, more and more services were demanded of the kingdom or successive governments.
Safe passage over roads soon meant better roadways.
Some form of policing the roadways was also required.
The people keeping the peace in those early times were not actually policemen.
But in essence what they were doing was policing the byways.
Man required water from the beginning of time.
Free water was a major concern of the central governments from early times, like in the Greek and Roman periods.
Personal protection also was important.
Local governments had to build, rebuild, and them enlarge the walls of the towns in early times.
The towns had to have a secure water and food supply, as did castles.
Walled towns required paved street and sewage facilities.
These items were necessities in confined spaces.
Parks replaced common areas in towns or villages.
Fire protection eventually became a service provided by many governments.
This was necessary when whole cities burned because of no organized fire response.
Governments found that more and more services were a necessity with the passage of time.
The early church offered medical and hospital services.
These services were later assumed by more advanced societies.
Government courts replaced or acted in conjunction with church courts.
People demanded justice when surrendering to police power.
One of the earliest services was aid to the poor.
In Dickens's books it had the Work House that was the offering for the destitute.
Every religion has had a universal mandate to aid the less fortunate.
These are requirements found in the Bible and the Koran but then dumped on the governments.
Governments throughout history required some kind of income to pay for the required and/or even demanded services.
A king could look at the size of any parcel of land and estimate the income brought in by that land.
Early on the real estate tax was the easiest and fairest tax.
Land was the sole source of most incomes until the industrial revolution.
(After that land became a liability.
It no longer was the major source of income.
) There were also additional forms of taxation.
All taxes must seem to be fair and to be paying for the required services.
Throughout history that was not the case.
Nobility, the wealthiest people were often exempt from taxation.
Kings would proclaim other countries a threat, was a ploy to obtain increased taxes.
Wars or potential wars were the easy excuse.
Citizens will always find it necessary to pay taxes in order to cover the costs of needed and required services.
Lighted paved roads, schools, government buildings, parks, hospitals, police and fire stations along with armies, navies and post offices, are improvements from previous generations.
Our ancestors left these services to us improved from their past.
We have a responsibility to do the same for our progeny.
This takes money.
As the world population increases we will need additional parks, police stations, firehouses, roads, and schools.
Raising taxes is inevitable.
But we should not waste money on fool's errands.
We will probably need to give up some luxuries.
Our parents and grand parents did that for us.
We will have to do the same for our children and our grandchildren.
We must recognize what governments are, do and needed to do.
We must pay for services and improvements.
We can't leave our offspring with unpaid bills.
The Federal Government will barely be able to pay the potential interest on the debt that we are leaving to the next generation, with a government unable to do much more.