This year, paying taxes will seem more painful to many people. It is obvious that government has let people down all over the planet. Here in the US, government has mismanaged the nation's financial regulatory system with disasterous results for the majority of American citizens and taxpayers.
Complacency among the electorate is just as much to fault as the greedy manipulations of financial mathematicians, who played a shell game with themselves and brought down the capitalist system. From the Madoffs to the Greenspans, the lack of foresight and oversight will have implications for years to come.
Paying taxes without being involved with government as an active observer and critic is simply stupid. It is like handing money to a drunk or a compulsive gambler without conditions.
I consider it part of my life practice to stay informed, to correspond with representatives and to voice criticisms and kudos equally. As a person who believes that life is simply what it is, bettering my life and those of other human beings is a matter of each daily decision and action. Right action, for me, entails being a responsible citizen and taxpayer.
