Paying More Taxes

Sorry folks. Keeping up with work, e-mails, and 2 blogs (join my Social and Environmental Justice Book Club at http://sejbooks.blogspot.com/) keeps me busy. Add a family into the mix, and not everything gets done. I saw Richard Smol's interesting post on the CBC website on "Why I should pay more taxes."

I too recognize the importance of paying taxes to build a functioning civil society. That's why I get so upset when neo-liberal ideologues like the Fraser Institute use the media to spread the notion of "Tax Freedom Day." Here are a few alternative names we could use:

Freedom from Public Healthcare Day

Freedom from Police Force Day

Freedom from Clean Water Day

Freedom from Environmental Regulation and Enforcement Day

Crumbling Bridges Day

Taxes pay for stuff we all use. Blame our governments for investing tax dollars unwisely, ask them to to account for their investments, but don't buy into the simplistic notion that "taxes are bad."