RE: narrow-minded views on taxes

["Aaron [Bishop] Read" <aread@speakeasy.net>]

At 05:34 PM 9/3/2002, Paul Hopfgarten wrote:
>As has been said by others here before, it's that my tax $$ pay for NPR that
>I resent. If a network privately held wishes to operate NPR, then your
>advice is not only well placed, but would certainly be heeded.
>
>Paul Hopfgarten
>East Derry NH 03041

Oh give it a god damn rest Paul.   That's such a narrow-minded argument I'm 
almost ashamed to be on the same listserv...

Your taxes, and mine, and everybody's, pay for NPR.   A rather small 
portion of it I might add, but I'll admit some money goes there.
...AND...
Your taxes, and mine, and everybody's, pay for Clear Channel...through the 
tax breaks and incentives they weasel their way into.
...AND...
Your taxes, and mine, and everybody's, pay for the Big Dig, which you might 
arguably enjoy more than I since, by virtue of you being in NH, you're 
slightly more likely to drive on I-93 than I am (I'm almost exclusively a 
MassPike & Rt.128 highway driver)
...AND...
Your taxes, and mine, and everybody's, pay for electricity, and the phones, 
and water (if you're on town water), and paving the roads, clearing the 
roads...all through our Federal taxes subsidizing the states' own tax 
infrastructure.
...AND...
Your taxes, and mine, and everybody's, pay for the MBTA (yes, they get 
Federal subsidies, too) even though we don't all use the T and the Commuter 
Rail.
...AND...
Your taxes, and mine, and everybody's, pay for Raytheon to make weapons 
that kill more efficiently in wars we don't all believe in.

the list goes on and on and on...

The bottom line is that our government's system of taxation and 
redistribution dilutes your individual contribution to the point where 
saying you don't like something because "your taxes are paying for it" is a 
load of hogwash.  Your taxes are paying for a lot of things you don't 
like.  And for a lot of things you DO like.  And more likely than not, your 
concept of what you do and do not like is vastly different from everyone 
else's.

If you don't like it, vote for a candidate that'll change it in the next 
election.  If you did that and they didn't win, get out there and organize 
a group of like-minded supporters.  If there's no candidate who you like, 
run for office yourself.

Why yes, I have been hanging out with gubernatorial candidtates' staff 
lately...why do you ask?  :-)

____________________________________________
Aaron "Bishop" Read     aread@speakeasy.net
FriedBagels.com Technical Consulting
www.friedbagels.com   AOL-IM: ReadAaron