David Spates "Therefore I Am" Published Jan. 28, 2003

I'm not happy with my taxes,
so I suppose you are

Approximately half of us Americans think the income tax we pay is about right.

I'll give you a moment to pause, to reflect, to ponder.

All righty, the moment's over. Now then, has it sunk in yet? That's right. Half? What we pay is about right? Less wouldn't be an improvement? Half?

Just when I think the average American couldn't get anymore complacent and indifferent about governmental issues, along comes further proof of our apathy. The evidence comes in the form of a brightly colored chart published in USA Today last week.

I'm not one to knee-jerk my way into bashing the government. The government has done and will continue to do some fine things, but do you honestly feel the government is spending our tax dollars in a most efficient and judicious manner? That's the implication of the USA Today poll. Half of us think the income tax we pay is about right, so half also must think the money we pay is being spent with a minimum of waste, expense or unnecessary effort. If they thought the taxes we pay are being squandered, then surely they wouldn't say the taxes they paid are about right.

It also suggests, as the newspaper's accompanying story rightly points out, that further tax cuts might be harder to pass since so many of us seem content with the status quo. President Bush has proposed a 10-year, $674 billion plan to stimulate the economy. The plan relies largely on tax cuts.

Guess what? I think tax cuts are a good idea! If given the choice between my money staying in my pocket or my money going to the government's pocket, I'll choose my pocket every time. Who wouldn't? About half of us wouldn't, it seems. I don't have a doctorate in economics, but I know I like my pocket better.

We just got a big tax cut, so I guess it's not a big shock that Americans don't think they're being taxed too much. I can understand that. It's only natural. It's like salivating over your next meal while you're still eating the previous meal's dessert. The tax cuts in 2001 were the biggest in 22 years -- $1.35 trillion over 10 years. THAT'S a big meal. Perhaps it's why half of us are satisfied with the income tax we pay. We're still full from the last feast.

But that mode of thinking will lead to trouble. If the government is considering a tax cut, we Americans need to jump all over it. We can't rely on politicians to do what's right. We need to twist their arms. Our government has been taking too much for too long. Now's the time we start plugging the hole.

We're making ground on the federal front, but our state politicians haven't felt a good Indian burn in quite a while. (If "Indian burn" has become politically incorrect, well, what can I say? If you know of another phrase for twisting someone's forearm skin in opposite directions, I'm all ears.)

The Tennessee legislature passed the largest tax increase in state history last year. Remember that? After months of internal fighting, back-stabbing and name-calling, our state lawmakers threw together an 11th-hour, 59th-minute budget that resulted in, as I said, the biggest tax increase in state history. You'd think it would have meant bad news for the incumbents at election time. You'd think. Instead, we Tennesseans re-elected them in droves. "You've done a fine job. Here's another term."

If you can be part of a governing body that passes the biggest tax increase in state history and STILL get re-elected, you've got absolutely nothing to worry about. It stands to reason that of all the tax increases in Tennessee's 206-year history, there must be one that was the biggest. It just so happens that it was last year's, and most of the perpetrators are back in office.

I think we need reminding from time to time that the government doesn't have money of its own. Federal, state, county, city -- all governing bodies spend money they collect from you and me. It's our duty to ensure that the money is collected and spent responsibly. If left unchecked, governments will clamor for more cash, even if the best intentions are at heart. It's the nature of the beast, but we own the beast.

I recently read a quote from Winston Churchill: "Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government, except all those others that have been tried from time to time." It's true. Sometimes democracy's leaders need an occasional Indian burn, however politically incorrect it may be.

· · ·
David Spates is a Knoxville resident and Crossville Chronicle contributor whose column is published each Tuesday. He can be reached at davespates@chartertn.net.