Tax Freeze, Brain Freeze

by capper

I don't like paying taxes. I don't get all excited on tax day and act like it's Christmas. I also don't like paying more in taxes each year. I also don't like paying more for gas, for groceries, for insurance, for electricity, or anything else. I don't know anyone that does.

But, as an adult, I realize that sometimes I just have to face it and pay the price. If I want to drive my car, I have to buy gas. If I want to eat, I have to buy groceries. I also realize a lot of good things come from my taxes. My taxes paid for the cops who helped my wife when she had a car accident. It was my taxes that paid for the EMTs who helped my father when he fell on the ice and cracked his head open. It's my taxes that pay for roads to be plowed (and hopefully maintained). It's my taxes that help pay for the services that are needed by the disabled, the mentally ill, and the elderly that cannot take care of themselves.

I also realize that, just like my gasoline, my groceries, my electricity and everything else goes up every year, it goes up for everyone, including the government. Now, the government can cut corners, like I do, and do without some of the frivolities and unnecessary items. But the cuts in certain areas can only go so far. While I may not dine on lobster and steak, I still need to eat and feed my family. While I may not be able to go on driving tours of the country, I still need my car for my job. Likewise, the government can only cut some things so far. It goes to far when people are getting hurt and killed for the sake of saving someone a few bucks on their property tax.

When you cut or freeze taxes too much, you end up underfunding things, like services to the mentally ill. Then you get stories like the one in MSJ, chronicling the atrocities that have occurred at the state mental health hospital in Winnebago. Just how much in tax savings is a person's life worth, anyway?

But when one makes a career statement out of tax freezes, while ignoring the realities around you, all that is is a brain freeze.