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| Students working on neighborhood project |
How do you explain taxes to a three-year-old? I was leaving the house one day last week to
pick up the completed tax return from our preparer. Cooper, our grandson, asked where I was
going. When I told him, I could tell
that the idea ‘taxes” was not on his radar.
I started to tell him that taxes help pay for the fire fighters and
police officers (but they are only indirectly funded by Federal tax
money). I did tell him that the money we
paid to the government helps build our roads.
I suppose I could have told him that the money helped to pay for our
military but really did not want to go down that road too far. As I thought about this later, I could have
explained that our taxes (at least for now) help people who are sick and do not
have food.
This whole train of thought led me to think about the
things that our tax money pays for that were provided in other ways in the
past. When people were less mobile, more
connected to their neighbors, and involved in the local churches, many of the needs
for food, clothing and even medical assistance were provided by churches and
church members. There was a community
awareness and a commitment to those we knew that motivated us to reach out and
help.
We no longer live in such times. Class and economic divisions isolate us from
one another. Those of us who live in
“good” neighborhoods don’t know our neighbors much less those who live in “less
desirable” areas. Churches do help
people in need but it is often one step removed from the congregants and provided
through professionals or social service organizations. There are exceptions, of course, but there is
a real divide between the “haves” and the “have nots” not only on the national
but the local level.
Churches and not-for-profits can help to bridge some of
this gap, but the situation has become so complex that state and national
governments must play a role. There are
some politicians who seem to think that we still live in a “Main Street USA”
world where churches do all the heavy lifting to help the needy, therefore they
believe that programs that address hunger, homelessness, and medical needs are
none of the government’s business.
Welcome to the real world, folks!
I am not overjoyed about paying taxes, but I do it because there are
some things that I cannot address with my resources and that can only be
addressed on the macro level.
I pay my taxes, attempt to alleviate need on the local
level, and support organizations that do the same. Now I expect my political leaders to be good
stewards of the funds I send to them. Is
that asking too much?
The moral of the story is this: When you try to explain something to a
three-year-old, be prepared to engage in some real serious thinking.
(This was first posted on April 13, 2012 and has been one of the most popular posts on this blog. Two years late, my sentiment on the subject is unchanged.)
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