Happy to Pay Taxes

I was standing in line to pay our property taxes and overheard the person ahead of me say, "It’s just rent for living next to a great lake."

I’ve thought about this off and on and lately it has borne fruit. A great deal of what makes my life good is what I share with others.

Individually we pursue private wealth — cars, homes, bank account balances, "stuff" and so on — and often we measure our status in terms of these privately held possessions. But what we share as citizens of this city, county, state and nation contributes greatly to the quality of our lives. In fact, for some of us, this commonly held wealth contributes more to our lives than our privately held wealth.

Here is a partial list of what we enjoy by virtue of our citizenship:

• the security of law enforcement and fire protection, proven worthy of our trust;
• honest, helpful government;
• good roads, cleaned in winter and safe, well-lit walks;
• parks, pools and the recreation programs in them;
• well-educated children and citizenry;
• a beautiful marina (with a ready rescue boat);

What would you add?

Some of these are big deals, some are not; all (I’m guessing) are often taken for granted. But as I listen to the struggles of people in other nations, as I see the conditions of people whose lives are truly poor, I am struck by how good we have it. (And a bit embarrassed at complaining when it isn’t perfect.) 

So, heretical as it may seem in the present political and economic climate, I would like to publicly say I am a happy tax payer, sharing gratefully in our common wealth.