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There is no such thing as "your" tax dollars

A refrain we sometimes hear is, "I don't want my tax money going to (insert program here)." This attitude betrays an inherent misunderstanding of what taxation is. Taxes are not a subscription you pay for a service you want to receive. Taxation is not a business transaction. You cannot cancel your subscription, and you cannot ask for a refund (unless you were overcharged). 

No, taxes are the rent you pay for living in society.

Do you have a say in how these monies are used? Of course you do! We all have a say in how public monies should be used, and that voice is expressed through our representatives in our state legislatures and our Congresspersons. It would be manifestly unjust for the government to tax us and then not give us a say in how those taxes are used. America was in many ways founded on this principle!

The point is, we all have a say. Taxes should be used for the benefit of all. Which means that some tax monies are going to be used on things that you yourself don't benefit from, but others of your fellow citizens do. To say that "your" tax dollars shouldn't go to that thing just because you yourself don't want or need it is to effectively say that your wants and needs are more important than other people's. Spoiler alert: they're not. So stop saying that.

Some may say, "Well, I don't want to live in society!" If you want to bow out of the obligations of society, that is your prerogative. But if you do, you can't claim any of the benefits of society. In other words: 
  • You can't use the electrical grid, the water supply, natural gas lines, or the sewer system. These are run by commercial entities, but were granted the right to administer utilities in your area by the government, and are significantly subsidized by government funds. 
  • You cannot use the roads or any of the government-mandated safety devices in your car. 
  • You cannot call the fire department if your property is threatened by disaster.
  • You cannot call the police to protect you from any threats to your person or property. 
  • You cannot use the courts to pursue any criminal or civil matters, so you can't sue anyone who cheats you in a business deal, or press charges against anyone who attacks you or steals from you. 
  • You will have to operate your own landfill, since you cannot use the government-run one. 
  • You cannot buy food or medication from a store, because they are inspected and regulated by a host of government agencies that make sure they are safe and effective. 
  • You cannot listen to weather reports, including hurricane, tornado, wildfire, flood, or tsunami warnings, as weather data is collected by government satellites and provided to the public by government agencies.
  • You cannot live in a house built by a general contractor or a construction company, as they will have employed government-mandated safety standards and inspections.
  • You cannot enter any office buildings for the same reasons.
  • Neither you nor your immediate family may attend any public, private, or charter school or university, as all these receive government funds, and you cannot receive any government monies for homeschooling.
  • You cannot expect any legal recognition of your marriage, as that requires a government certificate issued by a government-authorized officiator.
  • You cannot patent or copyright anything, and anyone is free to copy anything you invent, write, or create and pass it off as their own at any time.
  • You cannot use a mobile network, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, or watch broadcast TV or listen to the radio, as over-the-air communication frequencies are regulated by the government.
  • You cannot go to any national or state parks.
  • Your employer can legally work you as many hours as they wish, with no expectation of overtime pay or a safe work environment.
  • If your bank fails, your money is completely gone: no government-backed insurance can reimburse you.
I am not suggesting that you 'show more gratitude' to the government, or that we should somehow be required to approve of everything the government does. That would be absurd. And it is very reasonable to object to spending money on things that you don't believe are in the public interest. But please stop talking about "your" tax dollars - that's not a thing.
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