Reconsidering Taxes

March 9, 2008

I wonder sometimes if we are not due for a positive reconsideration of taxes. I know that sounds to some like asking about a positive reconsideration of the flu.. but seriously, we don't hear enough about the way taxes could work for us. For example, here in Wisconsin during budget debates the University of Wisconsin regularly absorbs cuts. Which is stupid.. I mean, if Wisconsinites paid a little more in taxes they could have a first-rate public university (it is already no slouch), and then when their children came of age they could avoid paying the sky-high tuition for a private university. That sounds like a deal to me! A little extra taxes, but superior services that will save me thousands in the long run. That kind of thinking can be applied to health care as well. The primary impediment is the weird meme that "government messes everything up." But clearly public education has an illustrious history.. its problems come when its budget is gutted. I suspect that this negativity about the government comes from corporations that love making a profit doing jobs that the government could do as a service for its people.