What are taxes for? Who should pay them? Should you pay more, or less?

Kroger Tools for Schools Drive sign

It infuriates me to see signs & posters like these, because THAT is what taxes are for!

And, if there aren’t enough taxes collected from the wealthy (and obviously, there aren’t), then we see “drives” and other collection points like this.

Just this evening, in conversation with my neighbor, she shared with me about how her co-worker – a young, single mother – recently confided in her, and said that she didn’t earn enough money to make ends meet – to pay the rent, keep the lights turned on, and feed her family and that she regularly has to go to a local food pantry (which itself often runs out of food because the need is so great) to augment her meager ability to purchase food – and that she, herself, didn’t have supper because she chose to feed her children, instead.

My neighbor remarked, “this is 2015, we shouldn’t have these problems.”

I agreed with her.

Seriously, what do our “ConservaTarian” friends have to say about that?

Whenever these matters are brought to the fore of discussion, what do they say to you, or what do you say?

Kroger USO support our military families drive

For the faithful, I remind them of the edict in Holy Writ which says in part, “For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’“ (Deuteronomy 15:11)

I think of the words of Jesus the Christ, who said, “”The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.‘”

Why does there seem to be such unadorned hatred in the heart of so many that they would not give a sup of water to the thirsty, or a morsel of bread to the hungry?

Has the milk of human compassion curdled and soured?

How long will we tolerate this evil in our land?