Taxes are not a plague to be avoided

To the editor:

Accompanying our rights and freedoms as Americans are responsibilities. As an investment in our country (our present and our future), taxes represent a community responsibility and a patriotic duty.

If past taxpayers had not been responsible, we would not have a highway system. Neither would we have programs that protect our safety, health and environment from unscrupulous corporations wishing to profit from pillaging, plundering and polluting. We would not have fire, police, garbage collection and medical services in many regions of the country. Similarly, the arts and museums would be rare. Without taxes, education would be available only to those able to afford it, science would be lingering in the backwoods and technology would be nowhere. Additionally, there would be no safety net for the underprivileged or for folks who have fallen on hard times due to sickness or events beyond their control.

Taxes are not a plague that we should avoid and evade at every possible opportunity. We should be grateful for living in a prosperous nation and should welcome the opportunity to give a little back in order that our fellow citizens and future generations can enjoy what we enjoy. I resent my taxes being used for corporate welfare or to sacrifice Americans and Iraqis in the Bush war of global domination, and surely some programs could be improved, but overall taxes benefit all of us. Whether individual or corporate, maybe those who wish to avoid paying taxes should consider leaving the country.

ALAN JOURNET, Cape Girardeau