Taxes fund Social Security, fire departments, education, transit, public health, clean water, sewer systems, parks — the list goes on and on. Without taxes, we would have none of these services, which are held in common for all of us.
Taxes work even better when they redistribute income and wealth from the most privileged to pay for public services. In our state, however, we do the opposite. Low-income families spend three times more in taxes as a percentage of their income when compared to the top 20 percent of income earners. ...