Thomas Friedman had a good op-ed piece in yesterday's NY Times: Palin's Kind of Patriotism. Sarah Palin commented during the vice presidential debate that having the middle class pay higher taxes is unpatriotic. However, she supports the $700 billion bailout and the costly wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
If she supports such expensive measures, yet opposes Americans' sharing the burden of those costs, where will the money come from? China. China holds about $490 billion in U.S. Treasury securities, with foreign exchanges reserves of more than $1.5 trillion.
Friedman writes:
"[M]y parents taught me that paying taxes, while certainly no fun, was how we paid for the police and the Army, our public universities and local schools, scientific research and Medicare for the elderly. No one said it better than Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes: 'I like paying taxes. With them I buy civilization.'"
Which is more patriotic, depending on a foreign country (one with policies that directly contradict our own) to further our nation's interests, or allowing Americans to contribute and invest instead?
I obviously oppose the wars and am still unsure about the bailout, but I see where Friedman is coming from. As a Christian, I also have a different take on relying solely on the government to care for our most vulnerable. Either way, Palin's view makes no sense and only serves to further bankrupt our country.
To gain a better view of Americans' responsibility to pay taxes, check out Barack Obama's Audacity of Hope. He articulates a selfless, overall society-focused philosophy of paying taxes. And if we would quit cutting taxes for the ultra-rich, the middle class wouldn't have that heavy of a burden after all. Let's hope we can put people in leadership that understand such things!
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