Letter: Taxes aren’t fun, but are necessary

Friday, June 8, 2001 | 5:04 a.m.

Judi Root's May 27 letter, "Seniors shouldn't pay for schools," has stirred a lot of emotions. She apparently didn't put much thought into her opinion. How would paying taxes only for services rendered work? Would there be extra taxes or a user's fee placed upon a citizen for needing the police or fire departments? Would only senior citizens be taxed for Medicare and Social Security? The veterans would have to cover the expenses of the VA. Those without cars wouldn't be expected to pay for road improvements. The poor and homeless would have to come up with the taxes for their services. Poor children would have to take up robbing senior citizens to make a living because their parents couldn't afford a formal education.

Obviously, I have taken my point to a ridiculous conclusion. I wanted to show how ill-conceived Root's opinion really is.

Paying taxes isn't anybody's idea of fun, but it is a way of helping each other. I would hate to live in a country where we only looked out for ourselves, and turned a blind eye to our neighbor.

ROSE TURRIETTA

archive