The tax deadline always gives us something to think about, and this year the thoughts are particularly painful.
Taxation has a long history. It was the original and, for a long time, only purpose of government. Kings and princes needed an income to support their extravagant lifestyles and their wars, and tax collection was simpler in those days. There were no forms to fill in, and no accountants to consult. The involuntary transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich, which is the oldest and most successful conspiracy of them all, was accomplished by simple violence and intimidation. But we are more civilized now, and comply with the annual tax demand because we believe it is for our own good. We have come to expect governments to do something for their citizens in exchange for their taxes - to look after us with regulations and social services, and to protect us from wicked people like jihadists, North Koreans, Greenlanders, Canadians, and above all from each other. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes summed up this position when he said: “I like paying taxes; with them I buy civilization.”
That’s true, as far as it goes. But while we are paying for government protection, we are also paying for politics – that is, the theatrical performance that goes on in the political foreground while the government is getting real things done behind the scenes. At the front of the stage, we find Congress, and we may ask, as we prepare to pay our taxes for last year, what did Congress do for us in 2025? The short answer is: virtually nothing, other than collecting their salaries, abandoning control over the budget and failing to stop a huge increase in spending and the national debt. Permanent gridlock has transformed Congress from a legislature into a bad theater where the show never changes or improves. The two parties are no more able to have a rational debate than two football teams in the middle of a game.
The trouble with most federal government spending is that its purpose is obscure. Tax money is like a gigantic slush fund that the government uses as it likes. I'd like a clearer picture of what my taxes buy. If my few dollars contribute a few buttons towards a Congressman's $1,000 suit or a little extra gilding in the Oval Office, I'd like to know, and to have a picture as a souvenir. Federal pensions are very generous: it would be heartwarming to have some snapshots of the retirees enjoying themselves expensively in Florida or the Bahamas. If I'm helping to support a poor family or a hospitalized veteran, I'd like to have a picture of them, too, and an update on their progress. If my money goes to education, I want a report card.
This year, at least, we can see where a substantial part of our taxes will go - literally up in smoke half a world away. The spending on the first two days of this war alone amounted to $5.6 billion. That’s not magic money conjured out of nothing like cryptocurrency. That’s real money, or at least as real as it ever gets. The cost to date has passed $20 billion, and we’re just getting started. A single drone can cost between $1 and $3 million; repairing the damage it causes will cost trillions.
I wouldn’t be surprised if taxes have to go up next year. But it’s good to know that our tax money is not being wasted on vanity projects. It’s all in a good cause.
