My Taxes Pay your Wages

“My Taxes pay your salary!”

How many of you have been told that statement?

Today is April, 15… The day taxes are due here in the United States. A day that is seems most prudent to address that statement.

Recently an episode of Police Drama Southland has a scene where a woman said that

to an officer waiting in line for an ice cream. She was upset that the office is standing in line, not out catching criminals. The officer then rebukes her. Asks if she works a 12 hour shift, asks if she is allowed meal and/or coffee breaks. Then adds that he is a human with basic human needs for food and bathroom time.

When she utters the “My taxes pay your salary”, the officer agrees with her. Then points out that she technically paid for his ice cream. The confrontation ends with the officer offering her a lick off his ice cream cone.

That is where I take some issue with that scene. The officer is just a tad to confrontational with the woman.  She is not a criminal or a suspect. She is the average citizen who has likely never actually talked to a police officer before. Or if she has it was limited to being pulled over for a traffic violation. No matter what she now will see police as both rude and wasting her tax dollars.

I bring this up because I have seen police officers, firefighters and EMTs say simular things to citizens. There is one old timer I know who calculated his wages down to the minute across the population of our city. He would tell people their taxes currently kick in $0.01 of his wage this hour. Then he would fish out a penny and offer them a tax refund.

Why not take the time to educate the citizen yet still let them know how much a jack ass they are. Yet still do it in a respectful kind of way. When someone tells me how their taxes pay my wage, I try to find out what they do for a living. Funny thing is typically I can say how I pay their wage just the same as they pay mine

• Work at a bank… my mortgage intrest pays your wage
• Work at a grocery store… my shopping pays your wage
• Work at a restaurant…. my eating out pays your wage
• Work at an insurance office… my premiums pay your wage
• Work at a hospital… my getting sick/hurt pays your wage
• Work at a Factory… My buying the things you make pays your wage
• etc…