I HEART TAXES!

Honor the fallen, pay your taxes.

Mon, 28 May 2012 11:36:20 -0400

Today is Memorial Day, a day for every American to remember the sacrifice of those who died while serving in the Armed Forces.

For those of us who have not served, it is our duty to “care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan.” As a taxpayer, you’ve helped provide for the families of the fallen. Tax dollars give Gold Star families monthly pensions, education and health care benefits, so that making the ultimate sacrifice in war does not mean sacrificing your children’s future.

Tax Win! Rural Dadeville, MO, Gets Clean Drinking Water

Tue, 15 May 2012 12:06:42 -0400

You have probably never met any of the 234 people that make up the tiny, rural village of Dadeville, Missouri. But thanks to Stimulus funding, those Americans have access to clean drinking water. From the USDA:

“The village received a $390,000 low-interest loan to construct a new standpipe, new pump controller, and a permanent liquid chlorinator. The new water storage and equipment will alleviate health and sanitary standards caused by insufficient water storage.”

These kinds of projects are so important, and yet so easy to overlook. Like taxes themselves. When you think about where your tax dollars go, you probably think of the big ticket items — Social Security, the public schools, maybe the highway system. Sure, you’d agree all Americans should have access to clean drinking water. But it’s so basic, you probably didn’t think about it.

That’s where taxes come in. We don’t need to know someone in Dadeville, or how to install a pump controller. The people of Dadeville didn’t need to conduct a national advocacy campaign, or go begging to a charity to help them. We all just paid our taxes, and we got infrastructure improvements. Quietly, the democratic system worked.

Go taxes!

Massachusetts Department of Transportation builds a bridge... in a single day.

Tue, 08 May 2012 09:54:38 -0400

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation doesn’t take months to rebuild bridges, or even weeks. They can build a bridge in a single day. Click the pictures to watch the video.

p.s.: Is this New York Times article a little old? Yes. We do our best at IHT, but we can’t always work at government speeds!

The Pro-Tax Consensus

Mon, 07 May 2012 14:58:43 -0400

Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise — there is very widespread consensus that taxes need to go up, especially on the wealthy. Nearly 4 in 5 Americans want millionaires to pay more in taxes — and that includes two thirds of Mitt Romney supporters.

Check out this graph from the American Panel Survey (pdf). Sure, Obama supporters want to increase taxes more than Romney supporters — but the vast majority of people, including most Republicans, support tax increases over tax cuts.

Stephen King is a tax hero.

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 18:46:00 -0400

Author Stephen King has written a glorious and foul-mouthed rant over at the Daily Beast, and you should read it immediately. Most of it is unprintable in a family blog. Though we mostly try and keep it clean here, IHT is a family blog in the “save public education” sense, not the “fainting at the sight of Anglo-Saxon verbs” sense. So here’s a snippet.

Mitt Romney has said, in effect, “I’m rich and I don’t apologize for it.” Nobody wants you to, Mitt. What some of us want—those who aren’t blinded by a lot of bullshit persiflage thrown up to mask the idea that rich folks want to keep their damn money—is for you to acknowledge that you couldn’t have made it in America without America. That you were fortunate enough to be born in a country where upward mobility is possible (a subject upon which Barack Obama can speak with the authority of experience), but where the channels making such upward mobility possible are being increasingly clogged. That it’s not fair to ask the middle class to assume a disproportionate amount of the tax burden. Not fair? It’s un-fucking-American is what it is. I don’t want you to apologize for being rich; I want you to acknowledge that in America, we all should have to pay our fair share. That our civics classes never taught us that being American means that—sorry, kiddies—you’re on your own. That those who have received much must be obligated to pay—not to give, not to “cut a check and shut up,” in Governor Christie’s words, but to pay—in the same proportion.

WIN! Congress Stands Up for Tax Fairness, Lobbyists Back Down.

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:56:24 -0400

Great news! Last summer we reported on certain American companies, including Apple and Microsoft, that were lobbying for a “tax holiday” — a special privilege to bring home profits they’ve squirreled away overseas without having to pay their taxes. Especially with the American economy hurting, skipping out on your taxes is unfair and unpatriotic. As we said at the time:

Those taxes have already been on a holiday. They’ve been overseas for years. Now they need to come home and do their jobs. There are roads that need building, kids that need teaching, and an economy that could use some real stimulus. (And giving away another business tax cut ain’t going to do it. It really, really, really ain’t.)

Well, looks like those companies have given up.

A lobbying coalition seeking a tax holiday for repatriating offshore profits ended its campaign amid bipartisan congressional reluctance after spending more than a year and $760,000 on the effort.

We all know that it’s often an unfair fight in Washington. This “tax holiday campaign” had a staff of “a breathtaking 160 lobbyists (including at least 60 former staffers for current members of Congress),” according to Citizens for Tax Justice. $760,000 is more than many Congressmen have to spend on their entire campaign. But Congress stood strong against this powerful, well-funded group, and stood up for tax fairness.

Today is a victory. But there is much more to be done. Now it’s time for patriotic tax repatriation! Apple and Microsoft need to bring those tax dollars home!

Meet the Teacher of the Year

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 10:02:44 -0400

Every year, some of America’s greatest teachers are honored as part of the Teacher of the Year program. This year’s winner is Rebecca Mieliwocki, who teaches seventh-grade English at Luther Burbank Middle School. As she says, “you will never meet a more hardworking American than a teacher. It’s the best value your tax dollars can get.”

Ms. Mieliwocki knows what she’s talking about. Take last year’s teacher of the year, Michelle Shearer, a high school chemistry teacher at Urbana High School in Frederick, Maryland. A Princeton graduate, Ms. Shearer is a public school teacher certified in deaf education, who has also taught AP chemistry at the Maryland School for the Deaf.

“I conducted the class exclusively in American Sign Language and will always remember the unique experience of discussing complex concepts such as kinetics, electrochemistry, and chemical equilibria with students communicating solely with our hands. When I suggested that these students also study AP calculus, they looked at me with inquisitive expressions and signed, “WHY?” I signed back: “BECAUSE YOU CAN.” For the next two years, I taught during my planning period so that these enthusiastic, academically motivated students would have the opportunity to study AP calculus and probability and statistics, which otherwise would not have been offered. I proudly share inspirational stories of MSD students who have proven that deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals can succeed in rigorous classes, pass AP exams, earn college degrees, and build successful careers as professionals in our society.”

Public school teachers face an enormous challenge. ” I can’t control whether my students eat breakfast, have a place to sleep at night, whether they have access to technology,” Ms. Mieliwocki notes. “I can do every thing I can when they step into my classroom to try to level the playing field.”

Tax dollars haven’t yet bought us equality of opportunity for all of America’s children. But in an increasingly unequal country, taxes pay the people who spend their lives trying to give every kid a chance to succeed. What could be more worthwhile?

Hubble Space Telescope: 22 Years of Tax-Funded Awesome.

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 10:02:39 -0400

To celebrate the Hubble Space Telescope’s 22nd birthday, NASA has released new, amazingly detailed pictures of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a galaxy 170,000 light years away:

Hubble pictures aren’t just pretty. They have changed what we know about the universe. Hubble data helped physicists in Maryland and California figure out that the expansion of the universe is accelerating, a finding so fundamental that they won a Nobel Prize in 2011.

(Ever think there’s nowhere left to explore? Because Hubble data is publicly available, you can see pictures of space that literally no one has ever seen. Just enter the “Hubble’s Hidden Treasures” contest.)

Tax Patriotism! Thousands Rally for Tax Day

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 19:12:00 -0400

On Tax Day this year, thousands of patriotic Americans held more than 300 rallies across the country to support fair taxation. The message was consistent: we proudly pay our fair share — and so should everyone!

In Rockford, Illinois, taxpayers waved American flags and held pro-tax signs like this one: “Pay Taxes, It’s Patriotic.”

In Pittsburgh, parents rallied at the Squirrel Hill Post Office to defend their public schools against budget cuts. Organizers asked: “We are happy to pay our taxes, but why isn’t the Governor asking gas drillers to pay extraction taxes or closing the “Delaware Loophole” so that all companies are bearing their share of responsibility for funding public education?”

In Minneapolis, MN, taxpayers wondered: if “I Paid My Fair Share,” why won’t Wells Fargo do their part?

In Albany, protestors got especially creative in their opposition to special tax breaks, making an enormous “loophole” big enough to drive a truck through. (Watch the video!)

“We pay, so should they,” said one sign in Baltimore, where a public school teacher, Terrell Williams, reminded us that taxes are an investment in America’s future. “The question has to be, if you’re giving those subsidies to corporations, who’s not getting served? And I believe it’s our kids.”

And in Pittsburgh, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Boston, tax pride accompanied demands for fair taxation for all.

Pittsburgh:

New York:

Los Angeles:

Seattle:

Boston:

The 99% are proud to pay their taxes… and in San Francisco, the one percent agrees. “Tax all of us and do it now,” said equity fund manager Barney Deasy, president of Merritt Capital.

Looks like paying taxes are one thing everybody can agree on! As one man rallying in Washington, DC, put it: “Real Americans proudly pay their fair tax share.”

** How did you celebrate Tax Day? Send your photos to taxesfightfires at gmail dot com.**

Photo credits: Justin Lane/EPA (Tax Dodgers); Jill Schneider, San Francisco Chronicle (San Francisco).

UPDATE! It’s not just San Francisco! 1%-ers across the country rallied for higher taxes. Check out this video from Resource Generation.

Know Your Grovers

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:50:16 -0400

People are pretty angry with Grover. I know what you are wondering — how could anyone not love such a cute and furry monster?

It turns out, there is another Grover, a Mr. Grover Norquist.

It’s an easy mistake to make. But there are ways to distinguish the Grovers. We’ve assembled some important signs so that you can always tell the difference:

Grover the Muppet encourages road safety. Grover Norquist wants to defund roads.

Grover the Muppet goes to school and makes two new friends. Grover Norquist wants to cut government spending for public schools in half.

Grover the Muppet teaches kids how to take a bath. Grover Norquist wants to drown the federal government in a bathtub.

Know your Grovers, America!

Mitch learns what you have to do to pay no taxes: be General...

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:13:17 -0400

Mitch learns what you have to do to pay no taxes: be General Electric. (Or live like Garth.)

The Tax Party: Everyone's Invited!

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 18:34:16 -0400

There are rumors out there that many people don’t pay taxes! Hogwash! Almost everyone comes to the tax party.

Tax Patriotism = Good Politics

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 15:28:59 -0400

Check out this article at The American Prospect, on the political windfalls of tax patriotism:

Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley has been straightforward about raising taxes to maintain the state’s schools and services, which are among the nation’s best. In 2007, he combined tax increases with budget cuts to address structural deficits. O’Malley got re-elected in 2010—a bad year for other Democrats—by a 14-point margin. This year, even as he positions himself for a possible presidential bid in 2016, O’Malley is pushing a gas-tax increase and an income-tax hike on the wealthy. “Asking our fellow citizens to do more will not be popular,” O’Malley said in his 2012 State of the State address. “But without anger, fear, or meanness, let’s ask one another: How much less do we think would be good for our children’s future?”

The Recovery Act money continues to do cool stuff, including...

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 18:52:11 -0400

The Recovery Act money continues to do cool stuff, including improving levees along the Rio Grande, protecting the folks of El Paso, TX from flooding.

FLASHBACK: Taxes Funded the Civilian Conservation Corps

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 10:41:05 -0500

During the Great Depression, the Civilian Conservation Corps built 3,470 fire towers and 97,000 miles of fire road, and planted more than three billion trees. When the country was struggling, the CCC’s tax dollars put 2.5 million jobless young men back to work.

Say it with me: Taxes create jobs.

I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear you. Can I get a little help in here? One more time for the folks in the back.

Taxes create jobs!

That’s what I’m talking about. Amen, brothers and sisters.

This Week in Tax Patriotism

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 10:00:05 -0500

Two views of the tax propositions in Obama’s 2013 budget
Taxing wealth like work… sounds like a fair deal!
And… meet the Tax Dodgers!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HONEST ABE!

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 13:17:37 -0500

Abraham Lincoln was president when the IRS was first formed (then called the Bureau of Internal Revenue). America’s first income tax helped win the war and free the slaves. Taxes helped ensure that, as Lincoln put it, “this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

Christian Parenti Hearts Taxes

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:00:05 -0500

A must read article: Christian Parenti, author of the new book Tropic of Chaos, argues that only the federal government has “the capital and capacity” to deal with massive climate disasters.

Consider Hurricane Irene: as it passed through the Northeast, states mobilized more than 100,000 National Guard troops. New York City opened 78 public emergency shelters prepared to house up to 70,000 people. In my home state, Vermont, where the storm devastated the landscape, destroying or damaging 200 bridges, more than 500 miles of road, and 100 miles of railroad, the National Guard airlifted in free food, water, diapers, baby formula, medicine, and tarps to thousands of desperate Vermonters trapped in 13 stranded towns — all free of charge to the victims of the storm.

The damage to Vermont was estimated at up to $1 billion. Yet the state only has 621,000 residents, so it could never have raised all the money needed to rebuild alone. Vermont businesses, individuals, and foundations have donated at least $4 million, possibly up to $6 million in assistance, an impressive figure, but not a fraction of what was needed. The state government immediately released $24 million in funds, crucial to getting its system of roads rebuilt and functioning, but again that was a drop in the bucket, given the level of damage. A little known state-owned bank, the Vermont Municipal Bond Bank, also offered low-interest, low-collateral loans to towns to aid reconstruction efforts. But without federal money, which covered 80% to 100% of the costs of rebuilding many Vermont roads, the state would still be an economic basket case. Without aid from Washington, the transportation network might have taken years to recover.

When disaster struck, Vermont wasn’t alone. When our fellow Americans need us, American taxpayers are there.

Photo credit: This photo of Hurricane Irene is in the public domain because it comes from NASA. Photo courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, via Wikimedia Commons.

New pro-tax billboards slated to go up in DC.

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:49:41 -0500

New pro-tax billboards slated to go up in DC.

Tax Pride in the Ocean State

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:00:07 -0500

Rhode Island’s Sheldon Whitehouse has got tax pride:

I think average Americans see a lot in government that they like: a military that we are proud of, police officers who protect us day and night, child-protection agencies that work to help troubled children and their families. There’s a lot about government in America to be proud of…

As long as people think the tax system is fair, that they’re getting value for their taxes, average Americans who’re proud of this country and don’t want the quick and easy deal will pay taxes that are fair in order to have the kind of life we enjoy — where we have the freedoms from want and from fear that FDR spoke of.