I have a question about how a statement by Tim Eyman can be true. He says that taxes benefit groups but taxes don't benefit individuals. I am taking this statement out of a newspaper article and from a debate he recently did in Olympia that I listened to on the radio. I believe that taxes do benefit individuals. They obviously benefit the large number of individuals that rely on public transportation as their only way to get around. They seem to benefit all the individuals who drive on the roads and highways, seeing as road inprovements and building of new roads are paid for by tax dollars. They seem to benefit the individuals who choose to use the states Basic Health care as an option for health coverage because they aren't provided health care by their employer and don't make enough money to afford any thing else. They seem to benefit all the individual school children that go to school in public schools. They seem to benefit the individuals that at one time or another have had to call upon the services of the local police or fire department in a life threatening situation. Taxes also seem to benefit the individuals who enjoy to spend time on public parks that are paid for by tax dollars. I could go on and on. I do agree that taxes do benefit individuals but I don't see how any one can believe for one minute that taxes don't benefit individuals. I don't like to pay taxes just as much as the next guy, but I believe that taxes, even though they are a pain in the ass to pay, are a necessary. I really hope that I recieve a response from this inquiry. And all I want to know is Why Mr. Eyman doesn't think that Individuals benefit from taxes. I also have a very sincere request for Mr. Eyman. I really think that he should run for the state legislature. I think that if you realy want to make a change, run for office, get elected and attack the problem at its source, Law makers who don't think out side of the box.

-- Kyle Murphy (kylecmurphy@hotmail.com), October 17, 1999

Answers

Kyle--

Since I've not seen a quote like you've referenced, I'd appreciate it if you could post a link to the news story you read. If you truly want to have a discussion (some people don't), you're more likely to get one if you would post the relevant URL. This would allow people to understand the context of your question.

-- Brad (knotwell@my-deja.com), October 17, 1999.

" I think that if you realy want to make a change, run for office, get elected and attack the problem at its source,"

I think that he has done precisely that. The problem is that politicians get pleasure and bureaucrats get promotions from spending other people's money. The way to force government to do a more efficient job is to deny them other people's money. Otherwise, they'll just find more and more increasingly inefficient things to do with it.

-- Mark Stilson (mark842@hotmail.com), October 18, 1999.

Kyle

Prove to me its unwise

Ed - sits in a cubical all day, is that inside the box or outside

-- Ed (ed_bridges@yahoo.com), October 18, 1999.

Since the specific statement was not referenced it is difficult to determine the exact context of Mr. Eyman's comment. I will respond to your statement from my viewpoint as best I can. Anyone who has ever had to deal with any government agency will generally find some level of inefficiency or incompetency. I believe people are tolerant enough to some degree of that and may complain but do little about it. We will swallow the pill because we do see there is some service being done and therefore is of benefit. Relative to I-695 and the enormous support it rapidly gained I would say that we have exceeded that tolerance level. If I'm going to pay taxes that benefits someone more that it benefits me I want to be sure some bureaucrat is looking at and thinking about every penny he is going to spend. Your statement makes me want to believe that it helps all individuals and that I am part of that. I, personally benefit little. What I am really concerned about are the groups and companies who are the benefactors of the large sums of money we are talking about. You may want to look at what share of your hard-earned tax money actually goes to the benefit of the individual after the bureaucrats take each dollar and divide it up among themselves.

-- Tom Demogines (tdemo@att.net), October 30, 1999.