Taxes and social responsibility...

It's called "responsibility" for a reason. The common tone seems to be, they shouldn't raise taxes, they should find the money somewhere else. Really? Where? No one wants cuts in services, but at the same time, they don't want to help pay for those services. There seems to be an innate hypocrisy in the conservative attitude that is anti welfare and other social services, but also anti taxes. If they're opposed to social service programs based on the idea that people shouldn't get something without giving something back, why do they feel a sense of entitlement when it comes to civil services like police, fire, and schools while they're strongly against raising taxes to fund them? That sounds more communist and socialist than anything Obama has suggested.

Yeah, the economy sucks right now. Yeah, I'm broke and unemployed. That does NOT mean that I shouldn't have to pay taxes to support services that are there for me. This is all in a general sense, of course. The services are there for us all...for the protection or betterment of our society. Why should anyone not have to put their fair share into the pot to help fund them? I think any tax proposition should also include a list of the things that will have to be cut if the tax doesn't pass. That way voters can truly weigh the gains and losses and maybe it'll help put individual greed in check and open eyes to the broader picture. Things won't get better on their own. Money doesn't just appear (or if it does, it causes mass inflation).

It comes down to this: would you rather keep a little more in your pocket or help keep arts in the schools, help keep fire stations open, and help keep officers on the streets?