The Paradox of Tax-Paying War Protesters

[josh]

So, this has been going around in my head for a number of years now. Doesn't it seem a little paradoxical for those of us who are adamantly opposed to our various wars (declared and undeclared, public and secret) to continue to financially support the government that is fueling them? It seems ridiculous to me that we would protest the war and then continue to support it with our tax dollars.

A few years ago, H.D. Thoreau was jailed for refusing to pay his poll tax in protest of the Mexican-American War. He was willing to be a true conscientious objector to what he saw as an unjust war. Are we? It would appear not, so far as I can tell.

My question for everyone is, at what point do we figure out that the true power of the purse resides with us, the tax-payers? At what point do we simply refuse to go along with the sick schemes of our war-mongering power elites? At what point do we stand up and say "not with my money you don't!"?

The way things look to me now, those in the seats of power in Washington will continue to do whatever they please, knowing full well that no matter what percentage of the population disagrees with their policies, pretty much everyone will keep on sending in their pound of flesh. I think that it is high time we started talking seriously about tax-protesting as a vote of no-confidence in our corrupted system. What good does being morally opposed to the wars do if we are forced to continue our financial support? Let's face it, we've all been intimidated by the IRS, or this proposal of mine wouldn't sound all that radical.

Of course, nowadays our income tax money isn't really going to fund the wars; we're borrowing all that money. My understanding is that ALL of the income tax is taken up just paying the interest on the Federal debt. Still, I think that if we really want to show that we mean business, we have to hit "them" where it hurts: in the pocketbook. They've been doing it to us for the better part of a century.

[bike4ethel]

I'm too cowardly to not pay taxes. I picked up a beautiful black t-shirt at an SOA protest years ago because it had Peace and a dove on the front. Back home I discovered it had a tax resister message on the back. I always feel like a hypocrite when I wear it. It's yours if you actually take the courageous step.

[brooklyn]

how do you do that if you make about $12000 a year.. I dont really even understand my tax situation in the first place.. I would be interested in learning

[josh]

Brooklyn, there are a number of good resources on the web. nwtrcc.org would be a good place to start. I've managed to (not) put my money where my mouth is by being a private contractor, which means I get ALL of my wages up-front and then can decide what to do with them, rather than having my taxes come out of my pay before I even get it. If you have a job like that, I think you can adjust your W-2 so that you get a higher percentage of your gross pay in your paycheck. However, I would imagine you're getting a refund in excess of your tax bill, which means you aren't really paying any net taxes, so not as big a deal as for someone who makes a larger salary.

Ethel, I know, it's scary, but allowing ourselves to be cowed by gov't intimidation tactics just means that we won't ever be able to change anything. If the threat of an audit or jail time is enough to get us to shut up and go along with the program, we'll simply end up conceding the field of battle without any real fight. Everyone is afraid to face down the IRS alone, but we don't need to be alone. That, for me, is one of the messages of this movement. And if we all do it together, as an organized protest against gov't corruption and malfeacence, it will be much more difficult for "them" to label us as a bunch of cranks who just don't want to pay their fair share.

I really think this action could have some real legs, and not just with war-resisters. No taxation without representation is something nearly everyone remembers from elementary school American history. Right now, of course, a large portion of the Federal budget is going to "black" programs that not even our elected representatives are allowed to look at. I think a good number of Republican-types would jump on this bandwagon too, though for their own reasons. That's fine with me. I think "Stop Funding an Illegitimate Government" is something LOTS of people could get behind. The IRS threat can really only be handled through strength in numbers. So long as it's you against the IRS, you're probably gonna lose, but when it becomes us against the f-ed up system, with the IRS as representative of said system, it's a whole different ballgame.