Complaints about taxes have certainly been a strong fixture in the news lately. After opening up my property tax bill (which arrived in the mail the other day) I thought I’m really getting a lot for my money. Parks, recreational trails, library services, fire protection, police protection, refuse pickup… the list goes on and on. I would much rather pay to have those services and facilities available to me than to live somewhere without them. What would it be like to live in an area without libraries, without a good park system, not to mention fire and police protection? Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes once said “Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society.”

I for one would rather live in a civilized society than have a little more money in my pocket.