The fact that almost everyone hates to pay taxes is not open for debate. I'm here to remind you that without the necessary evil of taxation, none of us would enjoy the freedoms we've worked so hard to obtain.

While I can't list everything that taxes pay for, I can list a few so you can understand a little of what I'm talking about. Taxes pay for:

• Public educational institutions and community college subsidies
• Paved roads
• Poor people
• Public transportation subsidies
• Small business assistance

Those are only a few. If I was willing to think about it, I could probably come up with a hundred more. I think you get the point. All you have to do is leave the US for a short period of time and visit countries where taxes are not used in the same way and you'll see the difference. I do because I'm living in one of those countries.

Do I agree that taxes are portioned out fairly to Americans? No. Do I think people should refuse to pay taxes? No. What I think we need is a fairer system of tax collection and that's why the flat tax initiatives and the "Fair Tax" bill deserve more consideration than lip service by politicians when they're trying to drum up support for reelection.

Americans cheat on their taxes. It's a fact. It shouldn't make you wonder, though, because anyone in their right mind would want to keep as much of what they've earned as possible. I'm not saying I advocate cheating, I just understand it. Perhaps less Americans would cheat if they could actually see what their taxes are being used for. The state and federal governments are not exactly transparent in their liberal use of our tax money, to put it mildly.

In my own very humble opinion, the benefits of paying taxes far outweigh the non-benefits (as I mentioned in my article, Americans Own Nothing!).