A Parable of the Taxpayer and the Commons

[marmar]

from OnTheCommons.org:



A Parable of the Taxpayer and the Commons
On the invisible canopy of support for our everyday lives.

By Chuck Collins


This time of year it is useful to recount the parable of the taxpayer and the member of Congress. Tip O’Neill, the colorful congressman from Massachusetts who said “all politics is local,” used to recount a version of this.

The taxpayer woke up one winter morning feeling angry about his taxes. He decided to travel to Washington to complain directly to his Congressional representative.

He turned on the radio to listen the weather report, provided by the National Weather Service. He heard the city snowplow go by, clearing his street. He made a cup of coffee with clean water.

He cooked up some eggs and bacon for his family, food products that were certified by the meat inspectors at US Department of Agriculture. It never crossed his mind the possibility that his family might be poisoned.

He kissed his children goodbye as they waited for the school bus to take them to the local public elementary school and high school. His oldest daughter hoped to attend college and was applying for financial aid loans and grants, like the ones he received a generation earlier. On his walk to the subway, he dropped her application letters in the US Post Office mailbox. .........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://onthecommons.org/content.php?id=2707