Insights, Issues & Istook

Is there something wrong with being a taxpayer? A left-wing writer wants to ban the word “taxpayer.” She claims the term benefits conservatives and threatens equality under law, by implying that those who pay for government deserve better treatment than those who do not.  Remember that half of America's adults pay zero federal income tax. The word taxpayer is a threat to the system of getting elected by giving government benefits to a majority, sending the tax bills to the smaller group that got outvoted, then borrowing the rest and never worrying about who will pay it back. Words matter in politics. Political correctness confuses us, making things deliberately unclear. Illegal immigrant means more than an undocumented person. Amnesty is more than prosecutorial discretion.  The term taxpayer is valuable because it says than somebody has accepted responsibility. If we give up on that word, we're saying that being responsible is no longer important. Listen below.