By Will Collins

Recently, the US government voted on a new tax bill that is receiving cheers and jeers from both sides of the aisle. At the end of the day, everyone should be looking at one thing: will we pay more or less in taxes from our hard earned money?

I’m one of the first to admit the “money tree” solution doesn’t seem to work, so we definitely have to rely on taxes to keep the country afloat, but we also need to rely on better spending to make lower taxation a reality we can live with.

The same can be said about all levels of government however, not just at a national level. I would love to see the day where our tax dollars are used to improve our nation, our state and our local communities first and foremost.

Some radio commercials have been circulating around our state asking for less cuts to certain programs while trying to address the state pension problem in Kentucky. While I agree some programs should be left untouched, I also believe it best to actually look at where cuts can be made in places where spending is out of control.

What it boils down to is that the citizens of Kentucky are going to have to pay more in taxes to help the pension crisis. In turn, everyone in the state needs to do their part to offset this demand on our tax dollars by using a straight thinking, common sense approach.

Let’s talk about a few examples here. How about everyone in our state (and nation for that matter) that is addicted to drugs be given mandatory treatment rather than enabling their illness? How about every person arrested for the trafficking of said substances either be sentenced to a life in prison or, if an illegal alien, deported to their home country never to be allowed in the US again?

How about anyone convicted of armed robbery or even identity theft being put behind bars for the rest of their lives? How about living in a society where criminals are treated like criminals rather than better than most of the victims, such as you and me?

Yes, I realize that putting more people in prison will be a tax burden, but I would rather spend more money for cleaner streets than waste money and still have crime ridden neighborhoods. Remember, the whole point of this topic is spending tax dollars more wisely rather than wasting and then relying on the “money tree” to bail us out.

The part that blows my mind are the statements made by certain officials, governors, senators and congressman saying we have cut too many taxes and will suffer for it. In reality, most people complain about their own tax burden and want it lowered but feel that anyone above them should be taxed more. This has been going on throughout history.

I for one think this should be an avenue of equality. The fact that an individual or a company makes more money in itself results in more taxes paid. In no way should they be expected to pay a higher percentage, especially when the money is being wasted. We have a tax problem because we have a spending problem.

It’s like Robert A. Heinlein said, “There is no worse tyranny than to force a man to pay for what he does not want merely because you think it would be good for him.”

Look around you my good friends, it’s all around us: spending on things most of us want no part of.

Political enthusiast Will Collins is a lifelong resident of Kentucky and has called Winchester his home for the past 20 years. He can be reached at wrcollins70@gmail.com.