[Editor's Note: This is an article I wrote way back in 2010, and I believe that it is just as relevant, if not more so, today than it was then.]

I had an interesting conversation some years back with a government official. I made some comment about government getting too big, and I resented having to pay taxes for more governmental services.

He got all huffy, and said that he, too, pays taxes. I agreed with him, but asked him if he paid enough taxes to pay his salary. He retorted: “Of course not.”

Well, I asked: Who is paying your salary? He surmised that it might be part state funds and part federal funds. And Where do those funds come from? I asked.

Well, the government, of course. By this time, he was looking at me like I was really stupid. Where does the government get its money? I asked.

At last the light dawned. He quietly said: “The taxpayers.”

I couldn’t resist one last stab. “So you’re paying your own salary and I’m subsidizing it.” He didn’t say anything.

They really don’t have a clue. The “they” I’m speaking of are those who think the government is wonderful, can do anything, and can do no wrong.

I’m not one of “them.” I think the government should be run as a business is, with an eye on the bottom line, and an effort to always stay in the black.

I know where the money comes from. It comes from your and my pockets. That gives us less money to pay for things that we would like to have, because unlike “them,” we try not to spend what we don’t have. Yes, emergencies arise, but we/you have saved for them. We don’t need a government handout.

I also resent those who “take” the government for all they can. They inflate invoices, file illegal claims, and use the courts to get government payments.

That’s your and my money “they” are squandering.

Do you have any suggestions of how we can convince people that paying more and more taxes is not a good thing? And that the government is not all-knowing or the be-all and end-all of the best authority?