Richard Conniff wrote an Op-Ed today for the New York Times under the heading “Abolish All Taxes“. As it was not a headline one would expect to see at the liberal New York Times, it has attracted quite a bit of attention. Mr. Conniff however is not advocating actually abolishing taxes, only the word. He feels it would be better calling them “dues”, as if a horse of another color is no longer a horse. His logic behind changing the verbiage but not the substance of our tax system is flawed to say the least, but since I enjoy mocking the New York Times, I’ll take a moment to do so again.

I propose we stop saying “taxes” and start calling them “dues.”

Yes, this is a little sneaky. Some conservatives may even call it Orwellian, and they ought to know. But the word “dues” also plays into the psychology of group identity, and that can work to the benefit of conservatives and liberals alike. Consider that “tax” comes from the Latin for “appraise” with punitive overtones of “censure” or “fault,” as if wage-earners have done something wrong by their labors. “Dues,” in contrast, is rooted in social obligation and duty.

If you took the time to read the whole article, you’ll notice I cut right to the meat and potatoes and glossed over the “all conservatives are evil” paragraphs preceding this. This paragraph, although written by an obvious liberal actually has at it’s heart a conservatives beliefs. The word ‘duty’ strikes me above all else, and this is a word that conservatives would certainly be able to use to our advantage if their was a politician simple minded enough to follow Mr. Conniff’s advice.

The term “Dues” is most commonly found in association with unions, or other such groups which charge it’s members annual dues for the privilege of membership. In short, if you want to be part of the union you must pay your dues, otherwise the union will not offer you any services. Likewise, if the United States government instituted a similar policy you would quickly see politicians voted out of office for their reckless spending once the estimated 40% of Americans who do not pay taxes are forced to write a check. After all, like American Express says, membership has its privileges, and for too long this country has been offering privileges to all, while only charging “dues” to some.

If we were to call it dues, maybe we could then have a truly fair system of collecting revenue. One in which all citizens pay their “fair share” for the privilege of being an American.

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Features, Liberals, New York Times, Taxes