The Joys Of Paying Taxes

Robyn Blumner turns her most recent column — “Thank You For Paying Your Taxes, Saving Lives” — over to 23 year old Keira Scholz, who has a unique understanding of how much good our tax dollars can do for our fellow Americans:

Dear American Taxpayers,

I am a daughter of a meth-addicted, uneducated single mother of six children. Since 1987, you have supported me as you paid your taxes. You are the sole reason I am alive today. I am writing to thank you for doing it.

From the moment my single, young mother found out she was pregnant with me, to the time I graduated from college, the taxes you have paid have been my bread and butter, my warmth and shelter, my health and happiness. I was born in a clean, safe hospital with competent doctors because of Medicaid. I was vaccinated, diagnosed, treated, medicated and consistently checked because of your tax-paid public assistance.

I was fed nutritious food and vitamin-fortified cereals to keep malnourishment at bay thanks to the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program. My mother learned how to provide varied meals for my growing body because of the resources and education WIC offered. Later in life, I subsisted entirely on the meals provided by food stamps as my source of food at home. But at school, I was offered a free breakfast and lunch, and sometimes that was my only meal for the day.