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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Tax Day: "Paying the Mortgage" for the Nation's Future?

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Monday, April 16, 2007   


It's tax day, and many of us put off filing our income taxes until the last minute. Maybe it's because it's not easy letting go of that money. But Don Morrison, director of NDPeople.Org, says it's a little easier if you think about those taxes as an investment in your future. He says without our tax dollars, we wouldn't have quality schools, roads or a strong military.

"And ya know, when I pay my taxes on Tuesday, it'll be just like I'm paying my mortgage, I know I'm getting a good life out of what I'm paying for."

According to one study, 5 cents of every federal tax dollar is used for education, 2 cents goes to housing and another 2 cents goes to protecting our natural resources. And the lion's share, about 40 cents, goes to the military for current expenses and past debts. Morrison believes the system works best when citizens all pay their fair share, and take the lead in setting priorities for those tax dollars.

"Things such as tax caps and rebates, it tells us that what we're paying for isn't worth paying for. But democracy is something that you either use it, or lose it. And so we need to be participating in who we elect, and just make sure that paying in is fair and what it pays for also benefits us as a community."

More information about how federal tax dollars are spent can be found online at www.nationalpriorities.org.


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