No taxes for the 'Tea Party,' and no services either

This country should give the "Tea Party" exactly what it wants: No more taxes.

Then, of course, all other services that are paid for by everyone else's taxes shouldn't be made available to members of the Tea Party movement.

That would include Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid benefits, our highway system, police protection, fire protection, public schools, libraries, and all other government agencies and entities that receive government funds.

We would soon see how long the Tea Party would survive in its own tax-free world.

Leon Rodriguez; Denver

Who defines fair share?

So commentary writer Rich Benjamin loves to pay his taxes. Well, that's his call. How about letting the rest of us keep some of what we make? I make less than $60,000 a year, and once you factor in state, federal, Social Security and medical coverage, I lose about 30%.

Once you factor in gas taxes, sales taxes and property taxes, about 35% of what I make is being confiscated. Benjamin likes to talk about paying our fair share. Isn't 35% of what I make enough? I understand that we pay taxes for roads, the military, police, fire and other essential services. However, this government isn't willing to stop at the essentials. The government has more than enough of our money to operate, but it refuses to spend intelligently. It blew more than $800 billion on this stimulus package without much benefit coming to us. The government also spent more than $1 billion to switch from analog broadcasting to digital.

The same government that created this mess we are in defines what is "our fair share," and somehow its definition tends to put working people like me on the losing end.

Bob Webster; Kalamazoo, Mich.

Unsustainable system

As a small-business owner, I was glad to see the graphic in the editorial "When 47% don't pay income tax, it's not healthy for USA" detailing the percentage of people who don't pay taxes (Our view, Financing government debate, Friday).

However, it's much worse than that. Not only do many Americans not pay income taxes, but some of them also receive refund checks.

In short, some people did not pay into the system, but are making a profit from it.

This setup cannot continue. Our system will soon become unsustainable.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/le ... 0_ST_N.htm