Tax day is approaching. It is April 18th this year!

Is there anybody out there who likes to pay taxes? I met a woman once who looked forward to paying taxes. Her motto was, “I never saw a tax I didn’t like.” My guess is that there are not many like her out there.

Several changes have occurred besides the change of date from April 15 to 18 in most states, including Washington. In March, President Biden signed the $1.2 trillion 2022 Omnibus Bill that gives a $12.6 billion increase to the IRS, the first since 2001 (federalnewsnetwork.com/budget/2022/03/congress-seeks-updates-on-state-of-the-federal-workforce-in-1-5t-omnibus-spending-deal/) . This increase means more enforcement of taxes for 2022. This new law will please some and anger others. Your reaction reflects your political philosophy.

Consider a quote from Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alistair Smith in their book, “The Dictator’s Handbook”: “Conservatives care about the rich and are dedicated to protecting them from the taxing and spending inclinations of liberals, whose supporters, not surprisingly, tend to be relatively poor compared to conservative backers.”

Bueno de Mesquita continues: “From the perspective of this book, so-called liberals and so-called conservatives appear simply to have carved out separate electoral niches that give them a good chance of winning office. Democrats in the United States like to raise taxes on the rich, improve welfare for the poor, and seek heavy doses of benefits for the middle-class swing voters. Republicans in the United States like to reduce taxes on the rich, decrease welfare for the poor, relying on back-to-work programs instead, and similarly, look for heavy doses of benefits for the swing voters…. Both parties pay special attention to the middle-class because there are an awful lot of middle-class voters, and they can be tipped either way.”

Do you like tax deductions on mortgage interest, expansion of Medicare benefits, subsidies for university tuition for your children, and Social Security increases? You’re middle class.

Or do you think there is a lot of welfare fraud and cheating on taxes? You, too, are middle class. Your priorities are different, but it’s all about benefiting you.

The poor don’t usually vote, either because they don’t understand the issues or don’t think their vote matters much, thus guaranteeing their interests won’t be met — a self-fulfilling prophecy. “The poor rarely consume any of these benefits, but they pay for them to help the rich, if they pay taxes at all,” de Mesquita continues. “40 percent of Americans—mostly at the lower income levels—pay no income taxes at all.”

According to de Mesquita, “The rich like subsidies, too…. The well off and Republican candidates by and large favor… government support for medical research on cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and other ailments of the elderly who happen also to be the wealthiest age cohort in the United States.”

The rich live longer because they have better incomes, healthcare, and diets. They can afford them. Therefore, they get the diseases of aging. That’s why so many farming areas vote Republican; Republicans give them subsidies. The Electoral College gives disproportionate power to farmers because when it was created, most Americans were farmers, not urban dwellers.

Politicians have two major goals: To get into power and to stay there. Paying off constituents with rewards is what works.

So, as you can see, ”People support leaders who deliver policies that specifically benefit them [except the poor]” (de Mesquita).

If you listen to the news, Democratic President Joe Biden is recommending a minimum 20 percent tax on billionaires and aid to parents with school age children. Do you see why the middle class would favor such a tax? Because the middle class won’t be paying any of it.

What are the Republicans offering this election year? They want to prohibit Critical Race Theory from being taught in K-12 schools although it isn’t being taught. They want to close the southern border to immigrants and build a southern border wall. This expensive wall is more symbolic than practical or effective. They also favor ending mask and COVID vaccine mandates, while statistics show than red Republican states have far higher death rates that blue Democratic states. Ending abortions also energizes conservatives to vote, rousing emotions rather than appealing to reason.

It seems the Republicans are trying to divert attention from their unwillingness to benefit their constituents with financial rewards. Tax day is April 18th. Which party gives you the most benefits? That’s really the bottom line when paying taxes.