Sunday, April 15, 2007

A Different Kind of Protest

In my local paper today, there was an article about 10 people in my city who are not going to pay their income taxes this year to protest the war. To this end, 10 other people in my city are donating their income tax refunds to both our local library system and a fund to help those who aren't paying their taxes pay their fines and penalties.

Essentially, they are trying to make a statement that they aren't happy that their tax dollars are going to a war they don't support while education continues to see cuts. They're trying to have a say in how their money is spent.

While this is likely to cost these people a whole bunch of money and possibly some criminal charges, I have to say that I'm intrigued.

I doubt that 10 people from Port Huron, MI will "make a difference" in this way, but I'm left wondering if it's being done on a grander scale and my paper just isn't reporting it. Is this something that's being done across the nation? Has anyone heard about this?

I'm guessing that the people who aren't paying their taxes live relatively comfortably or they wouldn't be doing this. Just a guess. Somehow, it seems counterproductive to the cause to set up a fund to pay penalties.

Anyhow, back to my homework...

No comments: