Everybody Is Republican On Tax Day

I suppose it's a bit like St. Patrick's day, when protestants, catholics and atheists gather together to drink green beer, wear distasteful clothes and dance without moving their arms. Everybody is Irish on St. Patrick's Day.

Every time April rolls around the water cooler starts to bubble with the heat of discontented taxpayers. Even the most liberal voices can be heard mumbling, "I thought I'd be getting more back" or "This year I claimed . . . " or "By all that is holy on heaven and earth, I owe." When we fill out our tax forms, deep in our heart of hearts every American knows that we could do a better job managing our money than the government. It's not greed (well, most of the time). It's not arrogance (well, some of the time). It's just common sense.

When we plug in our charitable contributions there is an assured satisfaction that those dollars were more effective than what Uncle Sam may have chipped in for the same cause. When we write off certain items we know that we've earned that right to write. When we file for extensions we know that the red tape forcing us to do so is the same red tape that binds the government's effectiveness. On that one day of the year, everyone who is honest with him or herself knows that they could put their money to better use than Uncle Sam. Oh, some liberals may believe that others can't be trusted so we need the heavy tax burden, but when they look in the mirror they know. They know.

Everybody is a Republican on tax day.