Normally, I figure paying taxes is a necessary evil and I don’t mind pitching in my share to better America or assist others in need. However, I look to April 2018 with dread, for two reasons. Reason one is obvious, the current U.S. administration, but the second reason is local.
One: Beautiful Vermont, you are my state, but you sit amidst a country that is not mine at this time. I can not support this government of criminals, liars and fools that does not care for the people who are its pillars. One that decimates its own environment, having no respect for scientific fact or the Earth, jeopardizing all of us by rolling back progress. One that denies the right to clean air, water and steps toward lessening climate change. One that takes the foundation of what America is based upon and twists its laws and spits upon its Constitution! Why should I pay my hard-earned living to bolster dishonest, greedy criminals that have usurped our nation?  Infinite amounts of money will not be enough to bring them happiness or an inkling of enlightenment!  Someone please explain to me why and how it is possible that Dump and his cronies are still in office?
Two: For some time I have questioned whether to discuss this topic or leave it alone. However, I feel that I need to mention the below to the many parents of incoming Middlebury Union High School students. It is going to be difficult to pay taxes that pitch into another year’s salary for Principal William Lawson and Asst. Principal Catherine Diemon. Actions that I witnessed with my son at the school last year, even though he carried a 4.0, show they really do not care much for our young adults. They definitely work against rather than with/for the students.
It is apparent that they are more concerned with the entrenched crime-and-punishment bureaucracy that they have created, than seeing our students move onward to greater experience. Rather than being open to punishments that truly fit the crimes and allow students to learn, they slam the harshest penalty on the student and make the student disappear (suspension) for a few days. (A suspension shows up on your transcript and must be explained to interested colleges during the application process.)
They have been in their positions way too long. Maybe they can grab that early retirement incentive and please leave.
With any luck, maybe all the above mentioned will be history by April. Possibly, millions of Americans will realize that the taxes they pay into the system give the life to the system. Perhaps, the time has come to stop paying into the system?
Judy Kowalczyk
Ripton