To the Editor:

I agree with “Abolish All ‘Taxes,’” by Richard Conniff (Op-Ed, April 15), that the word “taxes” has way too much baggage. I also agree with his friend who doesn’t like the word “dues” either.

Both imply something extracted as a cost of membership in a society. Why don’t we call the money we send the Internal Revenue Service what it really is: an investment in America.

We are all shareholders in this enterprise, and we all have a say, as voters, in how our investments are managed.

If we don’t like what our leaders are doing with our assets, we fire them at the next election.

Susan Fiore
Verona, Wis., April 16, 2008

Note from KBJ: If we replace “tax” with “investment,” we’ll have to distinguish between two types of investment: the usual voluntary sort and the new involuntary sort. The word “tax” has a negative connotation for a reason.