A Dollar A Day Keeps The...Tax Dollars Away?

The Article A Dollar For Your Thoughts posted on Empower Texas July 18th, 2012 by WasteWatch, directly addresses the more conservative Texans who are concerned with the proper use of our tax dollars. I was first attracted to the article by seeing a picture of a dollar bill being burned. After reading the article I realized the relevance of the picture. WasteWatch enlightens its readers by showing a letter being sent out by the US Department Of Commerce to "randomly selected" citizens. The letter includes a real dollar bill and a questionnaire asking about citizens' shopping habits and recent travel expenses. It is clear to the reader that the author finds this letter as an improper use of our tax dollars, and bases his argument off logistics and textual evidence.

The author seems credible. He clearly evaluates the situation by informing his readers with statistics about how much money these letters are actually costing the state of Texas. He made a very convincing point, by the time each letter is stamped, sealed, and stuffed with a dollar bill, the price increases. I understand that staying involved with Texas citizens is very important for its government, but I do not see this as a conceivable way to do this.  I can't say I agree with every statement the author has made throughout the article. WasteWatch seems to believe that Texas is constantly wasting its citizens tax dollars. Although I do find this survey tactic to be a bit ridiculous on our governments part, I don't think they are just disposing of our money left and right. The government has definitely put some of our money to good use, and this was just an error in the system.

For the most part, the argument made was convincing and the Republican mentality of keeping taxes to minimum was definitely revealed throughout the article. When first reading it, I actually found this editorial to be quite humorous...and then a little worrisome. The author has opened me up to new concerns I've never been exposed to. Texas recently refused to participate in the national health care plan in order to keep taxes minimal, and then I hear this? Even though the cost of sending out a few thousand letters doesn't compare to the price of Medicaid, our government may need to evaluate its priorities and find a way to compromise with the big issue of our Texas tax dollars...but maybe not communicate it through letters this time.