Squealing loud as I can about tax bill

On top of the $5,000 that DuPage County already seizes from me in property tax, it wants to take another $250 this year, contending that my home's value increased as of two years ago. Forget the fact that my home isn't worth as much today. This is how valuation works. I understand this annual exploitation of my role as a mute, helpless taxpayer. But I won't allow the confiscation of my wealth to keep me from fantasizing about that sweet, sweet pot of money that I'm about to lose.

With $250, I could have helped my daughter in college to pay for her daily expenses. Or I could have bought groceries, and gone antiquing, and still have put some money into my savings account. Or I could have had a plumber rod out a slow drain in my kitchen, and then tipped him as I would a waitress, just to see his flabbergasted expression. Or I could have given the cash to my son for keeping his grades up in school, just to see a 17-year-old boy hesitate mightily before giving his dad a hug. Or I could have purchased a ton of roses for my wife, for Mother's Day, and taken her out to dinner, before surprising her with a leather purse afterward. Instead, the $250 is going to the DuPage County Treasurer's office. Rather than the taxpayer having to do without, why doesn't the government cut its own costs, cut its own staff, cut its extraneous programs? The answer is that there is no need for the county government to cut its little finger in order to downsize, as long as, to keep itself feeling prosperous, it can butcher one pig from the herd of swine it calls "the people." Well, I'm squealing as loudly and madly as I can. Feel free to join the chorus.

Alexander Lee

Carol Stream