We’re one of those small businesses that congress claims to care so much about. We’re also, many years, a couple that makes over whatever the limit is for raising taxes. Whenever we see a tax credit, whether it’s for child care, or alternative minimum tax or whatever, we just ignore it because we know we don’t qualify. Even though The Julia Group is 100% Hispanic female owned, we don’t qualify for Section 8(a) funding as a disadvantaged business because our household net worth is too high.

We pay A LOT of taxes. Corporate taxes. State taxes. Federal taxes. I even pay taxes to the Spirit Lake Dakota Nation, because we do business there.

So, I guess this is the part where I’m supposed to scream that I shouldn’t pay taxes and whine that I can’t create jobs because of taxes.

In North Dakota, the guys on the rodeo would tell each other to “Cowboy up”. I think that means quit being a whiner and do what is expected of you.

My former partner would tell his sons, “Be a man”. I think he meant the same thing.

I’ll just say, all of you people who are making over $200,000 a year, some of you making over $200,000,000 a year should just quit lying, quit being a dick and pay your taxes.

Here are some of the reasons I don’t complain about paying taxes:

1. My husband and I have six degrees between us. Five of those were from state institutions very heavily subsidized by taxes. Without that education, we wouldn’t be making this money.

2. I pay taxes to the Spirit Lake Dakota Nation because I do business there. The law enforcement, sanitation, roads department and every other service I use when I am there have to be paid for by someone. Why shouldn’t I pay part of it? My income is many times the average resident on the reservation, why should they all pay and not me?

3. The resident rocket scientist works on government contracts. There aren’t a lot of rocket scientist wanted ads in the LA Times. Be glad he does, too. He’s brilliant.

4. I do a lot of government work. This year, it’s probably 50% of our business. My salary and corporate profits come in part from those taxes.

5. I live in a beautiful place, by the beach, in a safe neighborhood. Someone has to pay for the lifeguards, police, fire department, sanitation, libraries.

6. I use a lot of government resources. When doing research, I’m continually accessing data collected by the Census Bureau, the Department of Education or the National Institutes of Health or the National Science Foundation. The research they fund enables me to make money.

I know that all of these factors are true for me and I find it impossible they aren’t much more true for someone making $200 million a year.

So quit lying about how government is the problem, quit being a dick, cowboy up and pay your taxes.

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