Dear Editor,

Rick, at last an admission the rich should pay their fair share of taxes. That was sort of like pulling teeth. Anyway, I could not agree more: differences of opinion need to be aired civilly if they are to be credible. Civil discourse solves more problems than the muck being slung by politicians today.

I looked into the 87,000 new I.R.S. agents to be hired. What I discovered was the proposal recommended that hiring would occur over ten years. The reason for reducing the monetary level to $600 is to concentrate on unreported income and ferret out the tax cheats like you-know-who and family. For example, it targets people who pick up handyman jobs for cash and don’t report it as income, or who have secondary jobs being paid under the table without reporting on tax forms.

I agree you have a valid point when you state: “Why would I want to pay for a program that doesn’t benefit me? That’s not fair or equitable. It’s Socialism.” Consider this scenario: a couple choses to have no children or cannot have children. Unless they live in a retirement community like Sun City, their taxes go to pay for public schools whether they like it or not. There is no benefit to them directly, yet they must pay. I do not think this is Socialism!

Lloyd Dickson

Seligman