Why I paid my taxes tonight, and why you should too (if you can)

This year, I owed money to the IRS and to the State of California for my 2019 earning. Don’ t pity me! I planned it that way. I’m not one to give the government an interest-free loan. And to be fair, I slightly miscalculated, owing a bit more than I expected.

But even though both the federal and state filing and payment deadlines have been extended by 2 months because of the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting lockdown, I still paid what I owed tonight, and you should too — if you can.

Before I explain way, I want to make 2 things clear:

• I am extraordinarily lucky in that I work in tech in Silicon Valley and still have a job and a regular income.
• I am painfully aware that way, way WAY too many people are not working right now and are hurting.

It is that second thing that drives me to pay now. And for anyone who does owe and is able to pay, I say that’s why you should too.

I believe in good government, government that represents what we want and need and believe as a decent, functioning society. Never mind that our government at a federal level is run by a bunch of grifting incompetents and their cabal of sycophants, government at all levels is spending money at a historic pace, and part of that spending (not enough!) is to help those who are hurting.

Well, where does that money come from? It comes from us! Just as restaurants need those who can to buy take-out food to keep some of their employees working and paid and the business from failing, so does government need a source of funding for the cash that’s being given out.

Look, I know that the amount I’m paying (around $3K this year) doesn’t even amount to a drop in the bucket when it comes to federal and state budgets. But there are 40 million people in California and 325 million people in the U.S., not a few of which have drops that they can give. Enough drops, and we have a bucketful, a rain shower, even a torrent.

Having this money helps our governments, which represent us, to be compassionate. We hear stories day after day, week after week, of local compassion, and it warms our hearts as we stay in our homes. Well, this is a story that needs to be written too, helping give our governments the resources they need to be just as compassionate.

And that’s why I’m paying now, not waiting until the last possible moment as I usually do. If you can, I encourage you to do the same.