Last summer, at age 15, I obtained my first job working as a cashier and waitress at a local coffee shop.
As I received paycheck after paycheck, I noticed that, like every other working American, money was being regularly deducted from each hour of work and donated to the state and federal governments.
At first I viewed this taxation as a necessary reality that must exist to sustain our political institutions, and yet, with further exploration of the topic, I have grown more and more concerned about the nature of this taxation.
It is my understanding that the foundations of the United States were built on a very important democratic principle: no taxation without representation.
This tenet was the catalyst of a brutal war that resulted in the gain of American independence.
Our nation is grounded in one stolid belief: freedom.
And yet, the very freedom for which our founding fathers gave their lives is being violated today in our own political systems.
Now I am 16 years old, and as a minor in the State of Illinois, I am taxed on my income and still do not have the right to vote on the nature or amount of these taxes.
I am appalled at this breach of principle and shocked that an oversight of this caliber could be allowed to occur.
I speak on behalf of the youth of America, who are treated not as citizens but as prisoners of political and educational hierarchies, and I implore all those who find the hypocrisy of our income tax policies to be offensive to speak out against the asinine practice of ignoring the rights of a citizen to be heard.
The youth of America, perhaps more than anyone, understand democratic principles, especially on issues of taxation, and are, for the most part, more than willing to contribute to the strength of our nation’s future.
But the government has the option to offer youth a right to vote on such issues or change its expectations of a working minor today.
We refuse to be forced to compromise a political principle simply for the sake of feeding the feds more hard-earned money.
