Oliver Wendell Holmes never needed to go to the University Student Recreation Complex.But the former Supreme Court justice did offer some enlightenment for the situation confronting University students.”Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society,” he said.Across the country, Wednesday’s “Tax Day Tea Parties” brought together thousands of people nationwide to protest what they called “wasteful spending” by buying millions of tea bags and throwing them all away. The message has to do primarily with government bailouts but, thanks to Fox News’ corroboration disguised as “coverage,” turned into a nationwide exercise in hypocrisy.The looming budget cuts will wreak havoc on the quality of living, setting the University back “decades,” according to Chancellor Michael Martin.As a result, students now face larger class sizes, the elimination of scholarships and higher student fee increases.The first two would limit the quality of learning, but student fee increases should be appropriately named to reflect their impact on the University.We should be calling student fees “taxes.”And they should be increased.I just lost most of you — I can feel it.
The traditional argument against tax increases is the prevention of the growth of businesses, reducing the number of jobs allegedly created by small and large business owners. In this case, government is likened to its own entity, scheming and plotting to rob everyone of everything from their money to their guns and, inevitably, their beliefs.What was lost on the crowds around the country was literally surrounding those crowds, as the parks and waters, the roads and bridges, the municipal buildings and the police guarding them, were all funded with taxes.Here on campus, we can eat lunch in the Student Union, rent books from a vast library, work out at the Rec and even get checkups and mental health examinations complete with support groups and wellness units, all from student fees.But some students act like facilities at this University should just be given to them without any method of payment, though not necessarily on a silver platter. After all, tuition should go for something, right?Wrong. Student fees, like taxes, go into what we will of them, and we make those decisions based on who we put in office. Mayor-President Kip Holden should be commended for the construction projects around the city to repair outdated and broken roads.Anyone upset with construction clearly can’t see the huge signs displaying the total state and federal funds, under the eight-foot long caption, “Your Tax Dollars at Work.”Much like those in Massachusetts, who recently agreed to raise taxes to provide health insurance for its residents, I’d like to think my sales and payroll taxes are going to provide for the common good.Personally, I’ve been to the Rec exactly once but I am a regular patron at the Student Health Center.As a student, I’ll take every advantage to visit a counselor to help with a stressful semester or advice in handling major traumatic events.As a New Orleanian, I’m hard pressed to find someone who can legitimately claim taxes are unfair, considering the levees that broke in my city in August 2005.As an American, I’m confused when the same people who rail against taxes implore their fellow Americans to support our troops protecting our freedoms overseas. Protesting against taxes and supporting our troops don’t go hand in hand.After all, as the old adage goes, freedom isn’t free.Eric Freeman Jr. is a 22-year-old political science junior from New Orleans.—-Contact Eric Freeman Jr. at [email protected]