A bigger share of the pot.

I am going to volunteer to pay taxes. In Italy. For the mere privilege of being in Italy. It’s well worth every euro that I pay. Because every day I am breathing fine Italian air. And absorbing fine Italian culture. My conscience bothers me. Because I’m getting all this for free. No taxes. But that’s gonna change. I’ll send the Department of Taxation a crisp 20 euro bill. With a thank you. And a suggestion. That the money be spent to help unemployed and destitute Italians. Take it. As a token symbol. That I want a redistribution of wealth. In Italy, and everywhere. In a way that serves the common good.  Let’s take more taxes from the ‘haves,’ especially the millionaires and billionaires, and pour it all into programs that help the least fortunate. I’m an American. But I want to do my part to make for a better life in Italy. For Italy’s poor and middle class. I’m not so concerned about the Italian rich any more than about the American rich. They’ll manage on their own. Always have. Always will. It’s the others that need a bigger share of the pot. –Jim Broede