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Today is Tax Day – the day the political right – lazily and predictably – likes to use as a crutch for blasting government.

What all of us would do well to recall today, however, is where we would be without taxes and the essential services they provide that make civilized society possible.

And we should also remember two huge failings of the North Carolina tax system that are the handiwork of political conservatives:

First, is the regressive nature of our state tax structure – a system in which the wealthy pay vastly lower rates than people of middle and lower incomes.

And second, is the way that repeated regressive tax cuts of the past 15 years are starving core public services – so much so that total spending on things like schools and infrastructure in North Carolina has plunged by nearly 40%.

The bottom line: No one loves paying taxes, and our system is far from perfect, but when Americans buy into lazy and simplistic anti-tax narratives, average people play right into the hands of the wealthy forces who’ve been rigging the system.

For NC Newsline, I’m Rob Schofield.