We can't actually think of a time when taxes were popular. They exist in a peculiar space-time of their own, where they can only be too high. That's been a given since the first warlord extracted his pound of flesh.

But in those days, when people called Xerxes or Sennacherib ran the show, taxpayers didn't complain too openly, because there were serious — nay, lethal consequences for doing so.

Today, here in New York State, that isn't the case. More than that, taxpayers are actually invited in to see the process by which their taxes are determined. There are public meetings at which their elected representatives discuss the problems facing their districts and what they propose to do about them. For those that groaned 'neath the heel of Assyrian or Roman Emperors, such a thing would have been unimaginable.

Taxes have always been determined by the surrounding economic climate. In good times, or in healthy communities, a tax's burden will be lightly felt. In bad times or in stressed communities, a tax burden can seem unbearable. The latter seems to be the case today in regions all throughout the Hudson Valley.

So the question that arises is, "where are the taxpayers?" We go to all the meetings — school board, town board, planning board, zoning board — and we don't see taxpayers. Oh, there are a handful of stalwarts, asking questions, prodding elected officials about this or that, but the army of taxpayers is invisible.

And yet we know that frustration among the taxpaying public has reached a boiling point. One topic that generates particular fury is the generous level of salaries and benefits given to teachers. People are willing to complain in an online forum, or on a blog, but for complaints to have any effect at all, they have to be heard by those who can do something about them. In the case of teachers' pay and school taxes, that means the board of education meetings, and the workshops devoted to tax issues.

If you feel that taxpayers cannot give any more, then you have to show up and be counted at a board of education meeting. They usually start around 7:30 p.m. and they're usually held in a high school near you. And, of course, before you show up to express your opinion, it's always a good idea to check your beliefs against the facts. Make sure you understand how the school budget is derived and where the money comes from. And then come on down; the members of your school board would love to see you, even if all you plan to do is complain.

It is time to let the school boards, the school administration, and the district employees know that the taxpayers cannot give anymore. But that message can only come from the taxpayers themselves. If none show up to speak, can we honestly complain when we are hit with another four, six, or ten percent increase?

Write letters…speak out. Let your voice be heard. But even better than that, attend a school board meeting and become a participant in democracy.

To assist you, we will print times and locations of all workshops, and the contact information of all school board members and administration officials.

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