Personally, I don't see taxes as always an evil or even usually an evil, but are often justified and for a valuable common good. They may often be unfortunate and unjustified, too, but all American presidents and legislators of both parties from the inception of our country have used taxation to raise needed funds for the common good (e.g., defense of country) and as economic and political incentives (tax breaks) and disincentives. The "taxation is always bad" thinking is lunacy, the same kind of idiotic thinking of WSJ and Wall Street that led to our uniquely threatening mess at home and around the world. Governor Mitch Daniels (Republican) of Indiana led the charge successfully to raise taxes 50 cents per pack of cigarettes, using the common good of health as justification for the economic disincentive to smoke. Obama (and McCain) support a cap and trade program for the same reasons, to discourage a far more deadly smoking of major polluting industries. Not our human health is at stake, but also the very life-sustaining health of our planet.