[Vision2020] Idaho taxes -- Pray and pay

[Ralph Nielsen]

I have just sent the following to Rep. Tom Trail, but his mailbox is  
full. So I'll take the liberty of posting it here.

Tom,
Here is a letter that I sent to the Lewiston Tribune, the Idaho  
Statesman, and the newspapers in Pocatello and Nampa/Caldwell.
While it is partly tongue-in-cheek, it just might lead some to pay or  
pray and the rest of us to hope.
Ralph Nielsen

Letter:

It seems that not all Idahoans are paying all the taxes they owe.  
Perhaps one solution would be to privatize the tax collectors. If  
they were paid on a commission basis they would make sure that all  
taxpayers pay all the taxes they owe.

This was how the Romans collected taxes in the days of Jesus. The tax  
men were not popular with some people but Jesus loved them; he would  
even wine and dine with them. So one day a tax collector called Levi  
put on a big banquet for a large crowd of tax collectors and sinners,  
plus Jesus and his disciples.

This angered some of the political and religious establishment but  
Jesus rebuked them, saying, "Since when do those in good health need  
a doctor? It's the sick who do" (Luke 5:27-32).

The moral of this Bible story is that if you want to be on the good  
side of Jesus be sure you pay all of your taxes.