By Eric Schneiderman - The National Law Journal

Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes famously said that taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society. We experience the literal truth of his words when revenues come up short in the state budget, and we're forced to either raise taxes or cut back on the things that make us a civilized society: public education, basic preventive health care for poor children, police, the court system. The tradeoffs are stark, and the stakes high.

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