paying the taxes

1. Refers to any class of people other than tax-avoiding corporate elites such as GE and Exxon. In contrast to the above definition of the phrase, this definition acknowledges that taxes have not risen for most Americans, and especially not for record-smashing billion-dollar profit companies who shelter their earnings from taxation with off-shore subsidiaries. It also refers to the hard work done by working class and middle class people that pays social security and income taxes to the federal government. This is the work that keeps our society functioning by paying for schools, roads, hospitals, and other basic life necessities that the free market has failed to provide in an equitable and socially responsible manner.