[00:00:00] Linzy: Hello and welcome back to another Feelings and Finances episode of the Money Skills for Therapist podcast. These are our short and sweet Friday episodes where I answer questions from you, the listeners of the Money Skills for Therapist podcast, the wonderful therapists and health practitioners and coaches that make up our community.

[00:00:20] Linzy: Today’s question is from Lessey and here is their question. 

[00:00:24] Lessey: Hi, Linzy. My name is Lessey. I am a therapist in Colorado. My question for your Feelings and Finance is… I don’t know if there’s an answer to this question. I don’t expect an answer to this question. It’s more just, I’ve been asking other therapists lately and other helpers, sort of their feelings about this.

[00:00:47] Lessey: I would be curious to know what you think. Concerning taxes, when we are aware that there are unethical practices happening with our tax dollars by this government and taxes may be going to things that feel morally or ethically against what we believe, particularly being therapists in the health care system that isn’t very supportive of clients.

[00:01:12] Lessey: Just curious about when it feels really hard to hand money over to the government that you don’t particularly support what they’re doing with a lot of that tax money and any sort of moral imperative or ethical imperative we have as caregivers, to sort of speak up about that, or do something about that, or say something about that or refuse to do that or whatever the action step might be when you feel you’re giving your money to unethical places or being forced to give your money to unethical practices

[00:01:49] Lessey: by our government. Just curious what you have to say about that. Just curious about your own feelings about that. I know it’s a kind of touchy subject for a lot of people. A lot of people don’t like to approach this subject or talk about it. And a lot of what I’ve gotten back is people just putting their head down.

[00:02:04] Lessey: Well, we have to do it; it is what we’re doing, and we don’t get to talk about it. And just wanting to open up the conversation and let people speak freely about how they feel. about having to hand over hard earned money to what they feel is not in alignment for how it’s being spent. Anyway, I appreciate your time.

[00:02:22] Lessey: Thanks. Bye. 

[00:02:23] Linzy: Thank you so much for this question, Lessey. And as you say, it’s not one where I think there’s a hard answer, but it is a really interesting conversation, about money and taxes. And, I’m Canadian, so. I’m living in a different context. and most of the folks that I work with are American.

[00:02:42] Linzy: The folks that we support in our courses tend to be about 90 percent American, 10 percent Canadian, and also some Europeans in the mix. And that makes a lot of sense. Because that’s our exact population ratio. You folks have 10 times more people, 10 times more therapists, than we do in Canada.

[00:02:56] Linzy: So I totally hear you on the ethical moral reservations about taxes going to things that you don’t support. I can name some of those things probably. I would assume the prison system, the judicial system and the way that it discriminates against certain people, war. At the time that I’m recording,

[00:03:16] Linzy: this is shortly after Trump has made these kind of blustery statements about just taking over the Gaza Strip, which may or may not actually turn into anything, but if it did, would certainly be a massive, massive amount of money that America would be investing, to put it a certain way, in something that I’m sure many, many, many Americans do not support, right?

[00:03:38] Linzy: But when you are pooling your money into the collective through taxes, you don’t get to, you know, say exactly what happens with your dollars, right? Our dollars do go to things that we are not supportive of at the end of the day, that do not reflect our values, and what we want to see happen in this world. So in terms of how we work with that and sit with that and what we do about that, this could be like a whole episode, Lessey, I feel like with, you know, lots of people’s perspectives because it is messy and complicated and, you know, tax evasion is a crime. Unless you’re a multi billionaire. Then, you know, you have lawyers who let you get away with it.

[00:04:15] Linzy: But for most of us who are not multi billionaires and who don’t have lawyers on our payroll for millions of dollars a year, tax evasion is a crime. As I’m thinking about this, too, I’m thinking, it’s also not all bad, right? And this is where it gets muddy, when we don’t align with the goals or values of a particular administration, or even just the way the government has been functioning for decades, right, under any administration, there’s still going to be some things that the government is doing that we do support, right? So, for instance, I’m thinking about my own tax dollars, and what do my tax dollars do.

[00:04:49] Linzy: My tax dollars might go towards supporting certain policies that I don’t personally support or endorse. But also my tax dollars do go towards schools and roads, rec centers, all sorts of things that I do support. And they do go towards programming that I am very supportive of.

[00:05:06] Linzy: Right? Programming that I think is great. and so, you know, when I think about it, it’s not a black or white issue.Because I’m sure, Lessey, there are things that the government is doing with your tax dollars that you would support. And that you are happy about.

[00:05:18] Linzy: Roads in Schools, I feel like, is always an easy one. Right? Most of us like roads and schools. Even if you don’t like exactly what’s happening in the education system, I think most of us are in support of the idea that there should be an education system, that all children should be able to access that education system for free.

[00:05:33] Linzy: That it should be a high quality education system. In the United States, there’s many areas where the education system is not good, and it’s underfunded, and that’s where we want to see more of our tax dollars going towards that thing, right? We don’t want to have less tax dollars in the system.

[00:05:47] Linzy: So when I think about it, I think that the points of intervention are not in us giving over our tax dollars, it’s in: how are we using our power and our voices to challenge and change what the government is doing with that tax money, right? And then I also think about: how are we then also using our dollars that we have personally to use to see the things that we want in our community that the government is not doing, right?

[00:06:13] Linzy: And so it’s, I think, finding your sphere of influence, right? Like, where can we actually make an impact? Where can we change the way that things are happening? And nobody is going to change American foreign policy overnight. Nobody is going to stop imperialism and wars and racial profiling in the criminal justice system overnight.

[00:06:32] Linzy: But, as we continue to push for and lobby for what we do believe in, and live our values, and spend the money that we do have as well, on supporting the things that exist. So for instance, I’m very active with my time in my son’s school and also with my money in my son’s school, right? So we support all the fundraisers.

[00:06:49] Linzy: We give a lot of our personal time and our family, both my partner and I, to making my son’s school a better place. Our school council, because we’re in an area that is able to fundraise a good amount of money, we also donate money to other schools. You know, so there’s a school in our neighborhood that draws in families that do not have the disposable income that we have.

[00:07:09] Linzy: So our school made a large transfer to that school’s food program. Right? So we’re now helping have hundreds of meals at that school that would not be there otherwise for kids through the power of our money. It does make me think about, both, how do you use your own power, your own sphere of influence, to challenge and shift what the government is doing?

[00:07:31] Linzy: And then how do you use the rest of the money that you have to continue to make the world what we want it to be? Right? I think that tax refusal could get you thrown in jail. I don’t know if that’s worth it. There’s always strategic questions to ask about how we use our time and energy, and what is effective in terms of making political change.

[00:07:48] Linzy: But I think there is no question that using our time and energy to advocate and to push for the things that we want, and of course, elect candidates that are actually endorsing the things that we want, the value shift that they don’t come overnight, but they do happen, and then also using our own personal money that we have outside of taxes to support causes that we believe in,

[00:08:12] Linzy: are powerful ways to make change in the world within the sphere of influence that we do have. Something else that makes me think about Lessey, for your own money too, when you make charitable donations, that’s going to offset taxes in a way. When you put money into your own retirement funds, that also offset taxes.

[00:08:26] Linzy: So I think about, what are the life giving things that you can do with your money that actually also reduces your tax burden, which means less your money’s going into this pool of money that you don’t like all the things that are happening with it, that are really powerful uses of your money in your own life.

[00:08:39] Linzy: So even thinking about your own dollars, what are the things that are tax savings that also allow you to create change and make the things that you do want to happen, happen in the world? Those are my thoughts, Lessey, on this piece. As I said, this is a very rich question. I love that you are having these conversations with the folks around you… If you want, you can always work with an accountant, too,

[00:08:59] Linzy: I will say, who is more on the creative accounting side, who is more of a risk taker. And if you’re a risk taker, and if you want to, you know, look at writing things off in your business in a more liberal way, you are allowed to do that, which would leave more money in your pocket.But there are, of course, risks that come with that, and the chance of being audited, and the chance of having to pay back that tax money. And then, of course, being flagged as somebody who should be audited in the future. So there’s risks to that, but you get to choose, right? And so with all of this, we get to choose, but I would really think about what are the areas that you can make the most impact.

[00:09:30] Linzy: And also stepping a little bit, again, out of that black and white thinking that all of your tax money is going towards. things that you don’t support, and focusing on the tax money that is going towards things that you do support, and how do you continue to enhance and support those things that you do care about and that are values aligned.

[00:09:48] Linzy: So thank you so much for this question, Lessey. This is a really rich, interesting topic and I really appreciate you bringing this to the Feelings and Finances podcast episode today. If you, like Lessey, have a question, or maybe more of a topic, that you would like me to dig into on a future episode of Feelings and Finances, all you need to do is head over to the podcast page.

[00:10:10] Linzy: You’ll see that spot to hit record to submit a question to me. There’s a link in the show notes too that will take you there. I would love to dig into your question or topic on a future episode. Thank you so much for joining me today.