The Tampon Tax

 In high school, I had an art teacher that often said something that always stuck with me: "Life sucks and then you die." This often reminded me of the sentiment that the only certain things in life are death and taxes. Every time I get a paycheck, I look at the amount removed by taxes and automatically get sad. I think about how much we pay in taxes and how much of that is wasted on things that the government doesn't even tell us about. Another thing I think about are the necessities that we all pay for that taxes could be going towards, and I don't mean food and water. Obviously, I think that food insecurity is a tragically common issue, but that is not the discussion that I will focus on today. The issue that I would like to focus on is tampons.

In many states, tampons and other feminine hygiene products that are undeniably necessary are taxed. Firstly, these products are extremely overpriced for something so crucial. Secondly, do you know what product isn't taxed? Viagra. Viagra, which treats erectile dysfunction, is not taxed. Does nearly every man need this? No. Is it somewhat of a luxury item? Yes. But please, tax the products that women need to perform the same jobs as men while they bleed. Tampons are easy to produce, but they are hard to afford for many people due to their high demand. Women have to spend a crazy amount of money just to ensure that they don't bleed on everything; for women that don't have enough money to get these products, this is just one more problem they have to worry about. I once watched a video of a homeless woman describing how she makes tampons, and it was genuinely heartbreaking. I cannot fathom how difficult that would be. To the people that don't have to worry about this, consider yourselves lucky. If the time comes in the future to vote on this issue, please vote on the side of women. It shouldn't be this costly to maintain your body's natural functions.