Every other Friday, I anxiously check my FirstBank mobile app for the bright green numbers displaying the mass amount of money I earned working at my minimum wage job over the last two weeks.

We all know why we teenagers have jobs. We want money. The dough. Chump change. Dead white presidents on pieces of paper.

We’re not working jobs in high school to give back to our country by joining the workforce. We’re working for the money.

$8 drinks from Starbucks.

$17 burrito bowls from Chipotle.

$35 swimsuit tops from Target.

$50 gas tanks from 7-Eleven.

$35,000 college tuition per year.

As a senior in high school, about to go to the University of Colorado in the fall of this year, it’s hard to ignore that in-state tuition price after factoring in the unsaid fees regarding room and board.

Life is expensive, and it only gets more pricey after college. Working a job in high school only gets you a couple of dollars ahead.

And to be honest, most of us work our butts off for money. In the summer, we work full-time, 40-hour weeks. The rest of the year, we work after-school jobs, working six-hour shifts almost daily, leaving barely enough time for school work, sports, or sanity.

So, if we’re working this hard, why is the government taking a percentage of our money as taxes and putting it towards things like Federal Income tax, Social Security tax, and Medicare tax?

Because it’s what citizens of the United States voted on.

A vote people under the age of 18 did not have a say in.

I think we’ve all learned about taxation without representation in our history classes. The thing that essentially started the American Revolution.

Now, I’m not saying that Gen Z needs to start a revolution.

What I am saying is that I would personally like the 10.4% of my paychecks from last year back in my bank account.

What I’m saying is that it’s not fair to me, or to any teen in the working industry, to get no say in where the government takes our hard-earned money.

What I’m saying is that minors shouldn’t be taxed on money made at a formally employed job, as we have no vote when it comes to taxes. It’s plain, old taxation without representation.

Not to mention taxes are used to benefit other groups of people who may be in need of it, and eventually, you might benefit from working generations of the future.
Notice how I said “might”?

Yes, that’s right.

You might benefit from the taxes you pay now. But if those government programs go bankrupt, which is what they seem to be heading for at the moment, say goodbye to your money.

Do we really want to surrender our money to the dead white presidents and lawmakers of the future?