Cardi B’s tax rant is super relatable, because everyone should know what our tax dollars pay for

Gentle reminder: The deadline to file your taxes this year is Tuesday, April 17th. That means now is as good a time as ever to think critically about where your money is actually going. Rapper and social media hero Cardi B is also using this fraught time to question what, exactly, her tax dollars pay for. And there’s actually a lot we can learn from her latest Instagram sermon.

On Thursday, March 22nd, Cardi posted a relatable rant on Instagram about not knowing where her tax money goes. She compared this to when people donate money to a child overseas. Supporters get a detailed report with continuous updates on how the money is used and what goals it is achieving. And when you think about it, that’s actually not a bad idea for taxes! When you have to fork over hundreds of dollars on Tax Day or consider the thousands that are already taken out during the year, wouldn’t it be nice to see what concrete things your money is doing?

Though we don’t have such an easy system for seeing results, we do basically know where our tax money goes. Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, military spending, the Treasury, and then it trickles down to various departments like Transportation, Labor, and Agriculture.

Here’s exactly what Cardi B had to say to Uncle Sam:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BgpdxsABrUn

In her speech, Cardi also took local governments to task for misuse of funds.

"I’m from New York and the streets are always dirty," Cardi said. "We were voted the dirtiest city in America. What is y’all doing? There’s still rats on the damn trains. I know you’re not spending it in no damn prison because y’all be giving n—— two [pairs of] underwear, one jumpsuit for like five months. So what is ya n—— doing with my fucking money?"

https://www.instagram.com/p/BgX1OznhYDe

She’s not wrong. And even though you can’t get out of paying taxes come April 17th, you can vote in every election and have a say in where your tax dollars are going. Until we get those Cardi B-suggested reports, that’s best way to impact decisions on how to use your hard-earned money.

Thanks for the economy lesson, Cardi!