To the editor:

Puerto Rico is revising its constitution to cut spending. What a great idea! Puerto Rico’s constitution was drafted in the 1950s, so why can’t Washington update its antique bylaws to reflect 21st-century needs?

Puerto Rico’s main proposal is to reduce the size of its legislature. What a great idea! However, it would be better to cut the number of tax collectors first.

The U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power to collect taxes, which is why we have the IRS. Every U.S. taxpayer is a resident of a state or the District of Columbia, so why do we need the IRS plus 51 more sets of tax collectors?

With fewer tax collectors, maybe we could also reduce the number of legislators who spend our taxes. Puerto Rico is proposing to cut the size of its legislature by about one-third. I think Washington could do it as well.

Jim Bruner

Oak Harbor