Letter: Residents of gated communities are taxpayers, too

In an article earlier this month concerning plantation costs from Hurricane Matthew, Hilton Head Island town manager Steve Riley gives us his opinion: “You wanted your private roads; you wanted your internal security, and there’s a price to be paid for that.”

I have news for Riley. I worked all my life in order to be able to afford to retire and live where I chose to. In that time, I paid all the federal and state taxes required. During my lifetime I never received any government freebies, like free phone, free college, rent subsidy, healthcare subsidy, food stamps or anything else.

Today, living in a gated plantation, I continue to pay all my taxes: federal, state, county, town, Social Security and Medicare. Furthermore, my local taxes help pay for the salaries, healthcare and retirement plans for the town employees, including Riley.

Therefore, yes, I do expect the federal government, FEMA, to help pay for the cleanup on private roads after Hurricane Matthew. I don’t know where Riley got his elitist attitude, but as a town employee he should remember he works for the taxpayers.

This story was originally published December 28, 2016 at 12:29 PM with the headline "Letter: Residents of gated communities are taxpayers, too."