Tax Day, April 15, came and went, with mass quantities of confused libertarians, apparently, engaged in their constitutional right to protest, no matter whether it's appropriate, relevant, factual or not.

The Republican broadcast networks were at it full-speed, drum-beating and shrilly covering the huge news story of the "Tax Day tea parties." (I love to watch Rush Limbaugh flapping his arms, Sean Hannity looking sour, Glenn Beck smirking.)

Here's the word from www.taxdayteaparty.com: "On April 15th, hundreds of thousands of citizens gathered in more than 800 cities to voice their opposition to out of control spending at all levels of government. Organized in all 50 states by Americans from all walks of life, these "tea parties" were a true grass-roots protest of irresponsible fiscal policies and intrusive government."

Never mind that the current tax rates were set by Republican Congresses and a Republican president. Never mind that taxes, under President Barack Obama and a Democratic Congress, are going down for 95 percent of Americans, at least for a while. Never mind that the economy has tanked because of the destruction, fraud, waste and abuse condoned by the last administration. Never mind that the current administration is working 24/7 to keep our mighty ship from sinking. Don't confuse the protesters with the facts.

I didn't have to look it up: It's one of those things that was drilled into my generation. The Boston Tea Party's slogan was "No taxation without representation!" The last time I checked, every one of the teabag protesters has had ample opportunity to elect their representatives to the legislatures that set tax rates. So what was all this hoo-ha about?

Seriously, I don't know of anyone who isn't really frightened about what is happening in our economy. There is a consensus of informed opinion that massive federal spending is the only way to loosen locked credit markets, weed out bad management without destroying many millions of jobs, and get the economy up and running again. The kicker is that nobody knows if it will work.

I suppose there are thrill-seekers out there who think that taking big risks is fun. In terms of public policy, that is rarely so, but sometimes it's only the risky, big-ticket strategy that has a chance of preventing the sudden arrival of doomsday.

Trillions are committed just to keep America working, but the old ways are not going to come back. We have to face it: We are not a manufacturing economy and have not been for quite a few decades. Thus, the president's initiatives in education, health care, and clean energy are not just stimulus spending programs; they are vital investments in our collective future.

I have known people who complain mightily that they have to pay school taxes even though (a) their children are long grown and gone, or (b) they don't have any children. It's a puzzle to me how people can be so self-centered and short-sighted. Do they have no idea of the many benefits they enjoy because they live in a society with universal rights to literacy and learning?

It sounds much the same to hear the tea party people scream about government spending to save the economy. Oh yes, some waste is inevitable. But no, the stimulus spending is not just a gigantic barrel of (forgive the expression, Iowa) pork. Stimulating the economy means getting the spending going again. That's what a stimulus package does and should do. That spending will be done at the local level, on local projects, with local workers employed. That's the point.

It's frustrating to watch the national deficit increase. It's a time of high anxiety as we wonder if even bigger transitions might lie ahead. But let's not lose sight of the fact that we're all in this together, sink or swim. If the economy crashes, and it has come perilously close already, none of us will be swimming.