If liberal politicians want people to pay more taxes, they should lead by example. However, they have that opportunity in Massachusetts, and many of them decline to do so when they think no one is paying attention.

For about 20 years, people filing state income taxes in Massachusetts have had an opportunity to voluntarily pay a 5.85% state income tax rate as the state gradually decreased its state income tax from 5.9% to 5% thanks to a successful 2000 ballot measure.

The now-defunct Citizens for Limited Taxation introduced the idea to ensure that people who opposed the tax cut could keep paying the higher rate.

It is perfect for big government politicians who want to raise everyone else's taxes. However, in instances where such politicians have released their tax returns, they have revealed themselves as tax hypocrites. While they support raising other people's taxes, they are not voluntarily paying more in taxes themselves to help fund roads, schools, fire departments, and healthcare.

Democratic politicians representing Massachusetts, such as Sen. Ed Markey , Rep. Jake Auchincloss , and former Rep. Joe Kennedy III , have not paid the higher, optional 5.85% rate. Additionally, Sen. Elizabeth Warren did not pay the optional rate from 2008 to 2016, her tax returns revealed.

That is the case even though they all support massive government programs. They all back the Green New Deal, a socialist Trojan horse disguised as an economic plan. Additionally, Markey, Warren, and Kennedy support "Medicare for all," while Auchincloss supports a public option for healthcare.

Not only have these politicians called for massive government spending that would necessitate tax increases on working people, but they have also directly called for tax increases.

For example, Auchincloss voiced support for a carbon tax in a 2021 event with the Foxborough Democratic Town Committee. A carbon tax is highly regressive because it increases electricity, heating, and gas prices — basic expenses that eat a higher portion of working-class people’s income than the wealthy.

Additionally, Markey quietly advocated massive middle-class tax hikes during his 2020 reelection bid.

During a debate on GBH News, Markey said he supported repealing tax cuts passed by former Presidents Donald Trump and George W. Bush while advocating a $2,000 monthly universal basic income for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic. The pie-in-the-sky proposal would have cost more than $5 trillion per year.

The two tax cuts combined saved an average family of four more than $5,000 per year in federal income taxes; repealing them would have brought the federal government $652 billion per year, nowhere near the $5 trillion Markey supported spending on that policy alone — not including the Green New Deal or "Medicare for all."

Plus, Kennedy opposed Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which saved the average family of four more than $2,000 per year in federal income taxes.

"Let's call the GOP Tax Plan exactly what it is: another attempt by the Trump Administration and the GOP Congress to reward the healthy and wealthy with the sacrifices of everyone else,” Kennedy wrote in a 2017 Facebook post . “Just like you put an end to their health care bills, we need you raising your voices and telling your elected officials that our country is better than this."

If anyone should pay more in taxes, people who want a bigger government that provides more services should. Instead, these politicians reaped the rewards of limited government and ignored their opportunity to be logically consistent.

Hopefully, this year, Markey, Kennedy, and Auchincloss contribute their fair share to the Bay State’s coffers.

Tom Joyce ( @TomJoyceSports ) is a political reporter for the New Boston Post in Massachusetts.