Alex does not like paying taxes, but he is grateful for what taxes do. How might taxes have affected Alex?

That's quite a dilemma, he constantly pays taxes which are suddenly included in his daily purchases (groceries, electronics, government taxes regressively deducted from his paycheck). Financial aid and many other institutions are run and financed by taxes collected by the government. Taxes may have taken part of Alex's earnings but maybe he appealed to governmental resources to afford his education.