If you live and breathe in the Miss-Lou, you almost certainly pay taxes.

You pay it through sales tax, income tax, property tax, etc. Somewhere, somehow, the taxman takes a bite out of your pocketbook.

The Beatles mocked the idea of taxation with their 1960s hit song “Taxman,” but the subject is just as relevant today.

Where do your tax dollars go? And, more important, are you getting your money’s worth?

We’re examining a portion of that large question today as we report on what public servants earn for a living — on your dime.

The information is public record, but often buried into budget and financial reports that seem too complicated for many taxpayers to ever consider trying to decipher.

Too often government tends to wash over the small details by painting pictures of financial matters by using a large, broad brush.

Drilling down into the details and learning specifically how much each of our public servants earns can be illuminating.

If government agencies were businesses, you’d be the customer or owner of the business.

It’s your money and you should know just how it’s spent — every penny of it. Remember, the Taxman works for you, not the other way around.