It's about governance

Occasionally, when I talk to friends and coworkers who are from different countries (read: not American Citizens) living and working here, the subject of voting has come up. And by voting, I mean this: they posit that because they work - pay taxes - in the US, they should be able to vote in elections. Believe it or not, this has come up several times.

For the sake of argument, let's put my response this way: let's say I worked in YOUR country. I paid your taxes. Would I think that by virtue of that I had the right to participate in the governance of YOUR country? The answer is NO, resoundingly. I'm not a citizen or subject of YOUR country, therefore I have no stake in YOUR country, and I have no right to weigh in on its rule. If I don't like what YOUR country in any part is doing, if it's that offensive, I leave. Afterall, I'm a GUEST in YOUR country.

Why is it that just by virtue of paying taxes in another country, not YOUR own, would you presume the right to participate in its rule? Paying taxes in someone else's country is the cost of doing business - if you don't like it, well, you really don't have a say.