[quote=The Truth][quote=CA renter]
If you think that YOU are responsible for all of your success, try to duplicate it from scratch in a country with no taxes; let’s see how you do.[/quote]
Oh I get it… ‘I didn’t build that…’
What’s next, ‘From each according to his abilities…’?
And I am not advocating no taxes or a Somalia-like state. Using that as an example is hyperbolic, childish, and ignorant.
And I would do just fine in a county or era of lower/less confiscatory tax policy.
BTW, the ‘government’ doesn’t provide infrastructure; the ‘government’ didn’t build that. I did with my tax dollars, along with every other net producer and those that came before me; and no thanks to the net consumers.
[quote=CA renter]Additionally, people who make the most tend to receive a greater benefit, per capita, from the government.[/quote]
Bullshit. What’s your basis for that? It’s easy to just make garbage like that up.
[quote=CA renter] BTW, YOUR wages aren’t going to ME. I simply know that there is a cost — both to you and me — for living in a civilized, democratic society, and I’m more than willing to pay for it.[/quote]
If I’m paying a higher percentage of taxes, then my wages ARE going to YOU on a relative basis.
And you still didn’t answer my question? How much/what percentage of my wages do you consider your fair share?[/quote]
That’s right, you DIDN’T build that (and I was saying this long before Warren/Obama started saying it). Without all of the social, legal, physical, and military, etc. infrastructure provided by the government, it would be far, far more difficult to make money.
And yes, the government built the infrastructure, not you, and not other “taxpayers.” If not for the ability of the government to tax and use that money to build up the infrastructure, private individuals would not have built anything near what we have today. For the most part, private individuals use their money for things that can benefit themselves, and usually only focus on the short-medium term; they do not sacrifice for the greater good of society and will very rarely invest in things that will only pay off (for society, not for themselves) many decades into the future.
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As for the net, per capita benefit of govt services going to the rich vs the poor, I just stated above why that’s the case. Joe Sixpack, the lowly worker/welfare recipient, is not reaping nearly the same monetary benefit as someone who makes huge sums as a result of our military operations, infrastructure, intellectual property protection, well-regarded financial markets (because of our regulations, not in spite of them), etc.
If you doubt this, we can go through a list of the wealthiest people to see how they personally benefit from government-provided infrastructure, education, military/police protection, regulations, etc. I’m willing to bet that the vast majority of them would not be nearly as wealthy if they didn’t have the U.S. govt behind them.
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You’re also wrong about your taxes necessarily going to someone who pays a lower tax rate. You can have someone who pays a rather high tax rate (say 40%) and another who pays a much lower tax rate (say 10%), but the second person might be getting far fewer benefits, per dollar paid, than the one who pays the higher rate. You can pay a 10% rate (or whatever random lower rate), but use very few govt-provided goods and services. The person paying a 40% rate might be a much heavier burden on the govt.
It’s not necessarily true that the person paying higher taxes is subsidizing the poorer person; to the contrary, it’s entirely possible that the person paying a lower tax rate (and fewer total tax dollars) is subsidizing the person paying higher taxes if the person paying the higher rate is a heavier user of taxpayer-funded goods and services.
An entity/individual can pay high tax rates, but use govt services that exceed what they pay in taxes. Walmart, for instance, benefits greatly from our military operations because our navy guards the sea lanes that they use to transport almost all of their goods. The government also — directly or indirectly — provides, maintains, and protects the ports, roads, railways, etc. that Walmart relys on in their daily operations. The government also provides benefits for the Walmart employees who are paid so little that they have to rely on “welfare” in order to get by…all so that the owners and “shareholders” (some of the wealthiest people on the planet) can make more money. Who is really paying for their profits?
BTW, I’m willing to bet that my family pays an overall higher tax rate than most of the people who are complaining here.
