The first question should never be are my taxes too high. It should be am I getting good value for my taxes. High income people get great value for their taxes in the US.
Start there. And then think your way through how to raise enough money to begin to pay down debt while cutting only wasteful programs (domestic and defense). This worked well for Bill Clinton and the country prospered.
Europeans seem much more interested in making sure their tax dollars are being spent wisely, because *everyone* is paying them.
I've encountered folks who not only don't care about government waste because other people are paying, but *encourage* the waste because the tax money is coming from people they don't like.
We are on the road to a Russian economy and social structure, sadly. It gives me some hope that AOC is standing up against that in a practical way.
Josh, if you ever run for public office I will vote for you, or more likely contribute to your campaign, since we're not in the same district or whatever.
The tax base should be very broad and rates should be low with very minimal if any exceptions. Tax policy should be used to raise revenue, not to buy votes. OK, now back to the real world. I totally agree with the bottom line of your article. These small exceptions lead to the belief that lobbying or complaining or being favored in some way qualifies one to be favored over everyone else. A race to the bottom and very destructive of the belief we are all in this together. But to suggest this started with Trump is ahistorical. Tax benefits for farmers, ministers, parents with multiple children, people who pay college or private school tuition, people who pay state income and local real estate taxes, people who pay auto excise taxes, mortgages, people who don’t make as much money as others, etc., etc, have been part and parcel of the tax system for years. The whining of blue-state politicians that the federal taxpayers must subsidize their better-off constituents by upping the SALT deduction is but a recent example. And really, you are praising AOC for not advocating for special favors? You haven’t been listening to her. She, Bernie, Elizabeth, et al are purveyors of probably the biggest lie in politics, that we can have a Scandinavian-style social welfare system that will be funded entirely by taxing the so-called billionaires. Please note, that means benefits for everyone else — without them needing to pay for them. It’s complete nonsense, and they are smart enough to know what they say is false. And it is the antithesis of we all pitch in together for the greater good. p.s., it’s also not remotely what happens in Scandinavia. Everyone pays taxes, lots of them. Not that AOC would ever be truthful enough to mention that.
The first question should never be are my taxes too high. It should be am I getting good value for my taxes. High income people get great value for their taxes in the US.
Start there. And then think your way through how to raise enough money to begin to pay down debt while cutting only wasteful programs (domestic and defense). This worked well for Bill Clinton and the country prospered.
Europeans seem much more interested in making sure their tax dollars are being spent wisely, because *everyone* is paying them.
I've encountered folks who not only don't care about government waste because other people are paying, but *encourage* the waste because the tax money is coming from people they don't like.
This is implausible. Such people don’t really exist. They don’t have the wherewithal to have impact on policy. You are imagining things.
We are on the road to a Russian economy and social structure, sadly. It gives me some hope that AOC is standing up against that in a practical way.
Josh, if you ever run for public office I will vote for you, or more likely contribute to your campaign, since we're not in the same district or whatever.
Ask not what I can do for my country, ask only what my country can do for me.
The tax base should be very broad and rates should be low with very minimal if any exceptions. Tax policy should be used to raise revenue, not to buy votes. OK, now back to the real world. I totally agree with the bottom line of your article. These small exceptions lead to the belief that lobbying or complaining or being favored in some way qualifies one to be favored over everyone else. A race to the bottom and very destructive of the belief we are all in this together. But to suggest this started with Trump is ahistorical. Tax benefits for farmers, ministers, parents with multiple children, people who pay college or private school tuition, people who pay state income and local real estate taxes, people who pay auto excise taxes, mortgages, people who don’t make as much money as others, etc., etc, have been part and parcel of the tax system for years. The whining of blue-state politicians that the federal taxpayers must subsidize their better-off constituents by upping the SALT deduction is but a recent example. And really, you are praising AOC for not advocating for special favors? You haven’t been listening to her. She, Bernie, Elizabeth, et al are purveyors of probably the biggest lie in politics, that we can have a Scandinavian-style social welfare system that will be funded entirely by taxing the so-called billionaires. Please note, that means benefits for everyone else — without them needing to pay for them. It’s complete nonsense, and they are smart enough to know what they say is false. And it is the antithesis of we all pitch in together for the greater good. p.s., it’s also not remotely what happens in Scandinavia. Everyone pays taxes, lots of them. Not that AOC would ever be truthful enough to mention that.
This “stop looking for special treatment, just man up and do the right thing” is something I notice and appreciate in many former Republicans.