The biggest issue at hand is that, as the US (where I live) faces down late-stage capitalism, one party is heavily criticized as fascist while the other is criticized as socialist. I prefer not to align myself with any party lines...they mostly deal in social issues when campaigning (where I have opinions on both sides of the spectrum) while the fiscal issues are largely ignored (other than using the vague phrase 'The Economy' as if it were some entity which we can directly control via a singular law or something). My preference is to consider myself a realist--and I think personally that the biggest issue is that capitalism, fascism, socialism etc all really look the same as you approach the endgame because they all have the same endgame. The few profit and hold power over the many. The mechanism of action is different, yes, but a lever-action rifle and a bolt-action rifle both are rifles are they not?
But I'm far from an anarchist. Uncontrolled chaos vs controlled chaos is based on what the majority of humans would prefer. Many people point to the taxation systems of other countries, and how they have universal healthcare or this that and the other without a significant percentage increase in taxes over what we (the US) currently pay. They also use a different currency than the USD, with different exchange rates, inflation, interest rates, and average incomes. Percentages can be weighted percentages and are not apples to apples comparisons, which is difficult to communicate in a country where the majority didn't pass their high school Algebra courses. It also stands to reason that a country's tax system working effectively could be attributed somewhat to the fact that said country has a geographic size and population that doesn't even rival the size of an average state in the US.
Diatribe aside, the issue that the corporate tax rate is too low or that the mega-wealthy need to pay their fair share, as it were, is flawed fundamentally. The dirty secret, and the issue with the shrinking middle class, is that the people in the middle have always held the burden. Once a certain income level is reached, there is little sympathy for the fact that the government 'asks' for your contributions, as you can afford to pay far more easily than those living in poverty. Yet, the middle class lacks the means of the corporations, wherein the amount of tax owed vs. the ways to avoid those taxes is both a feasible compromise as well as a business decision. The middle class cannot actually afford to dodge their taxes in any realistic way that doesn't result in getting caught, and therefore must pay them. Increase the corporate tax rate all you'd like, it just makes their decisions of how to dodge that rate effectively an easier line item to reconcile.
As far as what the taxes actually go towards, my girlfriend and I do not want children, so why should we pay for schools? Many argue we will change our minds, but in our 30s I doubt we will soon; we've had time and anecdotal experience to realize it doesn't interest us. Regardless, it's been shown that should we not pay into the educational system at all, the only thing we've really accomplished is creating a bunch of uneducated and unqualified young people who quickly realize that crime is profitable. It's ultimately cheaper to pay educational taxes for a school we won't utilize than it is to deal with break-ins and theft. It would be great if I could only pay for the roads I drive on regularly, until I need to travel for work and utilize a state road that could not be possibly funded or maintained by the small towns nearby. Unfortunately, when speaking of things like that then yes, you do need to pay some taxes against things you don't use, because the outcome of not paying would be more costly for you in the end.
All that said, am I happy to pay taxes? Not particularly. I stopped looking at the gross/net income on my paystubs long ago, as it's practically stomach turning to think of how much energy you expended to finance things that at times you disagree with. Tax season is equally as disturbing to me, as my social media feed becomes populated with many receiving large checks from the government, while my refund check barely covers the effort of delivering it to me. I mean, in a sense all that means is that my day-to-day existence is likely far more comfortable than theirs, but human nature prevents me from seeing that at that particular time. Which brings me to my overall point: I think that, if people really saw a better return on investment of paying taxes in their lives, they'd feel more compelled to be comfortable with it.
The things people can see mean a lot more than the intangible things they can't. The county finally fixed the pothole on my street that I've been driving around for five years a few weeks ago. We'll call that my return on investment
But I'm far from an anarchist. Uncontrolled chaos vs controlled chaos is based on what the majority of humans would prefer. Many people point to the taxation systems of other countries, and how they have universal healthcare or this that and the other without a significant percentage increase in taxes over what we (the US) currently pay. They also use a different currency than the USD, with different exchange rates, inflation, interest rates, and average incomes. Percentages can be weighted percentages and are not apples to apples comparisons, which is difficult to communicate in a country where the majority didn't pass their high school Algebra courses. It also stands to reason that a country's tax system working effectively could be attributed somewhat to the fact that said country has a geographic size and population that doesn't even rival the size of an average state in the US.
Diatribe aside, the issue that the corporate tax rate is too low or that the mega-wealthy need to pay their fair share, as it were, is flawed fundamentally. The dirty secret, and the issue with the shrinking middle class, is that the people in the middle have always held the burden. Once a certain income level is reached, there is little sympathy for the fact that the government 'asks' for your contributions, as you can afford to pay far more easily than those living in poverty. Yet, the middle class lacks the means of the corporations, wherein the amount of tax owed vs. the ways to avoid those taxes is both a feasible compromise as well as a business decision. The middle class cannot actually afford to dodge their taxes in any realistic way that doesn't result in getting caught, and therefore must pay them. Increase the corporate tax rate all you'd like, it just makes their decisions of how to dodge that rate effectively an easier line item to reconcile.
As far as what the taxes actually go towards, my girlfriend and I do not want children, so why should we pay for schools? Many argue we will change our minds, but in our 30s I doubt we will soon; we've had time and anecdotal experience to realize it doesn't interest us. Regardless, it's been shown that should we not pay into the educational system at all, the only thing we've really accomplished is creating a bunch of uneducated and unqualified young people who quickly realize that crime is profitable. It's ultimately cheaper to pay educational taxes for a school we won't utilize than it is to deal with break-ins and theft. It would be great if I could only pay for the roads I drive on regularly, until I need to travel for work and utilize a state road that could not be possibly funded or maintained by the small towns nearby. Unfortunately, when speaking of things like that then yes, you do need to pay some taxes against things you don't use, because the outcome of not paying would be more costly for you in the end.
All that said, am I happy to pay taxes? Not particularly. I stopped looking at the gross/net income on my paystubs long ago, as it's practically stomach turning to think of how much energy you expended to finance things that at times you disagree with. Tax season is equally as disturbing to me, as my social media feed becomes populated with many receiving large checks from the government, while my refund check barely covers the effort of delivering it to me. I mean, in a sense all that means is that my day-to-day existence is likely far more comfortable than theirs, but human nature prevents me from seeing that at that particular time. Which brings me to my overall point: I think that, if people really saw a better return on investment of paying taxes in their lives, they'd feel more compelled to be comfortable with it.
The things people can see mean a lot more than the intangible things they can't. The county finally fixed the pothole on my street that I've been driving around for five years a few weeks ago. We'll call that my return on investment