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Not sure about Canada but most US taxes don't go to the things like infrastructure. Total infrastructure spending in the US (state, local + fed) was $416 billio

by bko 10y ago

Not sure about Canada but most US taxes don't go to the things like infrastructure. Total infrastructure spending in the US (state, local + fed) was $416 billion in 2014. Total tax receipts is about 6 trillion in 2014 [1] or about 7%. Most tax revenue is a transfer of wealth from relatively poor young Americans to relatively wealthy elderly Americans through Medicare and Social Security. That an military spending. Also, the top 1% a very significant portion of federal income taxes: > The top-earning 1 percent of Americans will pay nearly half of the federal income taxes for 2014, the largest share in at least three years, according to a study. > According to a projection from the non-partisan Tax Policy Center, the top 1 percent of Americans will pay 45.7 percent of the individual income taxes in 2014—up from 43 percent in 2013 and 40 percent in 2012 (the oldest period available). > The bottom 80 percent of Americans are expected to pay 15 percent of all federal income taxes in 2014, according to the study. The bottom 60 percent are expected to pay less than 2 percent of federal income taxes. [2] > In 1979, the top one percenters earned 8.9 percent of pretax income and paid 18 percent of federal income taxes. In 2011, the top 1 percent earned 14.6 percent of income and paid 25.4 percent in 2011 of federal income taxes. I believe the mis-perception of the wealthy not paying anything is linguistics. For instance, since most tax revenue comes from the wealthy, any apparent decrease in overall tax rates greatly impacts the wealthy and is said to "cost" money. So as a thought experiment, suppose taxes went up to 5% and back down immediately to their current levels. The ladder move would have been said to be "costing the American people $X billion." [0] https://www.cbo.gov/publication/49910 https://www.cbo.gov/publication/49910 [1] http://www.usgovernmentrevenue.com/total_revenue_2014USrn http://www.usgovernmentrevenue.com/total_revenue_2014USrn [2] http://www.cnbc.com/2015/04/13/top-1-pay-nearly-half-of-federal-income-taxes.html http://www.cnbc.com/2015/04/13/top-1-pay-nearly-half-of-fede...

mywittyname 10y ago
> Most tax revenue is a transfer of wealth from relatively poor young Americans to relatively wealthy elderly Americans through Medicare and Social Security. That an military spending. Your sources say that only 28% of tax revenue falls into the category of SS/MC. That's hardly "most". These taxes are both levied independent of Federal taxes and are handled differently. They are both payroll taxes, so they are only paid on wages, not income from investments. Additionally Social Security tax is capped and Medicare is regressive (rate goes down as wages increases). So, while the top 1% are contribute a significant portion of income tax revenue, they don't contribute nearly as much to social welfare (which is by design).
- bko 10y ago
  Sorry, the "most" statement was in terms of the federal budget since they are federal programs. I see that 24% and 25% going to social security and health care (although that includes CHIP and ACA), so about 2/3rds goes to Medicare and Medicaid. So, yes, you're right. Not most, but a significant portion. And also I would point out that since the elderly are relatively wealthy compared to the young that generally fund these programs, this tax is also regressive. The tax structure is complicated in the US and is hard to tease out who pays for what programs, even leaving aside "fairness". But I think that's another point of criticism that makes Americans skeptical of the prudence of their tax dollars. > Social Security: Last year, 24 percent of the budget, or $888 billion, paid for Social Security, which provided monthly retirement benefits averaging $1,342 to 40 million retired workers in December 2015. Social Security also provided benefits to 2.3 million spouses and children of retired workers, 6.1 million surviving children and spouses of deceased workers, and 10.8 million disabled workers and their eligible dependents in December 2015. > Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and marketplace subsidies: Four health insurance programs — Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace subsidies — together accounted for 25 percent of the budget in 2015, or $938 billion. Nearly two-thirds of this amount, or $546 billion, went to Medicare, which provides health coverage to around 55 million people who are over age 65 or have disabilities. The rest of this category funds Medicaid, CHIP, and ACA subsidy and exchange costs. In a typical month, Medicaid and CHIP provide health care or long-term care to about 72 million low-income children, parents, elderly people, and people with disabilities. (Both Medicaid and CHIP require matching payments from the states.) In 2015, 8 million of the 11 million people enrolled in health insurance exchanges received ACA subsidies, at an estimated cost of about $28 billion. http://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-budget/policy-basics-where-do-our-federal-tax-dollars-go http://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-budget/policy-basics-wh...

by bko 10y ago

mywittyname 10y ago

> Most tax revenue is a transfer of wealth from relatively poor young Americans to relatively wealthy elderly Americans through Medicare and Social Security. That an military spending. Your sources say that only 28% of tax revenue falls into the category of SS/MC. That's hardly "most". These taxes are both levied independent of Federal taxes and are handled differently. They are both payroll taxes, so they are only paid on wages, not income from investments. Additionally Social Security tax is capped and Medicare is regressive (rate goes down as wages increases). So, while the top 1% are contribute a significant portion of income tax revenue, they don't contribute nearly as much to social welfare (which is by design).

bko 10y ago
Sorry, the "most" statement was in terms of the federal budget since they are federal programs. I see that 24% and 25% going to social security and health care (although that includes CHIP and ACA), so about 2/3rds goes to Medicare and Medicaid. So, yes, you're right. Not most, but a significant portion. And also I would point out that since the elderly are relatively wealthy compared to the young that generally fund these programs, this tax is also regressive. The tax structure is complicated in the US and is hard to tease out who pays for what programs, even leaving aside "fairness". But I think that's another point of criticism that makes Americans skeptical of the prudence of their tax dollars. > Social Security: Last year, 24 percent of the budget, or $888 billion, paid for Social Security, which provided monthly retirement benefits averaging $1,342 to 40 million retired workers in December 2015. Social Security also provided benefits to 2.3 million spouses and children of retired workers, 6.1 million surviving children and spouses of deceased workers, and 10.8 million disabled workers and their eligible dependents in December 2015. > Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and marketplace subsidies: Four health insurance programs — Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace subsidies — together accounted for 25 percent of the budget in 2015, or $938 billion. Nearly two-thirds of this amount, or $546 billion, went to Medicare, which provides health coverage to around 55 million people who are over age 65 or have disabilities. The rest of this category funds Medicaid, CHIP, and ACA subsidy and exchange costs. In a typical month, Medicaid and CHIP provide health care or long-term care to about 72 million low-income children, parents, elderly people, and people with disabilities. (Both Medicaid and CHIP require matching payments from the states.) In 2015, 8 million of the 11 million people enrolled in health insurance exchanges received ACA subsidies, at an estimated cost of about $28 billion. http://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-budget/policy-basics-where-do-our-federal-tax-dollars-go http://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-budget/policy-basics-wh...