9 ms·
You... love paying taxes?
by krisroadruck 10y ago
You... love paying taxes?
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- rayiner 10y agoI'm an immigrant. I consider it a blessing to be able to do so.
- dopamean 10y agoI equate this to the first time I paid my own rent. I loved it. I was paying my own money for my own place and it felt awesome. It seems crazy to love paying rent but there was a period of time where I did.
- imjustsaying 10y agoI'm an immigrant. I consider it robbery to be intimidated by force into paying taxes.
- abduhl 10y agoNot to be rude but why'd you immigrate then? It's not like taxes just started happening recently.
- smsm42 10y agoMaybe because in real world the choice is between fixed alternatives and not imaginary scenarios? Even if you think US taxes are way too high and immoral, it's not like you can live in a country like US but without taxes. You can live in a country much worse than the US with taxes, or in US with taxes, or in a country with failed government where there are not taxes but instead people might just kill you on the street. So you might make non-ideal choice, knowing it's not ideal, but it's best of what you have. Every country has its benefits and its flaws, and accepting it as it is doesn't mean one has to be blind to the flaws.
- PhaseLockk 10y agoMaybe there's a correlation for a reason? Namely that functional governments which keep the peace and provide services to their citizens need income in order to operate.
- smsm42 10y agoWhat US government is doing goes very far beyond "keeping the peace". Only the discretionary budget is 1.5 trillion dollars. Americans would be a really wild bunch if it required $1.5 trillion to "keep the peace".
- imjustsaying 10y agoI apologize for the confusion. I didn't immigrate to California. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_taxation#Individuals https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_taxation#Individ...
- Aeolun 10y agoYou also consider it a right to drive on roads?
- laughfactory 10y agoRoads are the go-to argument for the value of taxes. But it's a dumb point to make because there are a ton of programs which we fund but do not benefit from. In fact, the vast majority of every dollar we pay in taxes does absolutely nothing to benefit us directly. No one argues against true infrastructure investments, it's all the other b.s. that we hate (immigrants and non-immigrants alike). Being a dick to someone for seeing what's wrong with the taxes here is awfully small of you.
- WaxProlix 10y ago> Being a dick to someone for seeing How unabashedly self-centered! It's adorable.
- M_Grey 10y agoYou were forced to immigrate to this country?! Otherwise... the "force" part here is more like, "I was forced to pay for the meal I decided to eat at the restaurant! How dare they!" Don't like it? Don't eat.
- imjustsaying 10y ago>You were forced to immigrate to this country?! I should clarify that I didn't immigrate to California, but was an immigrant to elsewhere. I apologize for the confusion.
- M_Grey 10y agoI see, that make a lot more sense, sorry for the hostility.
- sirtaj 10y agoWhen I went to Australia I was surprised at the number of people from my ethnic background who had immigrated as adults and would complain bitterly about taxes. They loved the safety and security, general standard of education, healthcare, amenities, infrastructure, opportunities and their secondary effects (well-educated employees for their businesses, people who showed up to work instead of being home sick and so on). They just couldn't connect with the idea that taxes might be the reason that these were available. It would guess it's a pretty common thread among people who grew up unused to a properly functioning government.
- imjustsaying 10y ago>They just couldn't connect with the idea that taxes might be the reason that these were available. If taxes are the source of safety, security, general standard of education, healthcare, amenities, infrastructure, opportunities and their secondary effects, let's make taxes 100% of income, so that we can get more than twice as much of all that. Right?
- sirtaj 10y agoWhere have I suggested 100% taxation? What point are you making, please be clear.
- imjustsaying 10y agoYou didn't, I was mistaken.
- VexXtreme 10y agoThat makes sense if you're a 3rd world immigrant, because the value delta between your old life and your new life is immense. For someone born in a 1st world country, it makes little sense to compare their situation with that of a 3rd world denizen. Reference points are subjective. I take issue with the way my government collects taxes and how it distributes them. I don't care how Africa or India are doing.
- chasing 10y agoYes. I love paying taxes. Not because I like having less money in my bank account, but because I understand what paying taxes represents.
- M_Grey 10y agoYeah, a couple of wars for one thing, but not fixing dams, that's for sure.
- elefanten 10y agoWhat a sophomoric, bad faith quip. What agent of common infrastructure do you prefer? How many dams have they fixed and how much diplomacy do they engage in? Hint: zero.
- M_Grey 10y ago>What a sophomoric, bad faith quip... There's no need for that, and it occludes rather than clarifies what little point you have.
- thewhitetulip 10y agoMe too, I intentionally don't undertake the tax saving procedures, let them take an extra $$ it will help in Nation building (hopefully).
- skilled 10y agoWell, with the kind of budget that Military has, it could pretty much be called a nation; you're not invited, but thanks for the kindness though!
- emmelaich 10y agoWould you like to pay more? Because that is an option. edit: OK, I understand the sentiment of being happy to contribute to society, but no-one assumes a perfect equation of their taxes to the appropriate and desired government spending thereof.
- wingerlang 10y agoI think people from countries with free education and health care are ok with taxes. Me included.
- spectrum1234 10y agoWhat country on earth has these 100% free things?
- slac 10y agoSweden. Free university, no fee healthcare for kids, a few dollars for adults. But it's a sketchy country... be careful if you go there. #lastnightinsweeden
- smsm42 10y agoI know: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisemitism_in_Sweden https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisemitism_in_Sweden Especially: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisemitism_in_Sweden#Situation_in_Malm.C3.B6 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisemitism_in_Sweden#Situati...
- wingerlang 10y agoYou'll find sketchy things in any country. "Be careful" is quite the exaggeration in my opinion. Not going to the worst neighbourhoods during Friday nights applies to anywhere.
- jsmit 10y agoI don't think it was serious, the post was referring to Trump's campaign speech.
- wingerlang 10y agoOh, I see.
- toomuchtodo 10y agoI do. With them, I buy civilization.
- Waterluvian 10y agoI take great pride in paying taxes. It's such a good deal when I look at what it would cost to be American. I'm not trying to rag on being American. But I've got close ties with the U.S. so often I compare what a life event would have been like, had I been a typical U.S. family of my economic class.
- PeterStuer 10y agoI have no problem with taxes, just with the ways they are being spent.
- tracker1 10y agoI have a problem with the rate, collection and spending of taxes. I'd love to see us move away from property and income taxes... Income taxes are at least technically a tax on trade though. I'm not quite sure what the answer is, to be honest. I've just seen so much waste, it sickens me.
- monodeldiablo 10y agoCome up with an alternative that's better and I'll happily support it. The problem is that too many people are comparing the current system -- taxes to fund governments -- with a nonexistent utopia.
- blowski 10y agoSame here. Every time my son is unwell, I get an almost instant appointment with our local doctor. All his medicine is paid for. He gets a good education, a safe environment in which to grow up, lots of good activities. Taxes might have been lower in Victorian England, but I sure as hell am happy I was born in the 1980s.
- legulere 10y agoPaying taxes is the reason you have money. Having to pay your taxes with money is what makes it worth something in the first place.
- happosai 10y agoNot really happy paying high taxes, but I think the alternatives are worse. The definition of "first world country" should include "takes care of the less fortunate ones". Which, when I look at countries with less taxes than mine, doesn't seem to happen.