8 ms·

Yes. I love paying taxes. Not because I like having less money in my bank account, but because I understand what paying taxes represents.

by chasing 10y ago

M_Grey 10y ago
Yeah, a couple of wars for one thing, but not fixing dams, that's for sure.
- elefanten 10y ago
  What 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 ago
Me too, I intentionally don't undertake the tax saving procedures, let them take an extra $$ it will help in Nation building (hopefully).
- skilled 10y ago
  Well, 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 ago
Would 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.
SpaceRaccoon 10y ago
Yes, funding a $600 billion military industrial complex [0]. Just think, your complete yearly taxes were probably almost enough for a single JDAM [1] which was then dropped on Iraq, in a war where 13% of all civilians were killed directly by US-led forces [2], and many more in the chaos that ensued from the invasion. But you love it. [0] - https://www.nationalpriorities.org/campaigns/military-spending-united-states/ https://www.nationalpriorities.org/campaigns/military-spendi... [1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Direct_Attack_Munition https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Direct_Attack_Munition [2] - https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2012/jan/03/iraq-body-count-report-data https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2012/jan/03/iraq-b...
- ruleabidinguser 10y ago
  Why precisely is having the worlds largest military bad? Do you think it doesnt add any value? It seems theres a lot of people outside of America who'd like to see it shrunk for very bad reasons. Why not keep the military and solve our problems without it? We need it to be safe now, and until we've already solved our problems, we'll still need it. Obviously it doesn't always work well and it definitely causes problems, doesn't mean we should get rid of or even reduce it.
  - kobeya 10y ago
    Having the largest military in reserve? No problem with that, personally. Having them used as they are now and deployments in the recent past, not so much.
    - josefresco 10y ago
      A large military "in reserve" becomes stagnant, and unable to operate in new real world conflicts. Look at the Vietnam war, or the current conflict in the Ukraine. Tactics change, and large militaries bent on keeping their swollen budgets in tact are poor at responding to emerging threats. My point is that these smaller conflicts (albeit mostly misguided) are useful to guide and reform strategy, tactics and spending.
laughfactory 10y ago
Government waste and inefficiency? Crony capitalism?
Hermel 10y ago
In what country are you paying taxes? And is your tax rate above or below 30%? Based on anecdotal evidence, I think that people paying more than 30% rarely ever "love" paying taxes. Below that, it seems to feel much more ok (I'm also below 30% and - while I'm not enthusiastic about paying taxes - it feels like a fair deal).
- stouset 10y ago
  40-45% combined rate here. I'm thrilled to be privileged enough to be in this tax rate, and while I disagree on some of where my taxes go to, I'm upset with that distribution more than I am the rate. I do not want my taxes to be lowered.
- audunw 10y ago
  Tax rate above 30% here. Considering I just finished a master degree education that was virtually free, with even living costs heavily subsidized (both stipend and ridiculously low student loan interest), I pay my taxes gladly. I'm not sure I will be a net positive for the government for another decade at least. I think free higher education is one thing that really help sell higher taxes to high income earners. Free(ish) healthcare is awesome, but you get the feeling that it mostly benefits poorer and older people. Free higher education is comparatively cheap, but it makes our lives simpler and stress free.
- nickez 10y ago
  I'm from Sweden, way above 30%, still love to pay taxes. Countries where they avoid to pay taxes at all cost like Greece is usually a reminder of why it is important that the government really enforces tax paying and that the taxes are high.
  - ptaipale 10y ago
    Actually, Greece doesn't remind us about why high taxes are good. Their taxes are high. The problem is corruption; the money is squandered, and the economy is choked by taxes, favouritism, corruption and nepotism. Thus, Greece is an example of why we need to remember to keep our politicians at check.
em3rgent0rdr 10y ago
If people in general "loved" paying taxes, then taxation could be replaced with a voluntary system. It is precisely the fact that the people who love paying taxes are a minority that coercion has to be used.
- simonh 10y ago
  I don't think that's a fair assessment. Time and time again voters approve plans to increase spending on things they want to have. If the people generally really wanted to drastically reduce government spending and reduce their tax burden they could vote for it, but they don't as long as they think they're getting a fair enough share of benefits from it.

Yes. I love paying taxes. Not because I like having less money in my bank account, but because I understand what paying taxes represents.

by chasing 10y ago

Yes. 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 ago

Yeah, a couple of wars for one thing, but not fixing dams, that's for sure.

elefanten 10y ago
What 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 ago

Me too, I intentionally don't undertake the tax saving procedures, let them take an extra $$ it will help in Nation building (hopefully).

skilled 10y ago
Well, 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 ago

Would 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.

SpaceRaccoon 10y ago

Yes, funding a $600 billion military industrial complex [0]. Just think, your complete yearly taxes were probably almost enough for a single JDAM [1] which was then dropped on Iraq, in a war where 13% of all civilians were killed directly by US-led forces [2], and many more in the chaos that ensued from the invasion. But you love it. [0] - https://www.nationalpriorities.org/campaigns/military-spending-united-states/ https://www.nationalpriorities.org/campaigns/military-spendi... [1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Direct_Attack_Munition https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Direct_Attack_Munition [2] - https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2012/jan/03/iraq-body-count-report-data https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2012/jan/03/iraq-b...

ruleabidinguser 10y ago
Why precisely is having the worlds largest military bad? Do you think it doesnt add any value? It seems theres a lot of people outside of America who'd like to see it shrunk for very bad reasons. Why not keep the military and solve our problems without it? We need it to be safe now, and until we've already solved our problems, we'll still need it. Obviously it doesn't always work well and it definitely causes problems, doesn't mean we should get rid of or even reduce it.
- kobeya 10y ago
  Having the largest military in reserve? No problem with that, personally. Having them used as they are now and deployments in the recent past, not so much.
  - josefresco 10y ago
    A large military "in reserve" becomes stagnant, and unable to operate in new real world conflicts. Look at the Vietnam war, or the current conflict in the Ukraine. Tactics change, and large militaries bent on keeping their swollen budgets in tact are poor at responding to emerging threats. My point is that these smaller conflicts (albeit mostly misguided) are useful to guide and reform strategy, tactics and spending.

laughfactory 10y ago

Government waste and inefficiency? Crony capitalism?

Hermel 10y ago

In what country are you paying taxes? And is your tax rate above or below 30%? Based on anecdotal evidence, I think that people paying more than 30% rarely ever "love" paying taxes. Below that, it seems to feel much more ok (I'm also below 30% and - while I'm not enthusiastic about paying taxes - it feels like a fair deal).

stouset 10y ago
40-45% combined rate here. I'm thrilled to be privileged enough to be in this tax rate, and while I disagree on some of where my taxes go to, I'm upset with that distribution more than I am the rate. I do not want my taxes to be lowered.
audunw 10y ago
Tax rate above 30% here. Considering I just finished a master degree education that was virtually free, with even living costs heavily subsidized (both stipend and ridiculously low student loan interest), I pay my taxes gladly. I'm not sure I will be a net positive for the government for another decade at least. I think free higher education is one thing that really help sell higher taxes to high income earners. Free(ish) healthcare is awesome, but you get the feeling that it mostly benefits poorer and older people. Free higher education is comparatively cheap, but it makes our lives simpler and stress free.
nickez 10y ago
I'm from Sweden, way above 30%, still love to pay taxes. Countries where they avoid to pay taxes at all cost like Greece is usually a reminder of why it is important that the government really enforces tax paying and that the taxes are high.
- ptaipale 10y ago
  Actually, Greece doesn't remind us about why high taxes are good. Their taxes are high. The problem is corruption; the money is squandered, and the economy is choked by taxes, favouritism, corruption and nepotism. Thus, Greece is an example of why we need to remember to keep our politicians at check.

em3rgent0rdr 10y ago

If people in general "loved" paying taxes, then taxation could be replaced with a voluntary system. It is precisely the fact that the people who love paying taxes are a minority that coercion has to be used.

simonh 10y ago
I don't think that's a fair assessment. Time and time again voters approve plans to increase spending on things they want to have. If the people generally really wanted to drastically reduce government spending and reduce their tax burden they could vote for it, but they don't as long as they think they're getting a fair enough share of benefits from it.