5 ms·

I guess you could rationalize that with: During my 60 minutes of work I was able to: breath clean air, have potable water, be surrounded by an orderly society,

I guess you could rationalize that with: During my 60 minutes of work I was able to: breath clean air, have potable water, be surrounded by an orderly society, and in the event of danger have access to emergency services.

coredog64 10y ago
I'd counter that all of that together represents a very small portion of that 50% overall tax rate.
- zymhan 10y ago
  Well, you also got to wage wars in various countries via drones and residual troop deployments and special operations. That takes up quite a bit. Also, you got to enjoy having a basic pension after retirement, as well as free healthcare for the elderly and poor. Who wants to live in a country with a bunch of poor and old sick people who can't afford food and healthcare? That sounds depressing as hell.
  - Scea91 10y ago
    If you are in high a tax bracket you are actually paying way more to pension than you get back. If you saved the money yourself you would be better off.
    - zymhan 10y ago
      Sure, but I believe in a progressive tax structure, so allowing wealthier folk to contribute even more to their retirement isn't anywhere near my top concern. The amount of money you need to live on decreases relative to your income, as your income goes up. A wealthy person doesn't contribute 30%+ of their monthly income to housing, typically, nor could they come anywhere near spending that amount on food. But a poor family of 4 certainly could.
      - lap42 10y ago
        You believe in theft. You believe in getting other people money in a forced manner and put in what YOU believe is better.
        zymhan 10y ago
        No, I don't make the decision on what to spend it on, the democratically elected legislature does. And if money is misspent, take it up with your elected officials. Do you honestly believe that taxation is theft? It's existed as a fundamental requirement of civilization for millennia. Utopian libertarianism is utterly unrealistic. For a philosophy that is wholly meritocratic, you would think the fact that no civilization adopted it as a fundamental principle would make it obvious how infeasible the concept is.

coredog64 10y ago

I'd counter that all of that together represents a very small portion of that 50% overall tax rate.

zymhan 10y ago
Well, you also got to wage wars in various countries via drones and residual troop deployments and special operations. That takes up quite a bit. Also, you got to enjoy having a basic pension after retirement, as well as free healthcare for the elderly and poor. Who wants to live in a country with a bunch of poor and old sick people who can't afford food and healthcare? That sounds depressing as hell.
- Scea91 10y ago
  If you are in high a tax bracket you are actually paying way more to pension than you get back. If you saved the money yourself you would be better off.
  - zymhan 10y ago
    Sure, but I believe in a progressive tax structure, so allowing wealthier folk to contribute even more to their retirement isn't anywhere near my top concern. The amount of money you need to live on decreases relative to your income, as your income goes up. A wealthy person doesn't contribute 30%+ of their monthly income to housing, typically, nor could they come anywhere near spending that amount on food. But a poor family of 4 certainly could.
    - lap42 10y ago
      You believe in theft. You believe in getting other people money in a forced manner and put in what YOU believe is better.
      - zymhan 10y ago
        No, I don't make the decision on what to spend it on, the democratically elected legislature does. And if money is misspent, take it up with your elected officials. Do you honestly believe that taxation is theft? It's existed as a fundamental requirement of civilization for millennia. Utopian libertarianism is utterly unrealistic. For a philosophy that is wholly meritocratic, you would think the fact that no civilization adopted it as a fundamental principle would make it obvious how infeasible the concept is.