5 ms·

Is it possible for the Govt to make money without my taxes?

airza 9y ago
at that point it would just be a corporation with a monopoly on the legitimate use of force, right?
gumby 9y ago
Indeed, the Egyptian and Pakistani armies fund themselves through massive private sector efforts which are double digit percentages of their respective countries' GDP. And of course the command economies like the USSR. Let's just say it's not a great idea. Also, it's pretty important for social cohesion and source diversity that almost everyone pay some tax and receive some explicit benefit. For example if tax is something other people pay, why not set it high? And if everyone gets social security, not just means-tested folks, then support for the program will be solid; if only those people get it, then why not cut it? On the source diversity side: CA gets too much of its tax from rich people. (As a lifetime believer in progressive taxation it hurts me to say this, since they are the folks who can afford it the most easily, and mostly they are happy to pay it). But most of the highest payers get their income through cap gains; when the economy sags (so more spending is needed) such taxes sink aggressively, while the wage taxes fluctuate more smoothly. So again, a wider tax base works better. If humans were perfect little machines none of this would matter as saving and borrowing could be countercyclical. Ha.
cjrp 9y ago
See Norway's sovereign wealth fund
- perseusprime11 9y ago
  I am looking for more of these kinds of ideas. I do not believe tax should be a function of Govt because Govt has become a function of two political parties with two different ideologies. There are incentives for both sides but it has become a biased system. I am looking for ideas that decouple tax from Govt. and the ideologies of political parties. If a political party likes to spend more then they should not raise taxes to achieve those goals. Also it does not inspire confidence that our Social security fund will not be sufficient though we are paying taxes because now people are living longer.

at that point it would just be a corporation with a monopoly on the legitimate use of force, right?

Indeed, the Egyptian and Pakistani armies fund themselves through massive private sector efforts which are double digit percentages of their respective countries' GDP. And of course the command economies like the USSR. Let's just say it's not a great idea. Also, it's pretty important for social cohesion and source diversity that almost everyone pay some tax and receive some explicit benefit. For example if tax is something other people pay, why not set it high? And if everyone gets social security, not just means-tested folks, then support for the program will be solid; if only those people get it, then why not cut it? On the source diversity side: CA gets too much of its tax from rich people. (As a lifetime believer in progressive taxation it hurts me to say this, since they are the folks who can afford it the most easily, and mostly they are happy to pay it). But most of the highest payers get their income through cap gains; when the economy sags (so more spending is needed) such taxes sink aggressively, while the wage taxes fluctuate more smoothly. So again, a wider tax base works better. If humans were perfect little machines none of this would matter as saving and borrowing could be countercyclical. Ha.

cjrp 9y ago

See Norway's sovereign wealth fund

perseusprime11 9y ago
I am looking for more of these kinds of ideas. I do not believe tax should be a function of Govt because Govt has become a function of two political parties with two different ideologies. There are incentives for both sides but it has become a biased system. I am looking for ideas that decouple tax from Govt. and the ideologies of political parties. If a political party likes to spend more then they should not raise taxes to achieve those goals. Also it does not inspire confidence that our Social security fund will not be sufficient though we are paying taxes because now people are living longer.