4 ms·

Taxes aren't based on how much you benefit from government. Progressive tax rates make sense because the wealthy can afford to pay a larger share of their paych

• AlexandrB 9y ago
  > If we taxes people based on the benefits they receive from the government, then the homeless would pay a fortune. This is a comical simplification. The public and legal infrastructure in America overwhelmingly helps companies and investors make money. Where would UPS be without public roads? Where would Warren Buffet be without a stable legal framework for investment? That's not to mention the military spending that secures all of these fortunes against foreign aggression. To claim that the poor disproportionately benefit from government spending is missing the forest for the trees.
  • eli 9y ago
    I think I phrased that poorly. My point is that how much the government spends "on you" is not relevant to what your income tax rate should be.
• cannonedhamster 9y ago
  > If we taxes people based on the benefits they receive from the government, then the homeless would pay a fortune. This is provably and patently false. Homeless people don't have their good protected by the police, don't get fire protection, don't drive, don't get deductions for businesses, don't get inheritance from their wealthy, millionaire parents, don't get lobbying influence. The entire system is set up to the benefit the rich with a few social stability benefits for the poor, which in turn keep them from uprising and storming the gates of the wealthy.
  • eli 9y ago
    My point was that we are not taxed based on the benefits we consume (if we were they'd be fees not income taxes). I did not mean to imply the homeless have it easy.
    • cannonedhamster 9y ago
      I'm sorry I must not have been clear. My point wasn't that you were saying the homeless had it easy, my point was that the homeless cannot use the system because the benefits of the system belong to those who already have money.