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One of the great ironies of life, is that almost everyone is in favor of spending money on the poor or for the sake of equality, when it's not their own money.

One of the great ironies of life, is that almost everyone is in favor of spending money on the poor or for the sake of equality, when it's not their own money. Spending other people's money is fantastic, equitable, fair. 20% additional tax on yourself? Cruel, unfair, inequitable.

Murky3515 2y ago
I'm advocating for a self-balancing money system that maintains a linear curve of wealth distribution. You can still be richer than your peers, but you can't squeeze the bottom of the distribution.
immibis 2y ago
I'd pay 20% extra tax if everyone was paying 20% extra tax and it was for a good reason. Right-wingists wouldn't, and they project this tendency of theirs onto left-wingists to whom it doesn't actually apply. Evidence: I live in Europe, not the USA, by choice, so I AM paying 20% extra tax and enjoying it.
- claytongulick 2y ago
  Yet conservatives give more to charity than progressives [1]. The ideological difference there is that, in general, conservatives and libertarians prefer to minimize confiscation by force, and believe that society is best served by voluntary charities vs authoritarian taxation. I.e. "I know how to spend my money better than the government, and I know how to help my community better than someone located thousands of miles away that don't know my neighbors or their problems". [1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0049089X21000752 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00490...
  - immibis 2y ago
    The ideological difference is that conservatives and libertarians prefer the same amount of confiscation by force, but prefer it to be directed by billionaires rather than by democracy.
    - claytongulick 2y ago
      Do you have any evidence of this? Anything at all? It might be worth taking a minute to understand what they actually believe, you may be surprised to find that even though they aren't part of whatever tribe you're in, that they are very reasonable people who also want the best for everyone.
- mike_hearn 2y ago
  European tax rates are not very different to American tax rates, they certainly aren't 20pp higher on income tax presuming that's what you mean. > they project this tendency of theirs onto left-wingists to whom it doesn't actually apply. Mmmm really. Here's an embarrassing article the Guardian had to write when just days after attacking Tesco for reducing its tax bill, it was discovered that the Guardian Media Group was doing exactly the same thing: https://www.theguardian.com/help/insideguardian/2008/mar/06/isgoingoffshoregoingoffme https://www.theguardian.com/help/insideguardian/2008/mar/06/... Excuses offered included "The leader was written before journalists knew of the structure of the Emap purchase", "The relationship between the Guardian and GMG is a complicated one" and "the [Scott] trust was established in 1936 to avoid paying double death duties and ensure the continued existence of the paper". Even Labour controlled local councils have been caught finding clever ways to reduce their tax bill, and they're a part of the government: https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/embarrassment-for-labour-after-two-councils-found-to-have-avoided-12m-in-tax https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/embarrassment-for-... Doesn't get more left wingist than the Guardian and Labour.

Murky3515 2y ago

I'm advocating for a self-balancing money system that maintains a linear curve of wealth distribution. You can still be richer than your peers, but you can't squeeze the bottom of the distribution.

immibis 2y ago

I'd pay 20% extra tax if everyone was paying 20% extra tax and it was for a good reason. Right-wingists wouldn't, and they project this tendency of theirs onto left-wingists to whom it doesn't actually apply. Evidence: I live in Europe, not the USA, by choice, so I AM paying 20% extra tax and enjoying it.

claytongulick 2y ago
Yet conservatives give more to charity than progressives [1]. The ideological difference there is that, in general, conservatives and libertarians prefer to minimize confiscation by force, and believe that society is best served by voluntary charities vs authoritarian taxation. I.e. "I know how to spend my money better than the government, and I know how to help my community better than someone located thousands of miles away that don't know my neighbors or their problems". [1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0049089X21000752 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00490...
- immibis 2y ago
  The ideological difference is that conservatives and libertarians prefer the same amount of confiscation by force, but prefer it to be directed by billionaires rather than by democracy.
  - claytongulick 2y ago
    Do you have any evidence of this? Anything at all? It might be worth taking a minute to understand what they actually believe, you may be surprised to find that even though they aren't part of whatever tribe you're in, that they are very reasonable people who also want the best for everyone.
mike_hearn 2y ago
European tax rates are not very different to American tax rates, they certainly aren't 20pp higher on income tax presuming that's what you mean. > they project this tendency of theirs onto left-wingists to whom it doesn't actually apply. Mmmm really. Here's an embarrassing article the Guardian had to write when just days after attacking Tesco for reducing its tax bill, it was discovered that the Guardian Media Group was doing exactly the same thing: https://www.theguardian.com/help/insideguardian/2008/mar/06/isgoingoffshoregoingoffme https://www.theguardian.com/help/insideguardian/2008/mar/06/... Excuses offered included "The leader was written before journalists knew of the structure of the Emap purchase", "The relationship between the Guardian and GMG is a complicated one" and "the [Scott] trust was established in 1936 to avoid paying double death duties and ensure the continued existence of the paper". Even Labour controlled local councils have been caught finding clever ways to reduce their tax bill, and they're a part of the government: https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/embarrassment-for-labour-after-two-councils-found-to-have-avoided-12m-in-tax https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/embarrassment-for-... Doesn't get more left wingist than the Guardian and Labour.