5 ms·

High taxes are an obstacle to personal liberties, too.

by tsotha 13y ago

Crake 13y ago
I know you probably don't agree with this, but to many people (including myself), not having access to health care or qualified physicians would be considered a pretty big obstacle to personal liberty as well. (You can't do anything if you're dead, after all.)
- tsotha 13y ago
  The amount doctors get paid isn't what drives medical costs in the US.
  - therobot24 13y ago
    so highly qualified individuals shouldn't be paid well?
    - tsotha 13y ago
      I don't know where you got that from anything I wrote.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
johnchristopher 13y ago
So are children and stepmothers. Your point ? > High taxes are an obstacle to personal liberties, too. No. Taxes are spread out among the population. Financial debt is burdening only one individual. In Europe, in France and Belgium, we like to think solidarity is a good thing.
- Crake 13y ago
  That's what's wrong with a lot of Americans, IMO. It's every man for himself, screw your neighbors. If something bad happens to someone else, they deserved it for reason X. (X being: they didn't work "hard enough," they were "lazy," etc when the person in question is often less lazy and harder working than the person complaining about them) I actually had a classmate tell me the other day that me being able to get the medications I need to stay alive (because of the ACA) was going to drive the country bankrupt and (direct quote here) "destroy America." In my experience, my countrymen do not care for others very much--only themselves.
- tsotha 13y ago
  >Taxes are spread out among the population. Financial debt is burdening only one individual. Well, that's true, but it doesn't change the truth of what I said. The people who never go to college have less money to spend on themselves because they're subsidizing people who will go on to make a lot of money.
DrJokepu 13y ago
Meh. You are trivialising something really complicated and you know that.
- tsotha 13y ago
  No, actually it's not that complicated.
_delirium 13y ago
European taxes are higher for some people, but I'm not sure the average middle-class or upper-middle-class American comes out ahead, even purely monetarily. In return for your taxes, many countries cover both healthcare and higher education, which Americans have to buy separately. If you add up [federal tax + state tax + payroll tax + student-loan payments + health insurance premiums], a Californian making $80k might take home only about $40k, while a Dane making $80k would take home about $50k.

High taxes are an obstacle to personal liberties, too.

by tsotha 13y ago

High taxes are an obstacle to personal liberties, too.

Crake 13y ago

I know you probably don't agree with this, but to many people (including myself), not having access to health care or qualified physicians would be considered a pretty big obstacle to personal liberty as well. (You can't do anything if you're dead, after all.)

tsotha 13y ago
The amount doctors get paid isn't what drives medical costs in the US.
- therobot24 13y ago
  so highly qualified individuals shouldn't be paid well?
  - tsotha 13y ago
    I don't know where you got that from anything I wrote.

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

johnchristopher 13y ago

So are children and stepmothers. Your point ? > High taxes are an obstacle to personal liberties, too. No. Taxes are spread out among the population. Financial debt is burdening only one individual. In Europe, in France and Belgium, we like to think solidarity is a good thing.

Crake 13y ago
That's what's wrong with a lot of Americans, IMO. It's every man for himself, screw your neighbors. If something bad happens to someone else, they deserved it for reason X. (X being: they didn't work "hard enough," they were "lazy," etc when the person in question is often less lazy and harder working than the person complaining about them) I actually had a classmate tell me the other day that me being able to get the medications I need to stay alive (because of the ACA) was going to drive the country bankrupt and (direct quote here) "destroy America." In my experience, my countrymen do not care for others very much--only themselves.
tsotha 13y ago
>Taxes are spread out among the population. Financial debt is burdening only one individual. Well, that's true, but it doesn't change the truth of what I said. The people who never go to college have less money to spend on themselves because they're subsidizing people who will go on to make a lot of money.

DrJokepu 13y ago

Meh. You are trivialising something really complicated and you know that.

tsotha 13y ago
No, actually it's not that complicated.

_delirium 13y ago

European taxes are higher for some people, but I'm not sure the average middle-class or upper-middle-class American comes out ahead, even purely monetarily. In return for your taxes, many countries cover both healthcare and higher education, which Americans have to buy separately. If you add up [federal tax + state tax + payroll tax + student-loan payments + health insurance premiums], a Californian making $80k might take home only about $40k, while a Dane making $80k would take home about $50k.