Whiny Taxpayers

Note: I'm being semi-satirical here.

Taxpayers are greedy leeches. Can those taxpayers make the beautiful photos of the Hubble Space Telescope? Can they make the Library of Congress or the Smithsonian Institution? No. And neither can the government. But the government can finance the people who can. But the government can get sufficient funds only from taxing, and the American People are unwilling to pay their money.

If I thought the government could be trusted to spend money on what is good and not for what gets them political favors, I wouldn't have a problem with a tax rate of about a 1/3rd or so. Since the government is made up of people and people are stupid and selfish, I can't trust the government to do that...

Hallelujah, Amen.

I should elaborate: Taxation may be something that people don't like. But it is necessary in any government system. The facts are very clear that the average US taxpayer is paying the lowest share of income to taxes at any time in the modern era (read: Post WW 2). Eventually, America has to pay the piper, and taxes are going to go up. Better that they do so now when a moderate increase will suffice than at a point where only drastic increases will be sufficient.

Actually, most people do pay their money even if they complain. The whole "not paying taxes" thing is not as widespread as complaints would have us believe.

Of course, the people who are avoiding paying their taxes are doing so on some very ridiculous premises.

It wasn't "no taxation", it was no taxation without representation.

I... no one said anything about taxation with no representation. What's your point?

Sorry, I just felt like saying that. It was not aimed at anyone, just a statement.

My point is the extreme right in the US fails to realize the Founding Fathers were actual left wing radicals for their time.

edited 15th Sep '11 6:18:51 PM by Erock

Erock@Don't be so sure that they would be leftists as well because they were also rich,white owners and some were diests and others were believers.I am thinking centrists with either that day's left or right leanings.

edited 15th Sep '11 6:23:23 PM by joyflower

Yesteryear's liberals and progressives are today's conservatives and reactionaries...

I don't know about radical, but they were certainly more left wing in that time. Of course, right wingers also like to say that they made a Christian nation, and seem to disregard that they on purpose created Separation of Church and State.

As for taxes; Goddamn, stop whining and pay them.

Ummm... I would say the Fathers were radical.

They, you know, fought a war. That's the ultimate in radicalism.

@Joy: Yes, but for their day they were hardcore liberals. The US was the first liberal dmeocracy for a reason.

@USAF: Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

edited 15th Sep '11 6:26:44 PM by Erock

Wasn't there a minor battle right after the revolutionary war that occurred when some southerners refused to pay taxes, and were curb stomped?

Thorn@It's the whisky rebellion and please no southern jokes it just becomes one big repetive thing.

I would say radical centrists still because they weren't that left or right.Espically if you get into the Federalists and Democratic Republicans situation which you could see the future that is American politics.

edited 15th Sep '11 6:45:53 PM by joyflower

I didn't make a southern joke at all. Just pointing that we had actual armed conflict over taxes.

Whiskey Rebellion, as noted.

Farmers thought they could take the courts to prevent foreclosures.

Washington could have sent the militia...

...but instead he sent 20,000 regular Army.

And not a shot was fired.

My main beef with whiny taxpayers is that most seem to whine about taxes, but then support the military. Now, I have nothing against the actually troops. I'm saying they complain that soldiers don't get paid enough. Than they want the government to build a lot of weaponry. hundreds of billions of dollars worth. Where do they think that money comes from???

Also they want tax cuts without job loss....THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! Any tax-cuts will result in the loss of jobs and/or wages for governmernt job or third party jobs working with government contracts...ugh...jeez.

Edit: I should say any Budget cuts will result in job loss more accurately.

edited 15th Sep '11 9:36:22 PM by patrickmoler

Around 30-40% of people cheat on taxes, and possibly more.

Illegal aliens pay more taxes than the most profitable corporations such as GE.

Link?

I don't know about paying more taxes, but I did read this article by an illegal once that said they(He and his wife) paid all their taxes regularly in order to stay under the radar/not get caught. And he said he had a regular job as an electrician. I'm not quite sure how that works, but I guess the guy got some false papers?

So there goes any argument that illegals are lazy, but I guess that's a topic for another thread.

There is something particularly irritating about political commentators uses of the phases 'taxpayers money' in every other breath.

What I really hate is the little things.. Some troops overseas are goofing off in their off time, be it by making music videos of people dancing in sync, or any other random bullshit.

Then some idiots start posting things like "Wow, so this is where my tax money goes."

Videos of 12 hour shifts sitting in a guard tower aren't exciting, so they don't get made. People act like we're not allowed to have any free time or something.

That is pretty petty. I mean, from all accounts you guys have hours of pretty much nothing but watching sand or whatever to do over there. (It can't all be military action over there.) And no one except a documentary maker films that stuff. Plus, you know, the taxpayer money goes towards paying you when you're working. Not for when you're off duty and goofing around.

People like to think the government is this entity separate from humanity (pending AI overlords, that's hardly accurate) so government jobs or contracts lost "don't count" when it comes to unemployment or job creation. Or that taxes work in lump sums, so if you go a dollar above a tax bracket you suddenly are taking home less money than before (the progressive tax rate applies to the income in the new bracket, so you're never "earning less by earning more" or any supposed disincentives to get rich). Hell, if a higher tax rate is the ONLY thing dissuading you from working on getting a higher income, you're too damn petty and lazy to make it in that career anyway.

@ Barkey

It's not just the military. CE Os of crown corps making six digit salaries are lambasted for "wasting all our tax money" when the same CEO, who is actually quite skilled and motivated, could be making an eight digit salary in the private market for the same task. Or you have single bureaucrats caught slacking or goofing off, it's a huge scandal, even if everyone else in the office is pulling overtime every day.

There's this underlying assumption that the private market, filled with corporations and so on, is actually efficient or hardworking or somehow deserving all of their revenue. Most of the time, they get their money because people don't bother to give their money to anything else. Want to buy a kettle? Would you buy one of the two largest brands, or try to sort through two dozen smaller cheaper but possibly better brands?

@ Ratix

Oh yeah, that marginal tax rate argument aggravates me to no end. I hate it when people say dumb shit like "You make less money when you earn more because you pay way more taxes!". You ALWAYS make more money if you make more money. There's no marginal tax rate that is greater than 100% here.

edited 16th Sep '11 8:43:30 AM by breadloaf