The U.S. Government Is One of the Best Bargains Around

Over the last few years, in fact, taxpayers have been getting the best deal in modern times, in terms of what they get from the government, and what they pay for it. Critics of government tend to focus on swelling regulatory bureaucracies or wayward projects like the loans that went to bankrupt energy company Solyndra, but the vast majority of federal spending goes toward defense or subsidies for the elderly, poor, or disabled. Even if taxpayers who fund those programs don't benefit directly from them, somebody in their family probably does.

SOURCEFirst and foremost I don't care about the source. I don't care if it falls on the left or right of the political spectrum. It's the commentary that I'm interested in, as it is perfect disinformation for simpletons who can't drive let alone critically think. When we think of taxes the income tax is the first and most predominant example we think of. By the size and visibility (annotated on your weekly pay stub) people are aware of it, therefore complain about it. What is missed are all of the other hidden taxes and fees that people are subjected to, seemingly unaware of how much of their income is stolen from them. Lets look at just a few that people seem to miss in the discussion of excessive taxes and wealth theft.Building Permit TaxCDL License Tax Cigarette TaxCounty Property TaxExcise Taxes (Heavy hitters love this one) Fishing License Tax Garbage Tax Gasoline TaxHunting License TaxLiquid Natural Gas TaxLiquid Petroleum Gas TaxLiquor TaxLodging Taxes Marriage License Tax Medicare TaxSales Tax (State)Sales Tax (City)Sewer & Water TaxSocial Security TaxState Income TaxTelephone Federal Excise TaxToll Road TaxesTraffic Fines (Indirect Taxation)Trailer Registration TaxUtility TaxesVehicle Registration TaxVehicle Sales TaxWatercraft Registration TaxWell Permit TaxWorkers Compensation Tax These are just a few, but the most noticeable taxes that affect the majority of us. The argument of excessive taxation is not based off of the Fed Income Tax by itself. The argument should be that the income tax is the largest part of a whole that has stolen the little wealth that the middle and lower classes have.Think about this. The article states that the average percentage of income taxation was 17.4. I think it's reasonable to assume those numbers to be about the same today. Now think about all of the other methods of taxation you are subjected to. How much of your income goes to taxation? 30 percent? 35 percent? Now take a $30,000 dollar a year job and subtract 30 percent. We start to see why approx 159 million Americans live at or near poverty levels. I think that would be a good project/documentary. If somebody would document and calculate how much of their income is lost due to taxation and hidden fees I think the numbers would raise a few eyebrows. What's actually funny is that I never even got into whether I consider the U.S. Government a good bargain or not. Any representative form of government that sends billions and billions of aid to other countries and entities while the ones they represent remain homeless and hungry is not a good bargain, no matter how much the citizens pay out of their pockets.

first thing that comes to mind is the colonial phrase "No Taxation Without Representation!".
read about the sugar tax, stamp tax, or the more well known tea act that lead to the infamous Boston Tea Party.
how violently colonials reacted to these non-represented taxes.
how little people in the present day seem to care.
i on the other hand am more than aware of how my money is squandered.
how it is simply "stolen" directly from my paycheck.
30-35% is a generous estimate.
try living in a higher tax bracket and that percent is well over 50%!!!
don't get me started on the banana yellow saucy mess that is social security.

most of these taxes are fish hooked onto other bills.
sadly anything less than going to DC, burning down the capital building, killing half the politicians and then telling
the other half they need to shape up or they're next isn't going to solve this mess.

without going to far off-topic.
give me an option not to pay into social security.
give me a little box i can check so i don't have to continue paying into a failing program that will have collapsed several times over by the time i am of age to claim it.
The fed says no social security by 2036

A lot of those taxes are local, not federal.

Originally posted by nixie_nox
A lot of those taxes are local, not federal.

And?Taxation is taxation. I don't care where it's derived from, they're all smaller parts of a whole. I understand that the article was based off of the income tax and federal government. Hence my argument that people get so worked up over the income tax that they miss all the other forms of taxation that affect their lives.I don't think you even read the post. You just looked at the list of taxes and found an opportunity to make a snide underhanded comment.

reply to post by nixie_nox


So please tell us which states dont have a:

Liquor Tax
Fishing License Tax
Vehicle Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Cigarette Tax
Hunting License Tax
Gas Tax
etc...

You may be right that they are mandated from a state level, but it would seem that all or near most states are taking these taxes from you. So its still essentially a federally sweeping problem.

Also, I dont think the OP really specified that it was a Federal thing, I assumed they were just fed up with taxes in general like the rest of us. We are probably being taxed at near 50% if I had to take a guess. I know my check is short about 22.5% of what i make each and every week, and thats just off my paycheck personally. Im already halfway to the 50% mark, and I dont even make that much money per year

And a lot of those are just to maintain the service that you are getting, or to even offset.

Toll roads bring in a lot of money, but it still doesn't even begin to cover the cost of maintaining those highways.

Same with a fishing license tax. That goes to the state. The state who has to maintain those rivers, the parks, the access roads to them, if the river is stocked,that is an expensive endeavor. And it is to deter anyone going down to the river so there isn't mass overfishing.

Taxes are not just taxes. Some are very specific, and set by the state.

You are trying to generalize somethign that can't be generalized.

reply to post by nixie_nox


Our roads shouldve been provided for by using part of our income tax, what do you think that money just belongs to the government and they can do what they want. Absolutely not, it is directly to provide infrastructure, also dont you think the registration and licensing fees should also already be covering those costs? Thats alot of money already. If our government were more frugal and less worried about pet projects and foreign aid, we might not be having to pay all these other taxes to cover costs.

What about the sales tax on a vehicle, where do you suppose that goes? Or the luxury tax for buying nice things? Where does any of the money go is what I want to know, like each and every dime they take should have a tracker on it to see where it ends up and in who's pocket

reply to post by notkmarx


Actually, despite what the silly tea partiers think the Boston Tea Party wasn't really about taxation without representation. People are basing it off of the simplified edited version they glossed over in school.

And yes, everyone who thinks it was about taxation without representation, looks like a fool. And considering there is now a political party that is based off of this idea, apparently the problem has spread far and wide.

It was actually against corporate tax cuts that would undermine small colonial businesses to an international corporation who already dominated trade and almost controlled all commerce, the business being the East India Trading Company.


Ironic isn't it?

reply to post by phishfriar47


Again, people can't seem to seperate Federal government and local government on ATS.

Sales tax from a vehicle goes to the state. And how much depends on the state.

Unless a road is on Federal government land, most is maintained by the county and state. And the cost to build and maintain these roads is astronomical. The gas tax mainly goes to road infrastructure. And so does some of the property tax.

There is almost 3 million miles of paved road, and 1.5 million miles of unpaved road in the US, under constant stress and need of repair. And you wonder why we need so many taxes to maintain them.

BTW, just because the states have taxes doesn't mean that you can lump them in with Federal taxes. Good heavens, no wonder people need to be babysat if you can't understand your local taxes versus federal.

Originally posted by phishfriar47
reply to post by nixie_nox

 

Also, I dont think the OP really specified that it was a Federal thing, I assumed they were just fed up with taxes in general like the rest of us. We are probably being taxed at near 50% if I had to take a guess. I know my check is short about 22.5% of what i make each and every week, and thats just off my paycheck personally. Im already halfway to the 50% mark, and I dont even make that much money per year

Thank you for understanding the premise of my post.Once again, take employment with an annual salary of $30,000, Now subtract 30 percent (and that's being generous) because of various forms of taxation. I think this is a big part of why such a large part of the population lives at or near the poverty level. It's an aspect of money that doesn't get looked at enough.. The premise of the post was not to question the validity of one tax over another. It was to point out a culmination of many parts that create a whole.What if government told you they would do away with all these forms of taxation but they were going to do it at a flat rate of 40 percent. A lot of people would be upset, and rightfully so. But they don't do it like that, they do it in bits a pieces here and there so people never realize how much wealth gets stolen from them. Who has ever sat there and documented how much money they earned went to every form of taxation for the whole year? Nobody really has time for that so it goes unnoticed.