Quinn rants about taxes-but maybe not what you think.
Like most Americans I pay taxes, income taxes both federal and state, sales taxes, property taxes and for fifty years, payroll taxes and I’m still, at age 81, paying income, sales and property taxes - plus assorted other miner taxes and fees on goods and services.
Like any normal person, I think it would be nice not to pay taxes and keep all my money. But unlike too many of the uninformed people ranting on social media these days, I understand why taxes are necessary.
Oh yes, money is used inefficiently by government - just as it is, at times, similarly misused by charities, political organization and profit making businesses.
And some Americans - individuals of all sorts - commit fraud and steal money from taxpayers. That has been going on since there have been governments.
Medicare has uncovered tens of billions of dollars in improper payments in the last five years alone - mostly fraud perpetrated by health care providers of some type, often in concert with patients.
Some social media rants are about money spent on foreign aid and welfare. All welfare programs equal about 7% of the budget and foreign aid around 1.2%. On the other hand Social Security and Medicare combined equal about 33-36% of the budget.
None of that changes the need for taxes and all the things taxes support. None of that justifies the calls for no taxes, especially from older Americans based on previously paying their dues. And certainly avoiding taxes should not be based on the job a person does or hours worked.
Over fifty years I paid $230,000 in Social Security and Medicare taxes. Not counting income taxes paid to those trusts after retirement.
However, during our 15 retirement years so far Connie and I have collected in SS and Medicare benefits way more than I paid in taxes.
Also, I estimate that since I retired in 2010 I paid $195,000 in property taxes. Those taxes pay to run my town, county and our school system. My children received a good education paid for by other citizens young and old both with and without children, so why shouldn’t I do the same? What makes 21st century seniors different?
Some people claim the wealthy don’t pay their fare share and that if they did others could pay less. That’s not accurate either. Even the wealthy don’t have enough cash given the federal government alone spends about $18 billion a day.
The current American rant against taxes is short-sighted and unfounded - and fiscally risky at best.
Americans seem unable to make the connection between wants, needs and desires from their collective society and paying for them. In fact, even now we turn our backs on paying the bill. Interest payments alone are about 14% of federal spending and rising.
The United States is among the lowest taxed and highest indebted of developed countries. And still many Americans expect - demand - lower taxes.😱
The post Quinn rants about taxes-but maybe not what you think. appeared first on HumbleDollar.
