this post was submitted on 08 Dec 2024
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I dont blame the guy. People will be happy to pay taxes when they reap the reward of taxes paid. Despite America being the richest country, we dont have free health care, public infrastructure is abysmal, having to interact with any government entity is a blood boiling experience amongst a myriad of other things. All we see is record breaking bailouts, and a rapidly growing military that hasn't passed a spending audit ever since we started tracking it. We dont even know where the funds are going, yet their funding balloons every year in every administration. Oh and every year the IRS is coming up with new and novel ways to squeeze more money out of us.
Until my taxes start benefitting me, I will never be happy paying them. If I lived in a saner and civilized country, I would then happily pay them.
It takes critical thinking to see how taxes help already. For example, you won't notice NOW the impacts of massive reduction in early education or school lunches. It just seems like "responsible cost management". But the reality is when you are 20 years older, the younger generation around you is less educated, less ready to handle complicated issues, etc. And you are older and less independently resilient and are at the whim of your community. Oops. Your tax opinions 20 years ago are here to fight.
But if we've been paying the same amount of taxes, and our services keep degrading is the best solution to keep shoveling our money into this fire pit?
I know greater funding will improve many programs, but who says higher taxes will increase funding for the programs in need?
Ive developed a large amount of apathy due to the mismanagement of tax payers funds and until it's rebuilt from the ground up I have no reason to trust the system to use my funds in good faith.
Bring critical, even venomously so if government spending is not the same as saying taxes should be reduced/removed, or government programs reduced.
Put differently: I'm critical of how school lunch money is spent, but I sure as shit don't want to reduce school lunch funding.
A common problem is republicans get in office, claim to be draining the swamp, funnel tax finding to their buddy's private company, get a trust fund for when they retire, then turn around the next election cycle and say the public program is broken. That deserves venom.