Showerthoughts

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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The most popular seem to be lighthearted, clever little truths, hidden in daily life.

Here are some examples to inspire your own showerthoughts: 1

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-51

Increasing taxes to solve inequality is based on fundamentally wrong assumptions. (lemmy.fbxl.net)

submitted 2 years ago by [email protected] to c/showerthoughts

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Why on earth would taking wealth from everyone (and it turns into everyone -- There are non-executive wage earners working mundane jobs who pay 50% taxes on their last bit of income and basically pay that on any overtime they work) and concentrating it in the hands of a few insanely powerful government workers ever result in less inequality? You're literally making an overclass of super-powerful people a little bit stronger.

We've done that before -- we gave all the power to people based not on their amount of money but instead their ownership and effective use of horsies and horsie accessories, hard clothing, and pokey sticks of varying descriptions and materials. It wasn't a more equal society back then. The pokey stick hard clothing horsie people still got the nicest houses and could get a bunch of slaves to build big pointy buildings for them.

You're just taking money from the super powerful (and everyone else) and giving it to the ultra mega powerful.

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Take another shower. Taxes aren't used to fix inequality. They're used to fund infrastructure and services that we all need. They're also used sometimes to redistribute income, but the idea isn't to solve inequality. The idea is to get some income, in one form or another, to people who cannot or should not work, like the sick, children, the elderly, and anyone else excluded from the workforce. This non-working population needs income as much as the working population does and it doesn't make sense to force them to get it in inefficient and harmful ways. Taxation to solve inequality is a myth that isn't happening.

[–] There1snospoon7491 21 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

Firstly, you’re forgetting we live in a democracy. Voting is the source of that governments power - a mandate provided by the people.

Secondly, how the hell is this a shower thought? Shower thoughts are meant to be short, concise and interesting. This screed does not fit the bill.

[–] Arrakis 19 points 2 years ago

Shame there isn't an "I'm 12 and this is deep" sub for idiotic posts like this.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 years ago (1 children)

The difference is that feudalism wasn‘t a democracy. In a democracy you can change what your tax income is spent on and you can decide whether or not you want it to go to welfare programs or whatever else. The money is not in the hands of government workers. Your taxes don’t go to the bank account of the head of state.

This is a bit oversimplified since there can of course be corruption inside of the government but in a functioning democracy, you are in a different position than what you describe here.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago

There is a way to tax people at different rates based on there incomes. Marginally tax rates create brackets were the more inome you make the more taxes you pay porportionally.

If I make $500,000 in income I would pay more in taxes than someone making $27,000 in income. Creating an additional tax bracket with a higher tax percent could fund social programs.

There are additional ways to tax and ensure that those who need the money the most get taxed the least, maybe even note at all. You could do this just with the financial disclosure that everyone submits on their taxes every year.

[–] Dissasterix 1 points 2 years ago

Very short sighted OP. If we gave them more money they would finally have enough money to know how to ethically redistribute it ;] Taxation is theft.

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