- Jul 10, 2007
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To the OP here's how I look at it. You are only seeing a very small slice and in a very narrow minded view set.
I am also middle class. I make more than the average. I got a degree and do well. There are things I resent, and there are things I realize are practical.
Take things like roads, fire, police, schools, and other items that our "collective" tax dollar pay for. These all used to be at one point in time privatized. It was a mess. It didn't work to well. For example:
If you were paying for a fire department, but your neighbor wasn't and his house caught on fire then the fire department wouldn't put it out. But like most fires, eventually it would spread and your house might be next to catch on fire. Once it did, then the fire department would try to put out your house fire. However, that doesn't change the fact your house still received damage. Damage it wouldn't have received had the fire department put the fire out in your neighbors house before it spread. This actually did happen all over America. at one point. Communities would normally form fire brigades instead of relying on paid people to do the job. Now we got communal fire departments.
Also, you are not living in a shelter, eating off a food line, and requiring daily medicines you can not afford currently. However, that can all change in an instant. The stock market crashes where you lose everything. Or you get in a car wreck that was your fault because something mechanical went wrong in your car before you fixed it. Then you get massive hospital bills. Or you get divorced and the wife manages to take everything because she's fucking the lawyer for payment. Or maybe a combination of bad luck befalls you. It has happened to plenty of good people. When that happens, what do you do? What happens when friends you once knew shun you, because now you are the guy with no house, no car, and no job? What do you do then? Many of your taxes go toward helping you out in this instance. When I got laid off for several months, I was glad I could collect unemployment. Sure, you maybe extremely lucky through the rest of your life and never need to use the social services your tax dollars pay for. If so, good for you. However, if at any time you do need it, then you will most definitely be glad it's there.
Now what do I resent? I resent my tax money going to stupid shit like bailing out big businesses. I was pissed when credit card companies, the automotive industry, and many banks were given my money because they have been stupidly greedy. I resent when people "live" off the welfare state. People that can move out of free housing, can get an education, can work a job, and can try to reach higher than they currently can go but do not. These people I resent. They need to be kicked to the curb and taken off the social welfare teet. The people going for 4+ kids for the free food, tax money, and other breaks while they sit around all day watching Oprah and playing WoW while overfeeding their kids to obesity on free food need to be sent to prison.
On the flip side, I also resent those people in reality making millions a year, but only paying themselves 20K a year on paper to get the same benefits of someone actually only making 20K a year also need to be kicked to the curb or put in jail.
The difference between the OP and me is I see the valid needs of where my tax money goes. Yah, it would be nice to keep every penny I earn for myself, but I know doing so my life would not be as well off as it is now.
i see no difference.
where did i say i didn't want to pay taxes?