this post was submitted on 03 Jul 2024
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Very sad when libertarians (i.e. republicans that are too cowardly to publicly own that they are republicans) get burned so bad and don't have a collectively funded community Fire Department or public roads where anyone could travel to put out the fire.
A true libertarian community would have a collectively funded Fire Department and publicly funded roads.
Libertarians do not want to pay "taxes". Taxes are a portion of your money the government forcefully takes and does whatever they want with.
Public services that a libertarian uses, they would feel like they would have to pay for.
Joe drives to work. He takes a toll road (not saying toll roads are a good solution). He pays for the road that he is using.
Steve rides the bus to work. His bus ticket will have the cost of the roads fixed in.
Joe doesn't want to lose everything in a fire. He gets insurance. Insurance company doesn't want to lose the whole house. They get a fire department.
Right now we pay 100% of the fire department in taxes. While paying full price for insurance. Insurance companies get to use the fire department for free.
The idea that giving up ~40% of your work in hopes that the government takes care of you is ridiculous (Social Security is a government ran ponzi scheme). The idea that giving up ~40% of your work in hopes that the government takes care of someone else is also ridiculous.
The government used every penny of taxes you have paid or ever will pay to not even make a dent in the bail out of privately owned banks. Hell, they probably handed Tom Brady more than that in just the PPP loans he received and never had to pay back.
But life can't function without government taxes /s
No taxation without representation. Do you feel represented?
Boo fucking hoo a small portion of "your" money goes to keeping your neighbors' houses from burning down.
Also, you think most people are out there paying 40% in taxes? You either live in Scandinavia or you've never had a job before.
Lastly, "No taxation without representation?" Who says? A bunch of selfish, greedy, white, landowning, people-owning assholes hundreds of years ago? Fuck them. Taxes are a part of society.
The average person makes 65k in the US
They would pay 10k in federal income tax (15.4%)
They would pay 4k in social security (6.2%)
They would pay 2.6k in state income tax (~4%)
So out of the 65k, they get to keep 48.4k
Business would pay 4k in social security for you (6.2%)
With: Get paid 65k, walk home with 48.4k
Without: Get paid 69k, walk home with 69k.
69k - 48.4k = 20.2k
20.2k ÷ 69k = .29
Without federal/state/SS tax, the average person would have 30% more
Sales tax is ~5%
48.4k × 5% = 2.4k
If they used all their money to buy stuff, their actual purchasing power would be. They'd only have 46k to spend.
69k - 46k = 23k
23k ÷ 69k = .33
Average person gets to spend about 66% of their "actual pay"
I'd call that ~40%
65k - 48.4k = 16.6k
Let's assume 20 years old and retire at 67
47 years of working
S&P500 has had an average annual rate of return of 10% since being created in 1957.
Let's say 5% APR because 10% is realistic, but it's not guaranteed.
Extra 16.6k a year is about 1.4k per month.
If someone invested 1.4k per month for 47 years at 5%, interest compounded annually.
They would have 3 million in a retirement fund. (10% is 14.6m)
A 30-year mortgage is currently 7.5%. You could put the 1.4k a month into that and basically get a 7.5% guaranteed return.
Making 65k, walking home with 48.4k. Having to spend an extra 2.4k If you want to buy anything with the 48.4k because you really can only buy 46k worth of stuff. While giving up a 3m-14.6m retirement fund.
That's a "small portion"?
This isn't even counting health insurance. You make 65k the government isn't helping you out.
This is also not counting property tax.
You're giving up 1.4k a month so the government can give you 1.4k a month (hopefully) when you turn 67.
The government uses your potential 3m-14.6m for its own needs in the meantime