this post was submitted on 23 Nov 2023
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The problem will always be the people not smart enough to understand it
Or never think it will ever happen to them so if they aren't ever going to benefit from it, why should they pay for anybody to have it?
The perfect example of this is during COVID in the UK when everything locked down and the government implemented furlough payments for all workers using your wage defined by income tax. Lots of self employed are set up as a business and pay the majority of their income as the business with a token amount being actual wages so that they qualify for state benefits like the state pension. This is done to lower their tax bill. Cue loads of self employed moaning that they weren't getting enough to live on, despite making an intentional choice to pay less tax.
But I'm in this camp, why should I pay taxes if all I see is a dreadful health system, shit public education system, knowing the social security is bankrupt and will not be able to provide me with a decent retirement, and all the money going into bank bailouts and mismanaged public companies.
If all I see is the gov mismanaging the funds I give them, why am I not allowed to manage them myself?
It's a good point, but it's the people's group responsibility to hold those in power accountable for their mismanagement. Voting in different government, protesting, escalating to action, eating them. Maybe in that order.
If everyone stops paying, you remove the tax and benefits system entirely, and are just left with 100% privatisation. That's exactly what the rich and priveleged want so they can look after themselves and profit more.
The main problem here is that they very much did want to benefit from the state, after intentionally not paying.
If you are totally prepared and have the money to pay for your own services be they school, health care, police, fire, roads etc. then crack on with it. Vast majority of people rely on at least some of those services during their lifetime, they simply are not rich enough to do this.
Because you're a person, and not the government making policy.