One of my theories is that not only is it about how these taxes get used (as in the OP), but also in the US you have these constant reminders, it’s not added to your restaurant bills or supermarket prices until the end, you have to calculate it yourself all the time and that keeps it front of mind. I never used to even think about tax until I started my own business (since now I don’t have to pay it for business expenses). When something costs 100€ it costs 100€, you don’t think about the fact 20 of them are tax because you, as a consumer, pay 100 and that’s that. Same with salary, it gets taken at the source and once a year you just need to verify, and usually you get some money back making it a positive experience.
A society requires governance. Staff to set and enforce rules, staff and supplies to execute services which provide social and physical infrastructure.
Certain things every community needs: Healthcare, education, transportation, utilities, support services for special needs, safety, rehabilitation for rule breakers, etc.
A government can figure out how to provide these services (with in-house or out-sourced expertise) and provide you with one bill (taxes). Or they can privatize a service, meaning you still need it and they may regulate it, but you’ll be paying someone else for that service.
The value of taxes should be considered in this light. How much do I pay for all the services me and my community needs, and what portion of that is taxes. Then compare to other countries to see how well our governance system is functioning.
Does privatization save cost? What balance of regulation keeps things affordable vs driving up expenses? What balance of in-house expertise vs outsourcing is the most functional? What is the cost to quality of life having to pay bills to 15 organizations vs one? Where is there an extra heavy burden of cost and what can we do through regulation to fix it? These are the questions we should be interested in when it comes to governance, an elected official’s personality or opinions should be negligible factors.
We also have a constant drumbeat about how taxes are evil coming from politicians and pundits that represent half the political spectrum, all because they’ve discovered it’s a good way to turn people against the other half.
I know the point you’re trying to make, but generalisations like these aren’t helpful. After all, the UK have voted for the Tories for around 13 years, who are notoriously a low-tax party, and have a lot of support from wealthier people and self-employed people that don’t like their money aiding others.
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One of my theories is that not only is it about how these taxes get used (as in the OP), but also in the US you have these constant reminders, it’s not added to your restaurant bills or supermarket prices until the end, you have to calculate it yourself all the time and that keeps it front of mind. I never used to even think about tax until I started my own business (since now I don’t have to pay it for business expenses). When something costs 100€ it costs 100€, you don’t think about the fact 20 of them are tax because you, as a consumer, pay 100 and that’s that. Same with salary, it gets taken at the source and once a year you just need to verify, and usually you get some money back making it a positive experience.
Removed by mod
A society requires governance. Staff to set and enforce rules, staff and supplies to execute services which provide social and physical infrastructure.
Certain things every community needs: Healthcare, education, transportation, utilities, support services for special needs, safety, rehabilitation for rule breakers, etc.
A government can figure out how to provide these services (with in-house or out-sourced expertise) and provide you with one bill (taxes). Or they can privatize a service, meaning you still need it and they may regulate it, but you’ll be paying someone else for that service.
The value of taxes should be considered in this light. How much do I pay for all the services me and my community needs, and what portion of that is taxes. Then compare to other countries to see how well our governance system is functioning.
Does privatization save cost? What balance of regulation keeps things affordable vs driving up expenses? What balance of in-house expertise vs outsourcing is the most functional? What is the cost to quality of life having to pay bills to 15 organizations vs one? Where is there an extra heavy burden of cost and what can we do through regulation to fix it? These are the questions we should be interested in when it comes to governance, an elected official’s personality or opinions should be negligible factors.
Removed by mod
We also have a constant drumbeat about how taxes are evil coming from politicians and pundits that represent half the political spectrum, all because they’ve discovered it’s a good way to turn people against the other half.
I know the point you’re trying to make, but generalisations like these aren’t helpful. After all, the UK have voted for the Tories for around 13 years, who are notoriously a low-tax party, and have a lot of support from wealthier people and self-employed people that don’t like their money aiding others.
Removed by mod