edit: honestly MFR? You're going to assert ppl profit more from taxation the more they make? I would argue the exact opposite (and will do so civilly, if you honestly believe what you just posted). How on earth would a millionaire benefit more from what the state does with his money, than the poor who don't even contribute? The more you make and the more independent you are the less taxes and all this social spending affects you, I'm bewildered at how you came to the opposite conclusion)
The ultra wealthy elite, may feel like they live in a bubble, but they share the rest of the world with us. If we have no food, no clothing, no shelter, no mail service or phone service to communicate with potential employers, no transportation, no heat, no means for hygiene, no means to health care that can restore us to health then we can neither work for their companies or buy their products and services. Without a vibrant consumer and worker base, nobody has an opportunity to get rich or make any more money.
McDonald's loses lots of revenue if their underpaid employees and poor customers don't have access to public transportation and/or usable roads and can't get there. Taxes paid out to unemployment, Social Security, and welfare are quickly reabsorbed by corporations when people consume these benefits, so it's hard to call that a loss. When families get their EBT loaded up they go spend it at grocers and keep profits going.
What if there is no FDIC and a bank fails? How can we buy the Koch Bros' Dixie™ plates if we lose our savings? What if we get robbed and murdered by the other poor that have turned to violence to survive? How can we buy and work with no police? How can they make money without our labor and consuming?
There could be disease epidemics that could have been stopped by a little community redistribution of wealth into tax money that would be used to provide emergency health care teams. The rich would be holed up in their luxury estates like Howard Hughes.
What if poverty got so widespread that the violence needed to take from others in order to survive spreads into and overwhelms the once protectable rich neighborhoods?
What if the rich disregard responsible environmental practices once enforced by our tax funded gov't and some of their "classmates" poison the water, the soil, and air in order to make a quick profit? What will they eat and drink? What will they breathe? How can you develop industries and strip malls in a fucking wasteland?
What happens to their profits and homes when Hurricanes drown Manhatten or New Orleans in water due to not enough infrastructure to build proper levies or lack of a concerted effort to halt the melting of the polar ice caps?
What happens when they stop funding a government that makes laws and enforces proper ethical business practices? They pay for the insurance, but then when needed, the insurance man is not around to pay up!
The fire dept. will have to use more manpower and resources to put out the blaze for a single family dwelling that consists of 10,000 sq. ft. and multiple rooms with a complex layout to save a smoke inhalation passed out rich guy so he can collect his insurance check.
How can electric and water companies make profits when poverty stricken people start stealing copper wires and pipes and there is no concerted and well funded effort by law enforcement to stop this and prevent the selling of illegally acquired materials - not to mention the disruption of service that also takes lots of resources and manpower to repair while noone is able to purchase the service?
Also, how can wealthy homesellers and real estate moghuls make money when their unoccupied properties are routinely raided for copper and expensive fixtures, due to poorly funded police forces. How much money can a business on hot summer days lose when thieves steal and strip out a rooftop AC unit?
Sure, rich people can hire their own security forces, but their business rivals can hire more and shoot them up to pieces without adequate and universally provided law and order. Even in good economic conditions, the wealthy are certainly a more enticing target for those who would seek a different means of so-called "economic freedom" to earn some income.
How will recording label and movie executives make money if they refuse to fund the government that enforces copyright laws?
What if Russia decides to invade after the rich exhaust our country's resources on overseas military adventures and refuse to pay it back to the nation so it can at least maintain a defense? The poor will gladly offer to serve their newfound liberators and the rich will go to the chopping block.
Clearly some people cannot see the big picture...
Somebody's got to pay for this shit, and most Americans have just enough to pay their share in sales tax etc. (we ALL pay taxes) and continue purchasing the goods and services that make the wealthy rich, so we have to get it from the wealthy. The only reason they have a single fucking cent to their name is because of civilization, and clearly the measure of how much you have benefitted from civilization is how much money you make, so...pay up bitches!
