Socialism is when your tax dollars benefit others.
It's a great deal more complicated than that, but i think "your tax dollars benefit society" is a better way of putting it.
Captain.Heroin said:
If you need to benefit yourself you can keep your own $
Hence why we have a poverty level
And why it needs to be raised - a lot
End the IRS - the trumps don?t pay their taxes but the poor do! The IRS and tax code is designed to punish people for making JUST ENOUGH $ TO GET BY. This is wrong and we?ve got to fix it.
That money was never your money though - that's just the fee the government charges for the privilege of getting to use their system, and use their capital as legal tender. Money is complicated - you don't think they just give us all the shiny coins and pretty bank notes for free, do you? Nope - the whole thing costs money, and that just comes straight out of what you earn, because it's capitalism: survival of the fittest, and the rules are not negotiable. Have a nice day!
Are you suggesting that poverty is caused by the IRS? If so, that doesn't make much sense to me.
Poverty is caused by lots of things, but stagnant wage growth, as well as a shortage of secure, liveable jobs available that allow people to support themselves without being forced to go into debt or juggle multiple shitty jobs just to survive. It is caused by underemployment and the unemployment that has gone along with automation and the shift of a lot of industries to countries where labour is cheap, and regulations (and taxes!) are fewer.
Poverty is not caused by taxes. i would argue that poverty - especially in your country - is worsened by the way tax dollars are spent, in regards to welfare and social programs which could help reducing the number of homeless and desperate people who fall through the cracks.
One of the reasons i'm in favour of unemployment benefits and the other elements of the welfare state are that people do get a tangible helping hand from the state if they find themselves unemployed or unable to work due to sickness or whatever.
Even if you never need to claim the dole yourself, pretty much everyone in australia - except some rich folks maybe - would have a good friend or loved one who has been a welfare recipient in one form or another.
It helps some people to survive, and is a literal lifeline to others.
It's paid for with taxes, and it's one of the reasons australia is a great place to live.
There is crime, but we don't have inner-city ghettos or slums. There are poor neighbourhoods, but they're in specific places, and there are homeless people, but i think there are estimated to be 2000 people in melbourne - which is the 2nd biggest city with about 5 million people. that's obviously too many people, but fewer than any of the major US cities. that's not a great comparison, but i'm just trying to illustrate how many fewer desperately poor down-and out people there are here than in the states.
and i point this out to highlight the connection between tax and poverty in our respective countries.
We pay higher income taxes than the US, i believe - so i really don't think taxes cause poverty.
look at it this way - if
tax is causing financial hardship, it's not the fault of the tax - it's the fault of the pittance you are being paid in the first place.
your tax dollars could also be better spent investigating and prosecuting wage theft, which is poorly defended against in workforces that don't have effective unions.
![:\](https://bluelight.org/xf/BL_Images/Orig_Emoji/wrygrin.gif "wry grin :\")
