taxes the government steals from us
No it’s not the government that is stealing from us its the Uber wealthy that use our tax money (that should be going to the greater good of the citizens of the country) for their own gain.
Comment on A secret, never-mentioned fact is that the people who voted for Zohran are also taxpayers.
imsufferableninja@sh.itjust.works 3 days agoTotally fair. I wasn’t thinking about all the taxes the government steals from us, just the income tax
GoofSchmoofer@lemmy.world 3 days ago
frezik@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 days ago
So I’m aware there is a right-libertarian argument at work here that frames all taxes, always, as “stealing”. However, there’s an argument that can be used along more democratic socialist lines.
Taxation in representative democracy is legitimate when the democracy itself lives up to the terms. We have come to some kind of consensus as a society on the level of taxation and where that money should go. When we do that, and we say the road is “our road”, we mean that in a literal way.
The US is not a democracy that lives up to the term. “Taxation is theft” is correct in this context.
HasturInYellow@lemmy.world 3 days ago
As with everything context is key. Taxation is not inherently theft, but in the USA, it absolutely is.
chuckleslord@lemmy.world 3 days ago
The poor pay the largest portion of their wages in taxes. They also benefit society far beyond any other social group. It’s the wealthy that take the most from the rest of us and pay almost nothing back.
queermunist@lemmy.ml 3 days ago
Right, that’s the point of the “taxpayer” dog whistle. It trains people to think that poor people don’t pay taxes, and implies they’re lesser members of society because of it.