It's said by middle class Americans that one class pays taxes, and another class gets the benefits. That is probably greatly exaggerated, yet I would agree it still holds some truth.
Yes, we all benefit from police and fire protection, public sanitation, a strong military, the (increasingly irrelevant) postal system, etc, but individually, most of us in the middle class simply don't qualify for any public perk. We pay for them, yet we "make too much" to qualify ourselves. No wonder we're resentful.
Europeans pay considerably higher taxes than we do, but I've read that most pay it willingly (Greeks, Italians, and a few others excepted) because the average taxpayer there personally gets something in return. Higher education is subsidized or is free, health care is subsidized or is free, day care is subsidized or is free, elderly care is subsidized or is free, and so forth. Not just for the poor, but for everyone.
I'm not saying we should necessarily emulate European socialism, but just pointing out how even middle class taxpayers there recieve something for their tax dollars....er....Euros. They're getting "bang for their buck".
If you're middle class in America, you're on your own. You pay, you just don't get your money's worth in return. As long as you have a good job and believe a bright future awaits you, you'll pay for your kid's daycare and college tuition, mom's nursing home, etc, out of your pocket and still pay your taxes and not think much of it. But in this age of globalization, that often isn't possible any more.
Anyone remember when Ross Perot ran for president back in 1992? Free trade agreements were the hot topic back then (the opening salvo of globalization) and Ross said, "That giant sucking sound you hear will be American jobs going overseas." Prices were cheaper at Walmart, so (almost) everyone was happy. We lost a few jobs initially, but no big deal.
The next year, a few more jobs left, but the price of a toaster was cheaper still so who cared?...on and on. Now the news (USA Today, Yahoo) reports that 4 of 5 middle class Americans are fearful of their future and are essentially just hanging on.
Yes, we're creating new jobs once again, but they generally aren't anywhere near as high paying as the ones we've lost. We're constantly lowering the bar.
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A real world example of the mess we've caused for ourselves: Our roads and bridges are crumbling. They say it will cost hundreds of billions of dollars to fix them, money the state and federal governments don't have.
Road maintenance and expansion are paid for with gasoline sales taxes. Because new cars get better (mandated) mileage these days, more people can drive more cars more miles and still buy less gasoline. They put more strain on our highways, yet pay less taxes to maintain them.
We really need to *gasp* raise gas taxes. In my state most of our new major roads are toll roads. So now I'm not paying more taxes, but I'm paying tolls instead. My wallet can't tell the difference.
Paying more taxes isn't necessarily a bad thing IF YOU CAN SHOW ME I'M PERSONALLY GETTING SOMETHING OF VALUE FOR IT.
The politicians are just playing games with us. Yet by touting their tax cutting record, we keep re-electing them. We've become a nation of airheads.
S
Your post reminds me of why I'm for the President's Public Works Bill. Most economists say this will stimulate the economy, and all Americans will benefit from repaired roads and bridges. Where are the Republicans who under Eisenhower built the great American highways? Where are Republicans who love their country more than they hate Obama?
ReplyDeleteConsidering the current economic situation in Europe & Greece, I don't think we want to follow anything they've done.
ReplyDeleteWe had public works programs under FDR. Recent economic researchers are of the opinion that those programs lengthened the depression rather than helping to resolve it.
Just my 2 cents.
Kathy
It's not socialism in Europe...the system is "capitalism reined in by compassion" (or something like that). It's not perfect by any means, but ordinary workers make good wages and top CEOs make great wages (but not the insane amounts that CEOs here in the U.S. make). Sure the taxes are high (super high for the super rich), and Europeans tend to envy the low taxes here in the U.S. At the same time, they realize that our bridges and roads are crumbling and that nobody is checking for salmonella in peanut butter, because government agencies have become too small or too powerless to keep businesses in check.
ReplyDeleteAnd while I'm typing this, the European economies are following the example of the American economy: for example, well-paying jobs in Germany move to lowly paid workers in Poland, workers get laid off and are replaced by temp workers from a third party outsourcing company, health benefits are shrinking...
Politicians are airheads everywhere on this globe.
I think the term I was looking for to define most of western Europe is "social democracy". But I used them for example only to show how they have high taxes, but at least they don't preclude any group from enjoying the benefits their tax dollars buy. They don't say, and we're going to tax the heck out of you, but you can't have any of the benefits becasue you make too much. The benefits are for all. Here it's "we'll take your money, and then give the benefits they buy to somone else." That's the ingredient for "class warfare".
ReplyDeleteS
About the postal system. A friend said he walked about 20 feet to his mailbox and put something in the mail. The next day his friend 90 miles away walked 20 feet to his mailbox and took out the envelope. It cost him 48 cents. If he had Fed-exed it, it would have cost him $22.00. Pretty good bargain, I'd say.
ReplyDeleteBut email and electronic banking (bill paying) has pretty much tanked the post office. I can't remember the last time I mailed a package. By contrast I buy a lot of stuff on the internet and have it shipped to me. I had a package delivered just yesterday. Amazon sent it via UPS.
DeleteAre you sure your friend got his numbers straight? Any package that is big enough to cost $22 to ship Fed Ex probably cost more to mail than a one single first class stamp.
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