Why do you think we've gone so far with "income tax"?

Question

Woodrow Wilson (Democrat) and congress brought USA income taxes back in 1913. They started around 1% of income... and this replaced a "Tariff tax" on imported items. There was an exemption for single filers, in todays dollars, around $60,000... so there would be no taxes for a lot of people... back then!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revenue_Act_of_1913

Now you are paying 20 - 40% taxes... not including inflation. Including inflation, subsequently brought in by the Federal reserve act and the 1970 Republican Nixon ending the gold standard, you're savings and earnings are confiscated so quickly by the central power. No wonder so many are a paycheck away from being homeless.

When you vote... are you voting to get control of the government, limiting war? Or something else? Are you asking your government to reduce spending and thus, confiscation?

Its "just 1%"... hahahahahahhahhhahahhaha! — It's "just 1%"... hahahahahahhahhhahahhaha!

MrOracle · Accepted Answer

Most people are so poorly educated (NOT an accident) that they can't grasp any connection between the money the government spends and all the taxes and fees they pay. They see the "government's money" as free Monopoly money.

A kid born today would be born $130,000 in debt, but that number is likely to grow to $500,000 by the time he graduates high school.

Wars are a big part of that, but so is the various forms of welfare taken by able-bodied people who don't work by choice. 40% of working age adults in the US don't pay taxes, but are allowed to vote for politicians who will give them more handouts.

This is why voting used to be reserved for land owners, and in my opinion should now be reserved for people who are net taxpayers. If you didn't make enough money to pay taxes during a 2 year voting period, you don't get to vote in the next voting period.

Things would change awfully quickly, including more people going to work so they had a vote. And the people getting a free ride could no longer influence policy.

Bloodfeast · Accepted Answer

Read Austrian economics and don't let the liberals and leftists tell you that it is a marginalized extremist view. If you learn enough you will see it is as valid as any other economic school.

Books to read:

Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell OR Economics in one lesson by Henry Hazlitt.

One of those books combined with Ayn Rand's 'Capitalism the Unknown Ideal.'

Those are the most basic and easy to understand books which will give you incredible foundation.

After that read books by Ludwig Von Mises. For a very motivated reader, jump into his book 'Human action.'

Again, don't let the leftists tell you what is truth. They lie. Austrian Econ is 100% legitimate. Ayn rand's book on capitalism is absolutely jam packed with references. As are all the books mentioned.

The leftists always count on the fact that people take their word for it. And that is where their power lies.

Challenge your beliefs with honesty and you will see the world differently.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Because they keep adding taxes and laws and regulations and no one every objects to it. There are 350 million of us against only a few of them, yet we keep taking it. Half of those people keep voting for the wrong people, who keep raising our taxes. Yet they live in luxury, when they're supposed to be working as our public servants.

Anonymous · Answer

The income tax is an insidious tax that incentivizes people to spend and run dept rather than save. Whereas the prior system of sales taxes which is what a tariff is encouraged saving and self-reliance.
Politicians don't like sales because people can stop buying far sooner than they stop working for said politician's goverment.

Many 'modern' politicians like to define inflation as the raise in prices of goods and services rather than the devaluation of the dollar. The difference lets them blame their taxes upon other people.

Likewise the end of the Gold standard in 1971 didn't cause inflation but rather was caused by inflation which up until then we were paying for with the gold we spent the prior century earning until we ran out.

BCA6010 · Answer

Because income tax has become a talking point that low information voters think is used to "tax the rich" even though it much more heavily hurts the middle class and therefore stymies mobility.

Regarding the last paragraph however, do you really think either party at large really wants to reduce spending? They've had every opportunity to do so but they'll kick and scream and shriek and squeal just being dragged back to pre-covid levels of out of control spending. Only about 5% of congressmen are serious about doing it, most are in one party, and they're treated as radicals even by their peers for it.

Avicenna · Answer

Without a progressive income tax, the tax system would be pretty regressive. It's spending that has gone too far. Take a look at effective tax rates (what people actually pay) by income quintiles and also for corporations. They're nowhere near the marginal nominal official tax rates.

NamerOfStars · Answer

Because our financial decisions are being made by people with enough understanding of economics to know that staying on the gold standard would've been a stupider financial decision than going full-blown Communist.

At least with a law-established income tax, it's theoretically POSSIBLE to not have the currency explode every twenty years.

BadApple69 · Answer

Taxation is theft. We need to demand a 100% accounting of where that money is going. Post it to the internet so all can see. When you her about the 10s of billions of dollars that goes missing then and only then might people get pissed enough to make a change.

McLlovin · Answer

The quick answer. Because rich people want to be rich.

its funny how we became a country to get away from unhinged tax laws, but little would they know deep in the far future we would have the craziest and unfair tax laws in the world.

AmeerX · Answer

Taxes of all kinds should ideally be flat taxes around 10% should be enough. With that see where your economy goes. Your economy will grow leaps and bounds in a matter of years to a decade you will be surprised by that. At 30-40% your own government is crippling the organic growth of the individuals for more corporatism

SotiCoto · Answer

In the grand scheme of things, the money the government steals is absolutely nothing compared to the money stolen by the landlord, nor the money stolen by the people charging too much for food, nor the money stolen by the energy companies overcharging for electricity, nor any of the other capitalist cunts out there shoving their adverts down everyone's throats to leech money out of those who can barely afford to live at all.

Anonymous · Answer

This is how you enslave people without enslaving them. Because slowly and methodically the poor, then the middle class get grinded away. And then you have only the rich ruling class, and the rest suckle at the teeth of the gov't. And you WILL vote to keep that milk flowing lest the shut it off and you die. What you say you won't work? That's fine! Chinese labor is cheaper anyways.

Anonymous · Answer

It would appear that most people are voting for government to take a BIGGER role in their lives and for they themselves to have control over less and less. Seems that one of the few choices people want to have is whether to buy an iphone or an android.

worldscolide · Answer

It's sad. You're taxed on money made, you're taxed on money spent, you're taxed on property you own, you're taxed when you die.. Fuck that.

Grond21 · Answer

We've gone so far with the income tax because governments virtually always go way too far. Everything they do is under the names of "temporary" or "emergency", but this is a lie.

slatyb · Answer

Income tax is pretty low. Which government functions do you want to cut?

blueonblack22 · Answer

Woodrow Wilson was an absolutely horrible president.

Drumlin2001 · Answer

Very few governments run at a surplus. What tax they raise they spend. if you expect all the public services you have to pay for them

Snakeyes7 · Answer

It's evil. The government demands a cut of the work you do and use it to make your life even more miserable while they continue to take even more money at the point of a gun.

Exterminatore · Answer

The government needs to increase income taxes in order to waste even more of our tax dollars than ever before.

Djaay · Answer

The IRS was born from world war 11to help financially balance monetarily families during such times. Once the war ended so was the IRS to end. Well guess what party kept illegal presenting the IRS?

IslaTheWitch · Answer

Try to earn in Germany...

gorydetails · Answer

It's obscene.

Why do you think we've gone so far with "income tax"?

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Are we all paying too much Federal & State Tax?

Why do you think we've gone so far with "income tax"?

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Are we all paying too much Federal & State Tax?

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