Did you see the phrase "top marginal tax rate" in anything I said?

Not really. That's a fairly low threshold. Deductions are overrated as well, which is why smaller businesses struggle to turn any kind of profit in those countries and eventually move to Ireland or wherever they aren't taxed to oblivion.

I had a professor way back when who said that one of the reasons we have so many loopholes and problems in our own tax code was because those marginal top rates were so high for such a long time so the rich got sneakier to find ways to skirt around them. He didn't blame FDR directly, but I think that might have been his underlying point.

Sure. I make 60.1K or higher. Bye bye moneys. The end.

It's actually more than that overall when you add up other taxes (like the VAT taxes that those who own businesses have to figure out) for example. The only people who don't care are those who are A. in the public sector or B. happen to work somewhere where they also get an occupational pension on top of the whole state pension thing.

Id love to have elph sit down with my friends who actually live in Sweden and have plenty to complain about. Id like to see the look on their faces when an American tells them they are wrong.

haha

Yeah, haha ... 🙈 my friends in Sweden and Norway and Germany and...

Look, this reminds me of the guy who has some problem that was a big inconvenience for him and complains in dramatic ways. “Oh, I had to wait months for my surgery in Canada, so the whole Canadian healthcare system is so broken...blah, blah, blah...” Please spare us.

It's a welfare state. Every citizen enjoys the benefits of this. It's a thing we build together by paying high taxes. Rich, greedy pigs who don't like it can just piss off to Guatemala or something.

Lol. None of your non-health related insurance is covered by the state. So on top of high taxes, you pay for home insurance, the mortgage, utilities...plus it isn't as if food isn't just as expensive there as anywhere else. There are other misc. costs that add up as well.

Unless you are living in a ****ty apartment, your down to around 10K or less if you are particularly unlucky in a typical fiscal year. Is someone greedy for wanting to live above the poverty line?

What health related insurance? If I drop in the street, I'm getting hospitalized free of charge. If I'm on vacation abroad and get hospitalized there, insurance comes into the picture.

I'm paid a monthly wage that's considered quite low. Sure, my apartment isn't the most expensive, but I'm really doing pretty ok financially. It's not that hard to earn a living and there's plenty of safety nets when you fail to make a living for yourself. You gotta try pretty damn hard if you wanna become homeless.

I just think this whining about taxes is really hard to listen to from those in my own country who both 1) earn a damn comfortable living and 2) enjoy all the benefits of a welfare society.

How much money does one person need anyway? Once you got that Porsche and a huge house and whatever, please stop whining that you can't earn even more without the slight obstacle of raised taxes.