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Because we are highly inefficient in our spending. And some people have managed to pit us against each other as to what tax should be spent on. Notice repubs and dems now arent fighting over how MUCH to tax us, but theyre fighting over what to spend the tax ON. Military vs Social welfare etc. I laugh when repubs say dems want free stuff yet repubs want a MASSIVE military.
If there were no tax there would be nothing to fight about. Nobody would want a massive military if we didn't already have one and we wouldn't already have one unless we had the income tax. People would be much less enthusiastic about social welfare if they had to write out a check for it every month instead of having it paid for with money they never saw. Which is why they invented withholding in the first place.
Medicare, like SS, is insurance that is paid for throughout a person's life, not an entitlement.
Next.
Sure, but what Medicare covers is going to change. The current program is not sustainable. It's kind of inevitable that the base level Part A / Part B stuff is going to stop paying for an awful lot of expensive things. If you can't afford extremely expensive supplemental coverage or cash-for-services, you die early. Since the poor mostly don't vote, I'd expect Medicaid to get slaughtered first but what Medicare covers is certainly going to erode over time.
Medicare, like SS, is insurance that is paid for throughout a person's life, not an entitlement.
Next.
The average beneficiary receives 2-3x in benefits compared to what they put in. This roughly a $500K gift per elderly couple. That is entitlement with meat!
Sure, but what Medicare covers is going to change. The current program is not sustainable. It's kind of inevitable that the base level Part A / Part B stuff is going to stop paying for an awful lot of expensive things. If you can't afford extremely expensive supplemental coverage or cash-for-services, you die early. Since the poor mostly don't vote, I'd expect Medicaid to get slaughtered first but what Medicare covers is certainly going to erode over time.
Hasn't in the 40 years I'm intimately aware of. What expensive things?
The average beneficiary receives 2-3x in benefits compared to what they put in. This roughly a $500K gift per elderly couple. That is entitlement with meat!
Nope. Social Security is 30% underfunded. You have to apply inflation math to the employer and employee contributions. The median Social Security recipient is about 40% short on their inflation-adjusted lifetime employer & employee contributions. That's because the benefits are progressive. I've been high income my whole career. I'd have to live into my 90's to break even.
If we raised Social Security funding by 30% today by some mix of payroll tax hike, lifting the income cap, and going after non-wage income the way we did with Medicare, the program rolls on forever cash flow neutral.
Hasn't in the 40 years I'm intimately aware of. What expensive things?
Examples I've seen in my recent past:
Any Medicare patient who rolls into the ER gets stuffed in the CT scan machine. It's a hospital cash cow and they always get paid. My type A douche senile stepfather turned up 150 miles from home after getting lost driving. The state police sent him to the ER in an ambulance. He was dehydrated and hungry. He needed a quart of water, a sandwich, and a change of clothes from urinating on himself. They stuffed him into the CT scan machine to get the $1,000.
Medicine in the US, particularly Medicare, is not subject to outcome-based cost-benefit analysis. The system always picks the most expensive diagnostic and treatment since it creates the most billable revenue. An enormous amount of surgery is performed in the last 6 months of life. It's kind of inevitable that most of that is going away. For a small fraction of those people, it might prolong their life a decade+. Instead, they're just going to die.
I am having a difficulty understanding why we are paying so much tax
Well, start by looking at a list of all the Federal Agencies and Departments as listed on https://www.usa.gov/ , each of which have employees (paychecks, gold-plated pensions, Cadillac health care) and program budgets to accomplish their objectives.
A
AbilityOne Commission
Access Board
Administration for Children and Families (ACF)
Administration for Community Living
Administration for Native Americans
Administration on Aging (AoA)
Administration on Developmental Disabilities
Administrative Conference of the United States
Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
African Development Foundation
Agency for Healthcare Research ad Quality (AHRQ)
Agency for International Development (USAID)
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Agricultural Marketing Service
Agricultural Research Service
Agricultural Research Service
Agriculture Department (USDA)
Air Force
Air Force Reserve
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Bureau
AmeriCorps
American Battle Monuments Commission
American Samoa
Amtrak (AMTRAK)
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Antitrust Division
Architect of the Capitol
Archives (National Archives and Records Administration) (NARA)
Arctic Research Commission
Armed Forces Retirement Home
Arms Control and International Security
Army
Army Corps of Engineers
Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Interagency Coordinating Committee
B
Bankruptcy Courts
Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program
Bonneville Power Administration
Botanic Garden
Broadcasting Board of Governors
Bureau of Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP)
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Bureau of Industry and Security
Bureau of International Labor Affairs
Bureau of Justice Statistics
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)
Bureau of Prisons
Bureau of Reclamation
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE)
Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Bureau of the Census
Bureau of the Fiscal Service
Bureau of the Public Debt
C
Capitol Police
Capitol Visitor Center
Census Bureau
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board
Chief Acquisition Officers Council
Chief Financial Officers Council
Chief Human Capital Officers Council
Chief Information Officers Council
Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee
Citizenship and Immigration Services
Coast Guard
Commerce Department (DOC)
Commission of Fine Arts
Commission on Civil Rights
Commission on International Religious Freedom
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission)
Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements
Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States
Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS)
Community Planning and Development
Compliance, Office of
Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US CERT)
Congress—U.S. House of Representatives
Congress—U.S. Senate
Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
Congressional Research Service
Consular Affairs, Bureau of
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Copyright Office
Corps of Engineers
Council of Economic Advisers
Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency
Council on Environmental Quality
Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia
Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces
Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Court of Federal Claims
Court of International Trade
Customs and Border Protection
D
Defense Acquisition University
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
Defense Commissary Agency
Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA)
Defense Contract Management Agency
Defense Field Activities
Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS)
Defense Finance and Accounting Service Out-of-Service Debt Management Center
Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA)
Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)
Defense Legal Services Agency
Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA)
Defense Security Service (DSS)
Defense Technical Information Center
Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA)
Delaware River Basin Commission
Denali Commission
Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Department of Commerce (DOC)
Department of Defense
Department of Education (ED)
Department of Energy (DOE)
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Department of Justice (DOJ)
Department of Labor (DOL)
Department of State (DOS)
Department of Transportation (DOT)
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Department of the Interior (DOI)
Department of the Treasury
Director of National Intelligence, Office of
District of Columbia
Domestic Policy Council
Drug Enforcement Administration
Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy
E
Economic Adjustment Office
Economic Analysis, Bureau of (BEA)
Economic Development Administration (EDA)
Economic Research Service
Economic, Business and Agricultural Affairs
Economics and Statistics Administration
Education Department (ED)
Education Resources Information Center (ERIC)
Election Assistance Commission (EAC)
Elementary and Secondary Education, Office of (OESE)
Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
Employment and Training Administration
Endangered Species Program
Energy Department (DOE)
Energy Information Administration
English Language Acquisition Office
Engraving and Printing, Bureau of (BEP)
Environmental Management (Energy Department)
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
European Command
Executive Office for Immigration Review
F
Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO)
Fannie Mae
Farm Credit Administration
Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation
Farm Service Agency
Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Federal Bureau of Prisons
Federal Citizen Information Center
Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
Federal Consulting Group
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
Federal Election Commission
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Federal Executive Boards
Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council
Federal Financing Bank
Federal Geographic Data Committee
Federal Highway Administration
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac)
Federal Housing Administration (FHA)
Federal Housing Finance Agency
Federal Interagency Committee for the Management of Noxious and Exotic Weeds
Federal Interagency Committee on Education
Federal Interagency Council on Statistical Policy
Federal Judicial Center
Federal Labor Relations Authority
Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
Federal Library and Information Center Committee
Federal Maritime Commission
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)
Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae)
Federal Protective Service
Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)
Federal Register
Federal Reserve System
Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board
Federal Student Aid Information Center
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
Federal Transit Administration (FTA)
Federal Voting Assistance Program
Federated States of Micronesia
Financial Management Service
Fiscal Responsibility and Reform Commission
Fiscal Service, Bureau of
Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)
Food Safety and Inspection Service
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Foreign Agricultural Service
Foreign Claims Settlement Commission
Forest Service
Fossil Energy
Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board
G
General Services Administration (GSA)
Geological Survey (USGS)
Global Affairs (State Department)
Government Accountability Office (GAO)
Government Ethics, Office of
Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae)
Government Publishing Office
Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration
Guam
H
Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation
Health Resources and Services Administration
Health and Human Services Department (HHS)
Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control Office
Helsinki Commission
Holocaust Memorial Museum
Homeland Security Department (DHS)
House Office of Inspector General
House Office of the Clerk
House of Representatives
Housing Office
I
Immigration and Citizenship Services
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Indian Affairs
Indian Arts and Crafts Board
Indian Health Service
Industrial College of the Armed Forces
Industry and Security, Bureau of
Information Resource Management College
Information Resources Center (ERIC)
Innovation and Improvement Office
Inspectors General
Institute of Education Sciences
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Institute of Peace
Inter-American Foundation
Interagency Alternative Dispute Resolution Working Group
Interagency Council on Homelessness
Interior Department (DOI)
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
International Labor Affairs, Bureau of
International Trade Administration (ITA)
International Trade Commission
Interpol
J
James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation
Japan-United States Friendship Commission
Job Corps
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Joint Board for the Enrollment of Actuaries
Joint Chiefs of Staff
Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies
Joint Fire Science Program
Joint Forces Command
Joint Forces Staff College
Joint Military Intelligence College
Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical and Biological Defense
Judicial Circuit Courts of Appeal
Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation
Justice Department (DOJ)
Justice Programs, Office of
Justice Statistics, Bureau of
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of
L
Labor Department (DOL)
Labor Statistics, Bureau of
Land Management, Bureau of (BLM)
Legal Services Corporation
Library of Congress (LOC)
M
Marine Mammal Commission
Maritime Administration (MARAD)
Marketing and Regulatory Programs (Agriculture Department)
Marshals Service
Mediation and Conciliation Service
Medicaid (CMS)
Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
Medicare (CMS)
Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
Merit Systems Protection Board
Migratory Bird Conservation Commission
Military Postal Service Agency
Millennium Challenge Corporation
Mine Safety and Health Administration
Minority Business Development Agency
Mint
Missile Defense Agency (MDA)
Mississippi River Commission
Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation
Multifamily Housing Office
N
NOAA Fisheries
National AIDS Policy Office
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
National Agricultural Statistics Service
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
National Capital Planning Commission
National Cemetery Administration
National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform
National Constitution Center
National Council on Disability (NCD)
National Counterintelligence Executive, Office of
National Credit Union Administration
National Defense University
National Defense University iCollege
National Drug Intelligence Center
National Economic Council
National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Humanities
National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)
National Gallery of Art
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
National Guard
National Health Information Center (NHIC)
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
National Indian Gaming Commission
National Institute of Corrections
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
National Institute of Justice
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
National Intelligence University
National Interagency Fire Center
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
National Laboratories (Energy Department)
National Marine Fisheries Service
National Mediation Board
National Nuclear Security Administration
National Ocean Service
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
National Park Foundation
National Park Service
National Passport Information Center (NPIC)
National Railroad Passenger Corporation (AMTRAK)
National Reconnaissance Office
National Science Foundation (NSF)
National Security Agency (NSA)
National Security Council
National Technical Information Service
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
National Transportation Safety Board
National War College
National Weather Service (NOAA)
Natural Resources Conservation Service
Natural Resources Revenue, Office of
Northern Command
Northern Mariana Islands
Northwest Power Planning Council
Northwest Power and Conservation Council
Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board
O
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission
Ocean Energy Management, Bureau of (BOEM)
Office for Civil Rights - Department of Education
Office of Community Planning and Development
Office of Compliance
Office of Disability Employment Policy
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE)
Office of Fossil Energy
Office of Government Ethics
Office of Housing
Office of Justice Programs
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)
Office of Natural Resources Revenue
Office of Nuclear Energy (Department of Energy)
Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
Office of Refugee Resettlement
Office of Science and Technology Policy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information
Office of Servicemember Affairs
Office of Special Counsel
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS)
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)
Office of the Director of National Intelligence
Office of the Federal Register
Office of the Pardon Attorney
Open World Leadership Center
Out-of-Service Debt Management Center
Overseas Private Investment Corporation
P
Pacific Command
Pacific Northwest Electric Power and Conservation Planning Council
Palau
Pardon Attorney, Office of
Parole Commission (Justice Department)
Peace Corps
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)
Pentagon Force Protection Agency
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
Policy Development and Research (HUD)
Political Affairs (State Department)
Postal Regulatory Commission
Postal Service (USPS)
Power Administrations
President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition
Presidio Trust
Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office
Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB)
Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs (State Department)
The taxes include state and local taxes and federal taxes for social insurance. It put the US tax for middle income people at about 25% of income vs. 27% for the average of developed countries. The average without the US might be around 30% because we pull a lot of weight.
It doesn't say if the poor of middle class pay more or less for taxes than they do in total for food, clothes, etc. They taxes they pay are lower than rich people but so is what they spend on necessities. Especially clothes and shelter, I'd expect.
This is just making stuff up. In Europe, the tax burden on the middle class ($50K household income) is closer to 50% and 60% in the Nordic countries. The US does not have a VAT. It has a very low effective Federal income tax rate at that income level. Most states don't hit $50K very hard with state income taxes. State sales taxes are chump change compared to VAT/GST elsewhere in the world. The biggest tax paid at $50K is payroll taxes and the employer pays half of those.
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