Who likes paying taxes?? Nobody right?
The right carry out a complete con-trick. The propaganda is that taxation is robbery. That people deserve to keep more of their own money.
Sounds reasonable until you dig into it.
Where do these taxes go?
Well there’s schools, health, defence and policing. Then there are local taxes for refuse collection, potholes, etc.
Pay low taxes and you get poor quality services. That’s why American State schools are terrible and healthcare for the poor is either poor or non-existent. Then there are the police – armed and dangerous – low quality personnel poorly trained.
Pay high taxes and you get quality service – great education, free quality healthcare, good policing and good defence. You have great public amenities – libraries, youth services, municipal swimming pools, play areas, cycle paths, support for elderly.
I’m a UK citizen. What we get is good – good schools, free quality healthcare, pensions good policing, good defence and good local facilities (though the Tories have done a huge amount of damage).
When I taught in the USA – the education was appalling (both in the secondary school I taught in and my elder son’s primary school). I was using materials for my seventeen-year-olds that I would use for twelve-year-olds in England. The health system was terrible. We had free family health care and that was used up with one instance with just one of my children. If something else had happened we would have been in real trouble. Policing was poor and crime levels incredibly high – big drug problems, guns, violence and racism. I had a gun pulled on me in class and witnessed guns used on two other occasions. Social system was appalling. In the richest country in the world there were people sleeping under flyovers, panhandling on the streets and living in a terrible state. There was an old lady in her late eighties having to work in a supermarket because she did not have a pension.
My daughter worked in the States for a number of years on UK conditions – she received far more holidays, shorter hours and hugely more maternity leave than her US counterparts. She was paid more as well!
I went to Denmark. The standard of living was far higher, medical care first-rate, schools brilliant, cycle tracks, play areas, library swimming pools, dentists, doctors, youth services, low crime, good policing.
The UK is good but Denmark was better. If I spoke the language and had my family there I’d be there like a shot.
Low tax = poor standard of life.
High tax = high standard of life.
Who doesn’t want high taxes? The rich don’t want high taxes. It means they have to pay more into the community and, as they usually pay for quality education, health and policing privately (in order to gain an advantage over everybody else) they kick up rough.
The UK has a big inequality problem – an elite who are profiteers exploiting everyone else – the masses who are exploited and the needy who are starved.
In the USA it’s all that on steroids with very poor services for everyone apart from the wealthy.
In Denmark there is less inequality and a much higher standard of living for ordinary people.
I know where I’d prefer to be!
One caveat – there has to be a high level of transparency and scrutiny with full accountability, to ensure money is spent wisely.
The Rich want low taxes. The poor suffer.
