Taxes aren't a punishment. They're a means of obtaining funds.
I agree that income tax is not ideal in a perfect world, but I do not see why someone with a lot of money should evade income tax. One would think that people with the LEAST money would have the MOST incentive to evade taxes, but this isn't the case. Oddly the ones who should be the least bothered about taxes seem to complain the most, which to me indicates that there's something else going on there. I think excessive money worship is a big problem so I don't feel it's necessarily good to let anyone have as much as they want.
I'd be more inclined to agree if people didn't act like losing a million is the end of the world when they have plenty more such that like rats jumping off a sinking ship they have to dump their cash into other countries to avoid the taxes. To me it looks like this:
I mean seriously. There's no fire or sinking ship. They don't need to bail themselves out to survive. They quite literally can stand to lose some money. But if people who would actually have their lives threatened by losing any money complain about not getting ahead, they're suddenly the ones who are greedy and whiney and want to live off other people? That's BS.
If the rich didn't act like their money is the end of the world when it isn't then I'd be more inclined to say let them have it. But they do act like that, and that is just plain greed, and greed is damaging to the whole of society especially when it comes from people who are in power. So maybe ideally they shouldn't have their money taken away but yet since they're so obsessed with it to the point of near insanity - which creates a culture of money obsession that infects the middle and lower classes - maybe they
should have their money taken away.
I don't entirely think that love of money is the root of all evil, but it's pretty darn close.
We've gone off topic now, but i think what we are discussing is still relavant to the op
Yes- taxes are not a punishment. And i feel honoured to pay taxes to invest into my community....i just dont like where a lot of it goes....which is why i was so interested in politics for so long. Taxes would be easier and more enjoyable for people to swallow if people were more active citizens and had more responsibility and choice about where the money goes. Its like when you live in a sharehouse and you have a grocery budget- lets say we all put in $50 a week....ideally we should work out what we want to buy that week and why, and how that fits into whats happening this week, and who likes what, and who's allergic to what etc. And then if we buy groceries and someone finishes all the eggs in the first day....or someone invites their friends over for a piss up and drinks all the beer....or someone has bought a whole bunch of bread with gluten but someone else cant eat that gluten...someone else is one a special diet where they're only eating celery sticks etc....it gets annoying. And if we knew it was going to be like this every week and we still gave in our money to the budget without trying to communicate properly about it, take responsibility for where our money is going, resisting the process, or changing the outcome....it would be our own fault that we were unhappy that we are having pancakes for dinner when i fucking hate pancakes. And then it gets more complicated when some people are contributing more....lets say the members are contributing $80, $70, $50, $50, $20, $10, $0....the person paying the higher figure might become unfairly resentful towards the people paying the least and demand more concessions made to them. In a democratic household...the money contributed by each person shouldnt dictate how much choice that person has...but obviously in real terms this gets really messy and complicated.
Or its like tithing at church....money is paid in at 10% of income and more can be donated, and every now and again there will be a specific request to collect more money for a special interest. the church decides as a community which goals it wants to bring to fruition and how.
i think the reason why some people evade taxes is simply because they can, sometimes its because they are dodgy, some see it as just a game to have as much money as possible, some are genuinely greedy and fearful, some see it as a game to rip off the systems, and sometimes because they have a genuine caveat with the system.
I agree that those with the most seem to often be the ones that complain most. I think its because some people that have a lot can be more materially focused, are used to a certain standard of living, possibly more pretentious, need to keep up appearance and status, like to compete and keep up, can be more fear, security, and comfort orientated, more greedy, more 'this is mine' attitude, possesive, guarded, less connected with the majority of humanity, isolated, can have a sense of undemocratic entitlement, less empathatic, more ruthless, can be condscending and look down on those that have less, misunderstand the reason why other people have less, be less likely to understand environmental considerations on a person's success, not see stealing as stealing, perpertuate theft, be more autocratic, paranoid, judgemental, and believe that they have a lot to lose.
People that have less have less to lose, and can possibly more easily empathise with people in the same position as them, or with those that have less.
It is a lot easier to go from having less to more, or keeping the same standard, rather than from more to less.
People that have the least technically (not necessarily actually) have the most to gain from tax money.
People that contibute the most proprtonally have a lot to gain in ensuring they can live in a safe, harmonious, vibrant community with quality infastracture.
It is the same with charity too, people from the working classes on average donate a significantly greater proportion of their salary. I did an assignment on this topic a long time ago, and i think one of the reason this is so is because working class people are more connected to the everyday reality of the majority, and very wealthy people are disconnected and have extremely high and sometimes just weird life styles, living expenses, leisure time activities etc
Also, i dont know if someone that is wealthy, and possiby has always been wealthy...could understand a concept like survival...what if feels like to be genuinely hungry, or to worry incessantly about shelter and bills and your family, and provide clothing and shoes.....its just a completely different reality. Being broke is nothing like being poor
I have a couple of friends that have gone from dirt poor ro rich, and they are compassionate, giving, and supportive.
Some of the rich that have always been rich...they genuinely dont get what life can be like....and they can get defensive, angry, guilty, apathetic... when faced with the reality of other peoples lives
But not all rich people are the same or have the same values. Not all are greedy or selfish. Some are very giving and selfless. Some genuinely want other people to have what they have. No one really wants to sit in the bahamas all by themselves.
I think that the love of money is based on greed and insecurity, which is based on lack, which is rooted in fear. More love= less fear, less lack, less people focused on arbitary materialism etc.
Many wealthy people are in a perpetual state of lack. Some 'poor' people are abundant. Being abundant, feeling good in your own skin and environment, having good friends, a good relationship, social support, feeling gratitude and appreciative, being empowered and responsible, enjoying life, happiness... is not correlated with having a lot of money. More money can simply bandaid problems, and create more problems. It doesnt matter how much someone has in the bank if they feel lack within the self.
