I will pay higher taxes
On Tuesday, President Obama gave his third State of the Union address, in which he specified the need for more wealth equality in the United States. One solution is to raise taxes on the rich. I understand the hatred for paying taxes as much as any other person (nobody likes his money taken away), but we need to raise taxes on everyone, especially the rich.
Do I want to pay more taxes? No, nobody does. It will only make my family’s life harder. But our country is in crisis, and when that happens nobody should balk at the prospect of sacrificing a little bit. No, we aren’t at war, but a debt crisis is coming for this country eventually. And that will require hard work and sacrifice as well.
We’ve all seen the numbers. The debt problem can’t be grown out of like some politicians say, and it can’t be gotten rid of just through spending cuts, as says the right, and tax increases can only get us so far. It will require a combination of factors, and everyone will have to pitch in.
Every year that we don’t solve the problem it gets worse. Our debt/GDP ratio gets higher and higher. Yes, U.S. Treasury bond prices are higher than ever (suggesting that people are willing to purchase American debt), but that is only because we are currently the safest bet in a world that is absolutely filled with debt.
This is a problem that is going to need to be solved as soon as possible, and the sooner we start sacrificing, the sooner the debt problem will be solved.
I come from a family that is lucky enough to do well. We can afford to send me to Wash. U.; we can afford to take some amazing trips. I am lucky to live in this country. I do not deserve the things I am afforded every day. Of that I am certain. Taxation is our way of paying back. Not just for the economic opportunities that we are given but also for the basic freedoms and civil liberties we hold dear.
This country has raised me, given me opportunities, and provided for me. It has allowed me to come to my own beliefs about the world. It gives me the right to vote and speak out against my government. It offers me the economic opportunity to make my own way in the world. I love this country. I am an American through and through.
My home is in trouble. When my country can no longer afford to pay the debts it has accrued helping me make my way in the world, I have the duty and obligation to pay it back. Up to this point, it has asked for very little. I don’t have to join the military, I have to pay almost nothing in taxes because the effective rates for all tax quintiles is about four percent lower than 20 years ago, and the tax revenue as a percentage of GDP is lower than any point since the 1960s.
Yes, taxation sucks. The coming years will be difficult financially, especially considering how recent the last recession was. But this isn’t a time to balk at your obligation to serve your country. America has asked almost nothing of you to this point. Give something back. Not because you have to by law, but because this country has given you so much; it is only fair that you help out a little.
Why don’t we just cut spending? Why do you automatically assume that we have to resort to what amounts to little more than legalized theft in order to achieve a means?
If I, as an individual, came to your house and forcefully robbed this money from you, it would be morally wrong, yet you want to employ a middleman—the government—to do the exact same thing. Why is it that you rely on the force of government to do something that private individuals cannot do?
The whole idea is an absurd notion devoid of any logic whatsoever.
By the way, the government doesn’t limit how much you pay them. If you want to pay higher taxes no one is stopping you, the only set a minimum on how much you must give…Problem solved.
You better have that mentality if you are going to support President Obama and big government. Taxes are always going to be necessary, but please keep in mind the people calling for less taxes are calling for smaller government as well.
Sounds as if you have yet to receive a W-2 in your life. Its the out of control spending in almost every aspect of the federal levels. There is an abundance of revenue to function as the US Constitution has set forth. But its a nice gesture to spend your parent’s money.
The president’s methods of solving the debt crisis is rooted in his ideologies and incorrect. The country does not have an income problem, it has a spending problem. Every day the government adds more jobs and more bureaucracy. These jobs on average are higher paying than similar positions in the private sector. While additional income may seem like the solution, it cannot come without controlling spending.
While you may feel noble for volunteering your parents income for the betterment of the country, I doubt they feel the same way. If wealthy individuals such as your parents, the president and Warren Buffett truly believed that they should be taxed at a higher rate, they could simply donate to the IRS. The IRS does accept donations, yet none of the wealthy calling for increases in taxes do so. These people are in favor on tax increases because they know there will always be a loophole somewhere else.
Tax season is upon us. If you are truly thankful for the blessings you have, donate willingly to the IRS or charity. Otherwise, stop trying to deflect your guilt calling for someone to make you pay more.
First off I will start by saying I am a Service man in the United States Navy. For the past year everyone blames the debt crisis on us the service men and women, why is this such?
First, thank you for your service. Secondly, I haven’t heard people blaming the debt crisis on service men and women. There has been blame put on the financing of unnecessary wars, but not the service men and women directly.