dandd said:
The only true money the government has is taxes. We all enjoy roads, police, fire dept, schools, etc. but most of us pay taxes to fund those institutions.
Taxpayer pays:
Federal: Income taxes, Medicare, Social Security. Federal indirect: part of the Medicare and Social Security. They are removed from your wages before you are paid the wage as they are paid by the employer.
State: Most have income taxes, unemployment, and sales tax.
Local: Most have at least property taxes and sales tax.
Fees, licenses, fines, and excise taxes: All three of the above utilize these taxes.
For example if you enjoy the highway system in America remember you are paying for it every time you buy gas for your car. The best info I can find from multiple sources says that you pay anywhere from 26.4cents (AK) to 67.0 (CA) per gallon in taxes when you buy gasoline. The Government (state, federal) make more money per gallon than the oil company does and then at the end of the day taxes the oil company for the profits they did make for the sale of the gasoline.
I can't really see any good that would come from raising anybody's taxes because the government will always find a way to waste the money. The government is like that relative you have that is alway broke. You all know that relative because you won't lend them anymore money and you get a leery feeling when their number pops up on your phone. You could give them your whole check and they would be still broke and/or in debt. Where does it end?
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There is a debate over the role of government in maintaining a nation. Government gets more and more power as people demand things get addressed, and no one seems to step up to do them. So government steps in. Maybe people don't step in because they don't feel empowered enough, or no one wants to do it. And with tax, the question is whether or not the same stuff would get done, if there wasn't any taxes being collected to do it.
