From: Harvey Newstrom (mail@HarveyNewstrom.com)
Date: Sun Jul 07 2002 - 10:47:00 MDT
On Sunday, July 7, 2002, at 02:27 am, Samantha Atkins wrote:
> Well, my biggest gripe with taxes is that those "teeny slices" add up
> to over 60% of my income! I have a very difficult time that believing
> I should devote 60% of my renumeration to purposes chosen by others.
> There just aren't that many people who have a better idea how to spend
> my money imho.
Does anyone really know how much of their taxes go to others versus how
much goes to themselves? I would gladly pay those taxes that go toward
anti-terrorism, defense, police, public roads, air-traffic control,
etc. I use these services and think I get a bigger discount by
bulk-buying with the rest of America. I also see some indirect benefits
by feeding the poor and educating the next generation. Even though
these benefits go to others, I think my life is directly improved
compared to if there were a lot of hungry poor, or whole uninoculated
populations spreading disease, or even more unskilled teenagers who
don't understand science. I further see some safety nets as insurance.
Sure, I pay insurance fees and hopefully never have to claim anything in
return. But if I do have a catastrophic disaster, I am covered. Some
social programs fall into this category. I am not really paying for the
benefit of others, but in case I need that benefit myself. Social
Security, medicare, and disaster programs fall into this category.
So, I think a lot of my taxes are for my own benefit. I don't know how
much is taken that never benefits me, or how much is just wasted. I
know there is waste, fraud and abuse. But has anyone worked up numbers
to show how much tax is wasted, how much is beneficial, and how much is
charity? Or, has anyone worked up numbers to show how much it would
cost me build a defense network, private police, border guards and all
that?
-- Harvey Newstrom, CISSP <www.HarveyNewstrom.com> Principal Security Consultant <www.Newstaff.com>
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