Why are taxes bad?

Question

As a Brit I don't get why people in the US are so against taxes. We pay higher tax than in the US but we also have a completely free (and rather good) public health system, a good social security safety net, pretty good public transport, a cracking public education system and loads more.

In Sweden they pay more tax than we do and their education is the best in the world, as is their social security system AND they all get free child care.

Could some US residents please explain why in America taxes are considered bad?

SENSIBLE ANSWERS ONLY PLEASE. I don't want a flame war between conservatives and "liberals"

Answer 1

Many of us agree with you. Since the US economy is so large, it wouldn't really require much of an increase in taxes for the US do get what you are talking about. It would only require an increase to the top 1-2% of incomes. So the rich would pay a little higher taxes. But many Americans are against any taxes that don't directly impact them.

there is also the problem that we don't trust a lot of our politicians. We might assume that instead of helping the country, they would give the extra cash to oil companies in the forms of tax breaks. That actually is more likely the outcome.

Answer 2

My friend taxes are not bad, high taxes that's a different story in Europe the government supply a safety net but most of these system will have to change or they will collapse as the population age and more and more people take out of the system and less and less put in something has to give. I have live in Britain for 10 years and the average Briton not born into wealth stands little chance of moving up in life and that's the price you pay for having the government taking care of you. My father immigrated from Britain in the 70's and in 20 years ended up owning 3 homes unlikely to happen in Briton.To come to a extreme conclusion if you raise taxes so high to pay for government what incentive would there be even to work.

Answer 3

Taxes are neutral - neither good nor bad. What governments do with tax revenue can be either very good or very bad.
What I and many others like me resent is the use of money that we have earned for things which we believe are the wrong use of public money. Unfortunately, our government has proven itself time and again to be completely incompetent at the most basic levels - therefore, we don't trust it to make anything better.
There is also the issue of freedom and independence. The more aspects of my life the government controls, the less free I am. It's the old adage that any government big enough to supply everything you need, is big enough to take everything you have.

Answer 4

Americans are against taxes because we DONT get all these benefits. We have to pay for heathcare, childcare, decent schooling, and we know perfectly well once the baby boomers get through retirement age there will be no social security left for the rest of us. We work from 4 to 6 months a year for the government and guess what? Its illegal! It is against the Consitution for the IRS to make us pay this money, but its owned by gigantic corporations and rich individuals, who benefit from the masses' hard-earned wages. We pay for criminals to get college educations in jail, for welfare which nobody seems to be benefitting from, and the way its set up, the rich get richer and the poor never get ahead. Its pathetic, really it is.

Answer 5

Because we feel we should determine through personal choice how we grow. The way we do that is by paying our own way and making our own decisions, which is achieved by less taxes on us so we can make those decisions. Through socialized program the government makes that decision. A lot of us feel that it is not the government's job to tell us how we live our lives, where we can go to see a doctor or go to school.

In short, a quote from Davy Crocket comes to mind. "Government has the power to give you anything you want, it also has the power to take everything you have." Low taxes keeps power from the government.

Answer 6

All taxes are not bad. The difference in European's and American's is the strong independent streak within us. We would rather take care of ourselves than have the government do it for us. Plus when you compare the economy of US to Europe over the past 50 yrs you might see what lower taxes do for the standard of living, job creation, etc. America has consistently out produced the combined economies of Europe year after year with very few exceptions.

Answer 7

American majorities have opposed taxes a great deal in the past two to three decades. Its largely due to enormous government, the perception of waste and failure. If the people perceived government as efficient and effective I bet things would be different.

Simple example: My brother in law is a fireman, and he works exactly 9 days a month, gets paid to sleep at the fire house assuming they have no calls, gets paid to cook dinner with his buddies there, breakfast too, and lunch. They get paid to work out, shop for groceries, and then after getting a decent pay they get 21/22 days a month off. He lives in another state but by working his schedule around he's coming out after our Thanksgiving and staying until after the new year while using just one week of vacation. (2 months paid time off). This I consider wasteful and sad. I don't want to pay more taxes so more people are hired then necessary to get the job done simply because a union convinces elected officials it needs to be this way.

Answer 8

Many people in the US don't understand that taxes are necessary for the proper functioning of scoiety. Who is going to pave my roads, or run the prisons, or run the schools, or any number of other things which are necessary for everyday life? One of the problems is that there have been lots of instances where tax money is blatantly wasted and people get upset by having to work hard for their money, and see it spent on soething like a multi million dollar bridge in Alaska that only goes to a town so remote there are something like 50 residents there.

Answer 9

In the case of our federal government its a ridiculous game! If they control & print the money then why would they want to control any of what i manage to obtain! If the government needs money for what ever reason print it & use it! For they do this anyway! our civil war was paid for this way! Seed & earmark money practice is common but keept secret from the public for the most part!

Answer 10

Taxes are okay at a minimum. But when taxes are raised for stupid pork projects and socialist programs I don't want to give away my money. History has also proven that more taxes are collected if the rates are lower.