We are continuously told that we are one of the wealthiest countries in the world.?

Question

Why then are we so highly taxed, is this the only way our so called wealthy country can survive or do we need to raise taxes to to pay off the countries debts?

Answer 1

its not actually the country that's wealthy,its the politicians pockets!

Answer 2

we don't have debt to other countries. we do not borrow from foreign gov'ts per say, we borrow from individuals in an open market system and anyone, including foreign people, can buy bonds. Many foreigners, especially chinese, have seen this as a solid investment and have bought a lot of bonds which we will have to pay back, but it is not to the gov't of china, thats not really how it works. we are taxed so much because that is the system we have and people refuse to let it go. people now say that it is unfair if poor people are taxed 10% and wealthy people are taxed the same. even though the wealthy person would still pay more, the percentages are the same and this confuses liberals and they tell poor people that they are paying more taxes than the rich, which is a lie. after the great depression, the wealthy have always paid an insane amount of taxes to support all of these welfare programs that do not work because the american people, particularly the poor, want it that way.

Answer 3

The nation as a whole is still extremely wealthy. Unfortunately this hasn't translated into a better way of life for Americans. Our standard of living has been dropping. Countries like Canada and in Europe are better off. To list specifics, the poverty over the last decade has steadily rose, both the quality of health care and education doesn't even rank up with other 1st world countires, and more americans every year can't afford health care insurance. We have alot of work to do, to get back to the gold old days.

Answer 4

I think Web Foot is asking about the country HE is lving in at the moment...not some other far flung country across the globe.
Who gives a toss what happens in other countries, my standard of living is dictated by the amount of tax I pay here in the country I live in.
If I have to keep finding money from my household budget to pay taxes then somewhere along the line I cannot spend it on something else.
The only places that I can find it is to use less eletricity or buy less food. ( so I either freeze to death or starve to death)
Everything else are fixed costs...mostly taxes.

Answer 5

I guess it would depend on what you are speaking about.

Have you ever been to the Horn of Africa. I have. NO ONE here in the USA lives like that. That in and of itsself makes us a very rich counrty. Our homeless and destitute are better off than those people.

As far as the government goes - Hummm. If the government were to sell off ALL of its assets...how much do you think the proceeds would be. Keep in mind the USA owns some pretty PRIME real estate...like Camp Pendelton, California...worth several hundred millions on the open market - just an example. All the stuff the government owns. If you were to do an actual financial statement on the government. Do you think liabilities, including debt would be higher, or do you think assets would be higher?
Rich? How many BILLIONS AND BILLIONS in assets do you think the government owns?

Answer 6

If you did your homework you might notice that in COMPARISON to most countries (I'm assuming you are an American?) you pay a very small % of your income in taxes, probably only a quarter to a third or so of each dollar you earn, depending on how well you understand your tax system.

Taxes are the government's way of encouraging some behaviours and discouraging others. If you are paying too much in taxes it's because you aren't listening to what the goverment want you to do!

Answer 7

The fact of the matter is, we are one of the richest countries in the world, Of course I hate having to pay tax as well but I would rather Live here and pay high taxes than somewhere like Zimbabwe or Somalia. I agree that it seems like this government is finding ever more ways to tax us, but adding up the pros and cons, I think I've got the better deal. Lets hope we get some better leaders soon.

Answer 8

Compared to some countries we are not highly taxed, but the tax money collected mostly pays interest on the money owed in the deficit. That is the federal income tax, gas tax is for road repair, lottery tax is supposed to be for schools, sales tax is for other state funds, none of it goes where it is supposed to, mostly because our elected officials have misappropriated it over the years.

Answer 9

Actually, we're barely taxed at all. Take a look at Canada's national income tax if you don't believe me. Granted, they also have universal healthcare, but it still doesn't quite balance out. We're called one of the wealthiest countries in the world, because our citizens have most of the money.

Answer 10

We are the luckiest and wealthiest country. You should go to Goa in India, for example, and you would come back to England and realise what a high standard of living you have.
The majority of Goans are poor but are always smiling and happy. Perhaps we have too much and want too much!

Answer 11

wealthy as in GDP, and right now we don't have to worry about paying off the debts since the dollar is the national currency, however we're screwed if and when this changes.
also we aren't as taxed as many other wealthy nations such as in Scandinavia