Americans Spent More on Taxes in 2018 Than on Food, Clothing and Health Care Combined

No one ever said that living in the best country on earth would be the cheapest – did they?

“You get what you pay for” …

Let me share with you the best things about living in America,

OK, I'm going to limit myself to just ten items, because I really could go on for a while about my beloved country …

1. Space, glorious space.
This is only an advantage relative to comparable economies that are generally located in much more crowded countries. But man, is it delightful. Just the space to have a bit of land, grow a few things, and not have to look at my neighbors unless I want to is awesome.

2. Freedom, glorious freedom.
Newspapers don't have to run their headlines by the mayor before going to print. The government can't force you or your independent weekly newsletter to print or say anything you don't believe. Men with guns will not kick down the door of your printing house and arrest you if you criticize the President. This is awesome.

3. Adherence to the social contract/limited corruption.
It's hard to appreciate this until you've lived/spent time in a country that is just rife with economic and political corruption. But the very fact that if a light goes out on my street, I can call the city and have someone come out and replace it -- without paying a bribe or needing a friend in the maintenance office -- is awesome. I can vote and my vote will count (usually). If I go to the doctor, my medicine will not be fraudulently replaced with sugar pills. If I buy meat at the store labeled 'beef,' it will not secretly be ground up horse (usually).

4. Reliable Infrastructure & Organization.
In America, the streetlights actually work. The electricity is on all the time - - not just for 2 - 6 hours a day. You can turn on the tap and drink the water that comes out. It is impossible to overstate the value of this, and the difficulty of maintaining a system like this in a nation of 450 million+ people. This is -- wait for it -- awesome.

Likewise, if I need to know how to do something -- how to get from Queens to Brooklyn or where to buy a new trash can or how much water I'm allowed to use this summer -- the information is freely available. I don't have to stand in six queues and ask three different government offices who give me four answers before I get there. It's simple, and easy. Simplicity is awesome.

Also -- I can mail something and get an actual, useful estimate of when it will arrive at its destination. If the mail truck breaks down, another will come to maintain the service. There is no 'oh, well, the truck ran out of gas and now the truck driver went to go visit his mother so no more mail until April.' We don't roll like that here.

5. Entrepreneurial Spirit/Pioneer Spirit/Spirit of Individualism/Support for Bootstrapping/Love of Audacity.
If you dream it, you can do it. In no other country is an unlikely story as likely as in the United States. We don't understand the concept of 'getting ideas above your station' -- we want people to dream big. Shoe shine kid who turns a streetside stand into a multi-million dollar business? Great. Garage band that develops a following and eventually sells ten million concert tickets? Excellent. Run for it. Risk it. We love audacity.

This is an advantage particularly over more staid nations, who place a greater value on tradition and the 'right' way of doing things. Americans are less concerned about doing it 'right' and more concerned about getting it done. Done perfect.

6. Duality of Identity, Commonality of Nationality
My favorite thing about being American is the hyphenation. You don't have to give up any other identity to become American. The American identity is purely additive. We are a cobbled-together country of immigrants, indigenous, and ex- enslaved, and that makes our origin stories diverse in a way that few other places are (Brazil comes to mind, of course). But the one thing that we all share is a desire not to forget where we came from, or to ignore our history, but rather to bring it to the forefront of our new, American identities. It's not a matter of choosing between being Black and being American, or being the child of Indian immigrants and being American -- you can be both. In America, you can always be both. It's like a sweater that stretches to fit you, but maintains its own integrity.

7. Wealth.
The United States is a very wealthy country, and this is the reason why we can have such complex, reliable infrastructure; such a strong, protective military; one of the largest international aid systems; and so many opportunities for investment, re-investment, invention, and re-invention.

8. Access to Stuff.
This sounds frivolous, but trust me -- it's not. Getting things that you need (or even just want) is easy in the United States. Possibly not as easy as in central Europe, but definitely better than driving around half of a city trying to hunt down the specific water pump you need, then having to wait 7 months for someone to bring one back to the country.

9. Love of Self-Reliance.
Goes along with the audacity/individualism thing, but more generally, Americans love doing things themselves. It's not a shameful thing to decide you want to fix your own roof or build your own house -- it's admirable. It's not a signal that you were too poor or cheap to hire a professional; it's a sign that you believe you can accomplish a challenging task to a high standard if you just put your mind to it. We love that.

10. Limited Role of Class Determinism.
I would never, never say that America doesn't have a class system. What I will say is that nowhere is the burden of class as light as in the United States. You don't need generational wealth or the correct family name or caste lineage or history of being landed gentry to be respected, admired, and treated well. And your socioeconomic class can change throughout your life; between yourself and your children; between your parents and yourself; and because you want it to. You are not required to live the script of your birth. You can be someone different.

Was the government you got worth it?

The correct question to ask is: Were the benefits your received from paying taxes worth you living in the greatest county on earth?

Should you think they were not, Deckard – Then pease permit me to list 10 countries you can move to.

You have a great day.

Later …

America is great …

Do you also have as many problems in all walks of your life?

Or do you just find that griping about everything is therapeutic for you?

Which I might add, does see to be working on some feeble-minded folks, as expected.

We pay more in taxes that we pay for lots of things in America. I can make up a list of many things to prove that. But of course, if I select certain things to show that – then it will be more effective propaganda.

I say “so what” because I simply cannot see the catastrophic effect to show that “the sky is falling on America” when the total US tax revenue is barely equaled to 26 percent of gross domestic product and definitely well below the 33 percent weighted average for developed countries.

https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing- book/how-do-us-taxes-compare-internationally

I do agree entirely with your point, which I see to be – that’s it not really that the taxes are collected but how the money is spent in many cases. That definitely needs to be worked on.

I have no problem with my taxes since Trump Gave Americans a Massive Tax Cut. But I will be happy to take time an read about reports from those who have a great personal problem.

He likely thinks that America is great because of people like him, the ones who always follow the rules and snitch on their neighbors.

You repeatedly find yourself attempting to tell everyone what I “think” – All the while never asking me to tell you exactly what I am thinking.

Here is a 30sec Tip: Don’t Try to Read Other People’s Minds.

Americans Spent More on Taxes in 2018 Than on Food, Clothing and Health Care Combined So what?

Dumbest comment ive ever seen you post.

Probably on par with the one you made where you said that as a contractorm ut us wgeb an elderly citizen who has little money to spend tellq youL “I am old and on a fixed income” – you AUTOMATICALLY increase you estimate to him, or her.

Right?

But back to the discussion at hand.

I ask: Do you find your tax rate too high – and if so, why?

Gatlin: ...as a contractorm ut us wgeb an elderly citizen who has little money to spend tellq youL

The grammar and spelling queen of LF posted this?

Day drinking perhaps

Here, let me repost it for you – since you seem so interested in making sure everyone understands how Stone takes advantage of old people.

Probably on par with the one you made where you said that as a contractor, when an elderly citizen who has little money to spend tells you “I am old and on a fixed income” – you AUTOMATICALLY increase you estimate to him, or her.

I know that I appreciated it.

Thanks …