taxes. what the actual fuck? I finally graduated and got my first 6 figure job, only to find out the federal government basically takes 1/3 of my pay??? WHAT??? Why are we all okay with this? I feel fucking robbed. I worked so hard to get here, so many sleepless nights, so many all nighters studying, just to get 1/3 of my money stolen from me? what the fuck?????

Agreed. Governments seem to want the middle class to stay middle class. Stay in your lane. So they don't give incentive to work harder IMO.

Why would I work overtime or a weekend if I only get to keep 60% of it? The tax man isn't sat next to me doing his 40% of the work.

If I could see actual benefits of that 40% going out the window then fine, but I believe it goes into someones pocket and not into filling potholes.

@Crost it doesn't go into "filling potholes". it goes into "having fucking streets at all".

I was about to ask who paid you money when you were studying before I looked where you're from.

@tosensei a fraction maybe

Welcome to post-graduation real life paycheck hell. Thank you for your forced contributions. Those roads and all our social and welfare problems will be fixed any day now.

Problem numero uno is you live in quite possibly the shittiest state to live in as an employee lol

But this shit just hit me too. Like a fuckin freight train. Annoyed asf

https://youtube.com/watch/...

"What's FICA? Why is it getting all my money?"

@Stuxnet True. California is the absolute worst tax tyranny in the US. People there get nothing but waste and wokeness for their tax “contributions”. Illinois and New York are right up there with them.

@lambda123 I’ve recently been wondering what it would look like if our yearly tax form was just a bunch of opt-out/opt-in checkboxes for individual line items of federal and state budgets. It seems to me the most democratic way to resolve the problem of what the people want the money spent on vs. what the people think is wasteful. Would be interested to see how that lines up with historical line item funding. My guess is that a LOT of pork would be cut out pretty quick.

@stackodev problem is everyone thinks society spending money on things they don't use is unnecessary until they actually need it.

"spend on mental health services"? No, let's be like Texas and cancel $400 million funding, what could go wrong?

@nibor I don’t know what the TX $400m was going to fund specifically, but in cases where $400m (or $400b) is being wasted, and everyone knows it, better to reallocate or cancel it than waste it.

The only government program I’ve ever seen return a net positive was the space program funding and all the attendant spin-offs we now daily rely on for advanced tech and materials in modern life. I’m willing to be convinced otherwise, but way too many things have gotten way worse the more money we throw at them. The Department of Education, for example, has only resulted in a dumber population and giveaways for teacher unions since it was established. Shut it down and find another use for its wasted resources. Same for the trillions spent on the failed “war on poverty”. We still have poverty.

@electrineer I actually paid my own way through community college and then a cal state. I worked full time for 8~ years and made my way through school mostly part time.

if this isn't what you meant, my bad lol

forgot to update my state actually. I ended up leaving California. am now in Oregon.

I disagree. Being the world's superpower has to be financed somehow. 6 figure salaries are a good place to do that financing.

Plus all the domestic services you enjoy. Like not getting murdered randomly.

@energy-vampire Out of the frying pan, into the fire? Depends on if you’re in rural Oregon or the urban tax jungle.

@hardCoding I feel like this needs a “how it’s going” meme followup.

@energy-vampire Oregon isnt any better lmao

@hardCoding Yeah, I would like my 19 cops to stand around for an hour instead of saving people any day of the week. Let's be realistic. Even nesscessary services aren't worth it if they do it this poorly.

@p100sch people think cops are actually “trained” and it’s kinda funny. Like bruh they dont even have physical fitness requirements you really think they can handle an active shooter situation with close quarters combat?

Ive been at a shooting range before and watched one shoot with some of the worst accuracy ive seen outside of anyone shooting for their first time. It had me shook that it was no biggie the cop had shit accuracy

@energy-vampire yeah. In other bits of the world, the government pays you for studying. But not in your neck of the woods.

@p100sch Belive it or not, but sometimes it better not to have idiots run in with guns blazing.
I agree the cops should have stopped they shooter - but imagine that the cops came in, killed the shooter, plus 50 more innocent kids in the crossfire.....

But taxes: If you don't want to pay them, you are more then welcome to immegrate to somewhere else. Like a 3rd world country, or Europe. Not gonna? bc byebye 6 figure salary? then go into politics - and make sure the tax money goes where it should go. Not going to? bc byebye 6 figures? then shut up, and pay your taxes.
Do not complain about things you are not willing to fix, while other people make 1/100 of what you are making.

@Stuxnet its decently offset by the no sales tax meme. I've already saved a bunch of money from it.

I'm mainly annoyed by fed taxes anywho. I'm in the 24% bracket :(

@magicMirror waiting in the hall while hearing shots ring and kids scream for almost an hour until you outnumbering the threat 19:1 not what I would caution in the name of saving kids. Sounds more like the government hires the wrong people.

And I would go into politics as it pays way more and you can still work at a company, especially when "lobbying" is involved. So it's not a matter of not wanting. It's a matter of not being able to. At least right now.

@lambda123 you DO get to decide - by voting. problem is: everybody else gets to decide as well.

@magicMirror Saying fix the entire problem in a country with hundreds of million inhabitants yourself or shutup is a pretty shitty stance. First of all because it is essentially impossible to achieve on your own also because most government if not all waste incredible amounts of money, demanding quality for the huge sums they get is only fair. As much as it is our job to engineer good products, it is the job of the politicians/government to provide good services and infrastructure

@lambda123 yeah, that's arguing from a position in an actual democracy, i admit that. maybe the USA will get to that point sometime in the future, who knows?

Now realize that inflation is planned by printing extra money. This robs your retirement. The corrupt government is a criminal enterprise.

@Demolishun Yup. I was on track to retire handsomely until the money printer started going brrrrr in earnest. At this rate, by the time I retire we’ll be literal Venezuela with million dollar loaves of bread.

@lambda123 it’s power tripping pieces of shit mainly. Met plenty of chill cops that are just there to help people with genuine care. But mostly shitty ones.

Highway patrolmen can smd lol

@scor
What streets do you drive?
What ambulance do you use?
Where does your energy come from?
Who provides you with security?
Omg.

@lambda123 ... and because it is really hard to keep your rich people if you tax them too hard - they can just pack up and leave. In addition to using offshore banks for everything, that is.

I mean you can argue about the value provided by taxation, and conjure up alternative and mostly fantastic ideas like libertarianism, but you will need to pay someone some amount of money for these services, anyway, if you want to live in some kind of civilization, that is.

Looking at the privatization of healthcare and the implications it has had to how much people have to pay for it in the United States should probably serve as a warning for people who think privatization and laissez faire free market are the solution to everything.

@netikras that question would be slightly humouros for any italian ahaha.

FICA takes It all from the Italian working man as well.

Lol American complaining about tax...

Come to UK/EU/ISR where we're at 6 figures you're in 45% bracket

@energy-vampire in India it is a bit less of your cash that squirrels away on taxes... but just for the official government taxes.
Because there are "private" or "bootleg" taxes for people who dare earning money instead of being already rich. Seriously, what you would pay in "protection" or "new customer service fees" or "expedite bureaucracy" bites even more than the official central government.
You can sleep better thinking that your birth country let you keep 67% percent of your gains. And protects you from anyone else who would take it from you.

@JsonBoa It’s not that simple in the US. Our government doesn’t just tax $1 once. It taxes the same dollar over and over and over again, at multiple levels. We have just become so accustomed to it that we fool ourselves into believing it’s not happening. And then as incomes rise to try to deal with inflation due to all the money printing, we’re told we’re getting too rich again and that it’s time for taxes to increase again. It’s a while loop with no exit condition ever being reached.

@stackodev It's the same everywhere.

Aside from inheritance tax, there's corporation tax -

which applies to your profits. But when you pull those profits afterwards - another tax - Dividend tax...

But honestly, without these taxes the rich will be totally out of contol. even more than they are today.

@hardCoding unless you live in the land of the free, the USA, where you can get shot by lunatics, groomed alt-righters or police on a daily basis. No public service is safe there.

I am so glad I live in Europe.

@Nihil75 the rich can afford "tax planning", though

@Nihil75 Actually, the current system of taxation creates the “1%” paradigm. Let people keep more of the product of their labors while reforming the tax code to simplify it and reduce waste, fraud, abuse, and pork barrel spending and more people can be richer. As time passes, the 1% expands to include more people producing more goods and services and, most importantly, more and better paying jobs and prosperity for more people. But we aren’t allowed to talk about that because “soak the rich” and other slogans are more satisfying to the thoughtless mob.

This image is a somewhat embellished version of an actual experiment in learned competitive primate behavior (sources below). I think it can be used to also describe current taxation schemes worldwide. Imagine a different world with better and more logical means of funding things besides always and forever punishing producers and risk takers. I want to be rich like many millionaires and billionaires. I want everyone to have the same opportunities even if not the same outcomes.

Sources: Stephenson, G. R. (1967). Cultural acquisition of a specific learned response among rhesus monkeys. In: Starek, D., Schneider, R., and Kuhn, H. J. (eds.), Progress in Primatology, Stuttgart: Fischer, pp. 279-288.

Mentioned in: Galef, B. G., Jr. (1976). Social Transmission of Acquired Behavior: A Discussion of Tradition and Social Learning in Vertebrates. In: Rosenblatt, J.S., Hinde, R.A., Shaw, E. and Beer, C. (eds.), Advances in the study of behavior, Vol. 6, New York: Academic Press, pp. 87-88.

Crying in European 50% taxation

@scor this is a pretty ignorant response. it completely ignores any hard facts about how much is being taxed, who pays the majority of taxes, where the majority of that money goes towards.

turning a blind eye to the rich who barely pay any taxes, and the corrupt federal government who misuses our tax dollars.

but sure. let the little guys subsidize the entire country. that makes sense.

not to mention, the majority of the items you've listed have to do with STATE TAXES. which I'm fine paying. read my post again though, I'm complaining about FEDERAL TAXES.

@energy-vampire

My response is ignorant?
Please, fuck you, gently.

What the fuck is your base question if not to trigger in the first place?

Now you try to get some pseudo leftist virtue signalling bullshit movement going?
Fine.

I've worked with people writing their thesis on the obsolescence of the state for many years.
I've been at the core of countries.
I'm ignorant?
You've gotten your clicks.
Now fuck off.

@scor oh please, cry me a river. you're in my thread. you're welcome to leave.

but if you're gonna come in here and spew bs like muh roads when I specifically am complaining about fed taxes... lol.

@scor

>post about fed taxes being ridiculous

score: lists things funded by state taxes

bUt I'm NoT IgnOrAnT!!

@scor I wish you brought me🍿

@electrineer
Got it for next time, buddy ;)

Yup. That's how the real world feels like.

Tax brackets are a fucking scam anyways. They sell it to the people as a way to tax the rich more (which ofc is popular with the 99%), but in reality:

The poor pay little
The middle class pays a lot
The rich circumvent it and pay less than the poor

Also, why should we even want to tax the rich more %? I mean ofc they should pay more, but shouldnt the percentage be the same? Which would basically mean for 20% tax "you work 1 day per week for your country".

Such a system would also be way simpler to calculate: you pay 20% of your income. Farmer? 20%. Selling stocks for Profit? 20%. Hooker? 20%. And imagine the saved time/money in administration in companies, the IRS and people's tax returns.

But that will never happen, because once someone is powerful enough to do sth about it (politician) they more often than not actually profit from the current system with many vulnerabilities to pay close to 0. fuck'em!