...
The indebtedness of the teacher making $80k surprised me
That, and age 38 with so much in student loans
and credit card debt. She did say that she went back for a Masters degree, so that's fresh student loan debt. Maybe she'll turn that around into something more profitable than where she's at now.
And I do see that she's the sole provider in the household, so there's 3 other people depending on that income.
And this shocked me about the 'Near poverty level' woman:
I just refinanced my car so the payment is about $360.
WTF
I drove a $5k used car for 12 years.
I wonder what the total car price was, and how long she'll be making those payments.
weird how in these total 8 cases you see this one identical opinion:
wealthier people that pay more taxes: taxes seem fair
poorer people that pay little or no taxes: taxes are too high.
crazy what populist politics has done to generate such bizarre interpretations of reality in the middle and lower classes.
Yeah. Some people scream about it as though the government was showing up to raid the refrigerator and dinner table and kick the dog on their way out, like they're a few dollars away from losing their two houses and living on the streets.
Such is the terrible cost of being part of a
society, and everything inherent to that word and concept.
Well, my comment regarding populist politics is that the game is to garner support among the lower/middle classes into believing that taxes for the wealthy are just too much! Let's tax them less and we will all be better--oh and you, too, are just paying way too many taxes!
...
I love the people all upset about estate taxes that don't kick in unless it's more than $5M. Very few people will even bump into that at all, or come close.
Human beings generally cannot handle concentrated power, and concentrated wealth invariably brings power. Letting it accumulate indefinitely across generations is quite risky, pushing back toward a culture that includes things like highly-privileged bloodlines. That sort of system has historically not worked out well for the majority in such a society.
It doesn't hold any water because by and large, the wealthy both tend to be comfortable with their rate and even though they are paying more, the percentage out of their income is far, far, far less of a burden than it is for lower income people. That...and there are plenty of ways for the wealthy to escape paying assumed rates....but this is also true of lower income people that have nearly as many ways to avoid paying their own target rates, and even income taxes altogether.
Extreme example to show the point: Take 99% of a billionaire's assets, and they've still got $10M. You'll see a lifestyle change, but you'll be fine.
99% from someone with $10k in assets? You've got $100 left. Good luck.
Yes, you're helping to finance, in part, some people who were less fortunate. We apologize that you have to languish in a stable country with infrastructure and opportunities conducive to gaining a very high income at all.