How much do extremely wealthy people owe to the society that gave them the chance to prosper so much?

[TNHarley]

I dont think people should be punished because they are more successful. IE much higher tax burden. They already pay most of the taxes anyway.
They also give a lot of money and time, to charity.

Taxes are not punishment.

They are when one is taxed more.

 

[Billiejeens]

Surely something, right? I see a lot of people talk like taxes are theft. Is it not just our obligation?

Confiscatory rates are theft.
What is your understanding of what the extremely wealthy pay now?
If society made an environment for this wealth
Why only certain ones?
Same society for all Americans, yes?

 

[Anomalism]

That is straight from the Communist Manifesto! You knew that, right?

You seem to be a lot more familiar than me.

 

[Cecilie1200]

See, that right there is a big part of why people refer to taxes as though they're theft: the idea that because you personally disapprove of how someone else uses the money they have earned justifies you taking it from them to "better use" it for what you want.

Your thread title pretended to start from the premise of "what do they owe for what they get", but it's pretty obvious early on that you're really starting from the premise of "What do we want that we can rationalize taking".

If a bunch of poor people can get educated and go to the doctor more easily by taxing a billionaire more I'm really not going to feel bad about it.

Why can't poor people receive an education as is?

Whatever some people may think, it's not because we aren't throwing enough money into the educational kitty.

 

[Anomalism]

Nothing, earn your own wealth you mooching deadbeat losers. I already pay multiple times my equal share of the Federal spending.

If people owe nothing we can't have a government.

 

[Cecilie1200]

Why can't poor people receive an education as is?

I didn't say they can't. I suggested we could do things to make it easier. More healthy and educated Americans is a good thing.

Were you aware that you spend a lot of time speaking in vague, meaningless slogans?

 

[BluesLegend]

Nothing, earn your own wealth you mooching deadbeat losers. I already pay multiple times my equal share of the Federal spending.

If people owe nothing we can't have a government.

It's simple, divide government spending equally among the people. I'll pay my share and you pay yours, equal shares.

 

[Anomalism]

Were you aware that you spend a lot of time speaking in vague, meaningless slogans?

I can get more detailed. Can you?

 

[Billiejeens]

Why can't poor people receive an education as is?

I didn't say they can't. I suggested we could do things to make it easier. More healthy and educated Americans is a good thing.

Were you aware that you spend a lot of time speaking in vague, meaningless slogans?

It's a child

 

[Orangecat]

How much do extremely wealthy people owe to the society that gave them the chance to prosper so much?

Nothing. How much do extremely poor people owe the society that subsidizes their existence by overtaxing the productive?

 

[Anomalism]

Nothing. How much to extremely poor people owe the society that subsidizes their existence by overtaxing the productive?

Extremely poor people are not really capable of giving more money.

 

[dblack]

Is owing society the same as owing government?

 

[Anomalism]

It's a child

You wouldn't know it based on the way people behave here.

 

[Anomalism]

Is owing society the same as owing government?

Government is a necessary part of society. In this context yes.

 

[bripat9643]

Surely something, right? I see a lot of people talk like taxes are theft. Is it not just our obligation?

They owe nothing. Take Steve Jobs, for instance. He created a product that improved the lives of billions of people. Furthermore he provided jobs for hundreds of thousands of people. If anything, society owed him, not the other way around.

 

[Rigby5]

Why should I pay a higher percentage than the guy who's life ambition is to put hamburgers in a bag all day ?

If you're extremely rich you should do it because you can and that dude's life sucks a lot more.

That is straight from the Communist Manifesto! You knew that, right?

The Communist Manifesto is a worthy ideal.
If it wasn't, then no one would be fooled by it and taken in by the fact most communists actually are just capitalists intending to take over and become the wealthy elite.
Certainly one can not expect widows and orphans to pay.
Only those who can afford to pay should have to pay.
And those who can afford to pay actually are the ones who have benefited the most from the improvements the taxes allow for.
There is nothing wrong with the ideal of from each what they can afford to give, and to each according to need.
It is just implementation of ideals can be deliberately manipulated.
Not necessarily the ideal itself that is faulty.

 

[bripat9643]

Is owing society the same as owing government?

Government is a necessary part of society. In this context yes.

Nope. Government is a parasite. Nothing more.

 

[Blues Man]

Is owing society the same as owing government?

Government is a necessary part of society. In this context yes.

society and government are not the same thing

government is a construct of society

 

[Orangecat]

Zero

Why not? We can't have a society if nobody owes anything to it.

Everyone who wants a say in the spending (a vote in the elections) should pay the exact same amount, maybe $100 per year. Let the government operate within its means and if you choose not to pay the $100, you get no vote on how it's eventually spent.

 

[bripat9643]

Exactly how did they allow the super rich to prosper?

By creating the environment that allowed them to grow so well. Do you think Bill Gates would be where he is today if he had been born in some isolated African tribe where he didn't have the opportunity to learn how to read?

All government does is loot, steal and destroy. Furthermore, the cost of enforcing the law and providing a national defence is about 5% of our current budget. Why should government be entitled to anymore than that?