Comment · Tue, July 24, 2012
Super rich hiding up to $32 trillion offshore, which amounts to roughly the US and Japanese GDP combined. Up to $280bn is lost in tax revenues. Some of the world's biggest banks are involved: HSBC, Citigroup, Bank of America, UBS, Credit Suisse
What they were answering
[deleted] · 1 points
They need to restructure, fix the bad practices, then they can recover. Increasing the prices to their customers (in our analogy, the US citizens), the company just fails faster.
We are not the customers; we're investors. Or really, not even that, because the government isn't a corporation, but in as far as the analogy holds, our primary role-- especially those of us with means-- is of investor and partial owner.
And in that sense, the question isn't whether you want to buy this product or another, but whether you want to pull your investment and stop being associated with our little venture, or whether you want to do what needs to be done to make it work.
The government is not our home or our land. I can disagree with the way the system is being run, and not be willing to invest more into it, without relocating to another part of the world.
Well no, you either need to invest or get out. You are not a passive observer. You are part of our system, or you are not part of it. If you wish to be part, then you have a moral obligation (and also a legal obligation) to invest. The required investment takes the form of paying taxes and serving jury duty and whatever else is required.
I think what you fail to realize is that people do not like doing things against their will.
No, I recognize it. Who told you life was about doing what you want and getting what you want?…
u/MisterYouAreSoDumb
But we are both the customers and the investors. We are getting services from the government after paying taxes for them. If the government wants to start providing electricity, but the cost is 3 times what a private company would charge, would you agree to that? I certainly wouldn't. They have an obligation to us to use our money properly. They are not doing that. I am not in disagreement with the concept of paying taxes for the betterment of society. I am in disagreement with the way they are spending the money we already give them.
Well no, you either need to invest or get out.
I am investing. I just refuse to invest more than I am legally required to until I agree with what my money is spent on.
Nobody is suggesting anything of the kind, and you know it.
You are suggesting that. You said, "when everyone is trying to avoid contributing, then we all end up with less." Meaning, if we contributed more, we would end up with more. I do not agree that is the case. Our money is being wasted. Giving them more just wastes more.
if your neighbor was not paying taxes and collecting disability on a disability that he did not have, but it was technically legal, would you think that was fine?
Uhhm, that would be illegal. If he is collecting disability on something that he does not have, then he is breaking the law. If he does in fact have that disability, is that not what the program is for?
Or could you imagine yourself saying, "A law that allows people to collect disability payments from the government on non-existent disabilities is a bad law, and we should change it!"?
That is a silly equivocation. Businesses are not getting payments from the government for non-existent reasons if they are operating within the law. You are grouping disability fraud with taking legal deductions and lawful business structuring. Do I want the system to be simpler? Hell yes I do. Do I want the crazy loopholes and weird tax laws changed? Of course. That is also going to mean that the US will need to lower the corporate tax rate to remain competitive. This will make the system more balanced for small businesses to compete with the large ones. But I am also concerned with the spending side of the budget. We need to get that under control first. If I were to buy a car, a boat, and a plane, then realize I could not afford the payments, wouldn't the first thing I do be lower my spending? I wouldn't go out to my customers and say, you need to pay me more, I am spending too much for what you are currently giving me! The customers would go, "Uhh, no way! You spent too much. We are already paying more than enough for what you give us."