18 Feb. 08

Taxes!!!

Listen up, Denmark

This time it is the Danes. Happiest people in the world! according Sixty Minutes.

But, of course, they pay a whole 50% of their incomes in taxes and only get free education, health care, maternity and paternity leave, six weeks of vacation. We shameless Americans pay such a tiny sum for taxes, why are we complaining?

Clearly the Danes and all others who trumpet our tiny taxes are very happy to be math challenged.

WE pay:

45% Fed income and payroll taxes

up to whatever State taxes (depending on State)

up to whatever city, boro and/or or country taxes

up to whatever sales taxes

up to whatever property taxes

Up to total income in taxes. And that does not begin to add entertainment taxes, phone taxes, other utility taxes and so forth. It does not, of course, cover health care or education or vacations or paternity/maternity leave.

Who knows how happy we could be if we paid only fifty percent and got all the Danish perqs?

Then we are berated for our government’s tiny billions or trillions in contributions to other countries, their health care, their AIDs treatment, their whatever up to whatever.

Individuals in our country contribute more in charitable donations to non Americans than many a country.

But then, we are the USA. Our motto is Pay More, Get Less, that is the American way.

Main Street would prefer to be limited to dedicated consumer taxes on everything; charity exclusively private (no shaking us down for AIDs in other countries, or even here), dedicated collections for education from gambling,and other amusements, distribution of education monies to parents or guardians by voucher. You have heard it all before from Mainstreet.

But, listen up, Denmark.