How Your Income Stacks Up

[SMR 368]

I think having the money is enough. I think having the power to choose to spend the money is enough.

In my world, if you want something, you actually have to pay for it. That is, if you want goods or services, you have to spend money.

It seems in your world, simply having enough money to pay for it is enough. You don't actually have to pay for it and spend the money.

Otherwise, how can your standard of living increase (which is the amount of goods and services you have) without spending more money?

[rebeccajo 14]

In my world, if you want something, you actually have to pay for it. That is, if you want goods or services, you have to spend money.

It seems in your world, simply having enough money to pay for it is enough. You don't actually have to pay for it and spend the money.

Otherwise, how can your standard of living increase (which is the amount of goods and services you have) without spending more money?

I guess because in my world standard of living and quality of life are very similar.

Now - that's not to say it's my opinion that more goodies you have, the happier you will be. Quite the contrary. It's my opinion that if you DON'T have the money to pay for basic necessities, then quality of life can very much be effected. Part of the problem of poverty is the worry associated with it. That's one reason you see people who lose their jobs end up on the therapists couch. You can have a pretty good 'standard of living' (as you seem to define it) and have that definition change overnight if your income stream is reduced by a personal financial disaster. You get to the point where if you are able to keep your house, the light and heat on, and food on the table - you are pretty satisfied.

I really don't think the more you spend, the higher your standard of living will necessarily be. A rich man can spend all his dough on whiskey and pot. He spends the money but his standard of living doesn't go up.

[ScottThuy 140]

Jas,

You said it right. I dont mind that I paid 13k in taxes this year. What I do mind is overhearing women talk about how they "cheat the system" and recieve 600$ a month in cash and food stamp assistance. GO GET A JOB!!!!

It ticks me off that I paid 3 times that and I get the same governmental/societal benefits as you... possibly less in many cases....

lets assume two people make the same money.. one person saves their money and pays extra toward their mortgage... the other pays the minimum payments on everything and tries to be like a Hilton child... the way it is... they both pay the same taxes or the wanna be hilton may pay less in the long run due to interest write offs as mr thrifty is avoiding interest by paying down early.... if it was pay for play (flat tax)... then the one saving would pay less.... which activity do we as a society want to promote? saving and working hard? or partying like its 1999...?

[christeen 966]

It ticks me off that I paid 3 times that and I get the same governmental/societal benefits as you... possibly less in many cases....

lets assume two people make the same money.. one person saves their money and pays extra toward their mortgage... the other pays the minimum payments on everything and tries to be like a Hilton child... the way it is... they both pay the same taxes or the wanna be hilton may pay less in the long run due to interest write offs as mr thrifty is avoiding interest by paying down early.... if it was pay for play (flat tax)... then the one saving would pay less.... which activity do we as a society want to promote? saving and working hard? or partying like its 1999...?

I vote the party!!!! Whoo hoo

[Jenn! 918]

It ticks me off that I paid 3 times that and I get the same governmental/societal benefits as you... possibly less in many cases....

That wouldn't be remedied by a flat tax though. Do you think everyone should pay a flat dollar amount rather than a percentage? Why don't we eliminate government services altogether and go to a pay-per-use system?

[ScottThuy 140]

I think it should be a consumption tax similar to a VAT...

[slim 1,525]

Why don't we eliminate government services altogether and go to a pay-per-use system?

Way to go Jenn!

[ScottThuy 140]

Way to go Jenn!

I was watching a Harvard Professor on PBS last week and he gave an example of a pay per use fire dept in Arkansas (I think thats where it was) and the people pay an annual fee for the private fire service.... a man did not renew the service contract and his house caught fire shortly after (not arson by the private co) ... the fire dept arrived and watched the fire destroy his house... he asked the guy, why they were not putting out the fire since they were already there... the fire co manager said, because that was against company policy.. the guy asked if he could renew his service and get the fire put out... the man responded no... you would not ask for auto insurance after you got in an accident to pay for damages that occured prior to the purchase of the policy.... the fireman said he was only there to make sure that the houses that had policies in affect were not damaged by the fire...

I don't like having to pay for services others get when they shouldn't get them, but I don't see how pay per use would work...

[slim 1,525]

I was watching a Harvard Professor on PBS last week and he gave an example of a pay per use fire dept in Arkansas (I think thats where it was) and the people pay an annual fee for the private fire service.... a man did not renew the service contract and his house caught fire shortly after (not arson by the private co) ... the fire dept arrived and watched the fire destroy his house... he asked the guy, why they were not putting out the fire since they were already there... the fire co manager said, because that was against company policy.. the guy asked if he could renew his service and get the fire put out... the man responded no... you would not ask for auto insurance after you got in an accident to pay for damages that occured prior to the purchase of the policy.... the fireman said he was only there to make sure that the houses that had policies in affect were not damaged by the fire...

I don't like having to pay for services others get when they shouldn't get them, but I don't see how pay per use would work...

It's pretty simple really, if you use something, you pay for it.

If you can't afford to pay for it then you either don't get it, or you work out other arrangements to pay for it. Had the guy in the story above paid, he'd still have his house. If he couldn't afford his fire insurance anymore, he could've either fireproofed his home himself, or made other arrangements to pay. Or... wait for it..... moved into a house that he could afford both the mortgage AND the fire insurance.

We see a lot of this with people buying cars they can't afford and then dropping their insurance because of it. HELLO, McFly! If you can't afford a car AND insurance, then you shouldn't buy that particular car. There's a lot of stuff involved when paying for just about everything and when people can't make good financial decisions for themselves... WHY DO I HAVE TO PAY FOR IT????

[ScottThuy 140]

sounds like a consumption tax to me... public services like fire and police should always be built into property taxes... Want good public services, move to an area that has them its on the local govt for those services... but when it comes to fed.. if they just tax what we spend, they would really end up getting more money... easier to collect... we already have fed taxes on some goods and services, why not just do it all accross the board? with no tax on food or necessary utilities the tax burden would be on those that choose to live anything other than a simple life... those that make alot of money and choose to spend it would carry the burden... this would also include lower income that choose to spend money on things other than necessities... if I make 200k and my brother makes 20k and we both live identical lifestyles, we should pay the same tax... the fact that I went to college and got a better job should not be a reason to tax me more than him... if I choose to live in a big home and drive expensive car and live a lavish lifestyle, I should pay the price for the lifestyle...

[slim 1,525]

the tax burden would be on those that choose to live anything other than a simple life...

Hey, that's not fair!

[ScottThuy 140]

Hey, that's not fair!