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Originally Posted by Space_Coyote
Nobody wants to "hose" the poor, but making them pay their fair share (ie, the same percentage of their income as the rest of us) would be a nice start.
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Generally, the vast majority do, to my understanding, quietly and consistently. It's primariliy the rich who desire a lowering, and do most of the evasion of their just due. People making $14,000/year generally don't have offshore account managers or shelters in the Caymans.
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I don't owe them anything more than they owe me, so why exactly am I paying for their food, housing, medicine, AND paying a higher tax rate?
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Because you are not an island unto yourself, and have some degree of obligation to your society. We're only as strong as out weakest links, and I certainly don't begrudge my taxes going to help those less fortunate.
It almost sounds as if you are far more concerned with righteous punishment of the poor, rather than a desire to get them back on track and contributing. I don't like, and don't support "piling on".
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Seems to me that those recieving government assistance should be the ones paying for the services, be it through dollars or days of service.
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They generally do. But, I suspect you've never had to be on the public dole, so you may not have the same frame of reference as to what it's actually like, and how hard it can be to get off it and back to the upwardly moble track, which is supposed to be the goal. (For the record, I haven't, myself)
I understand not liking people getting "something for nothing", but when we get to the point where we start to begrudge people food and housing assistance, we have to ask what kind of society we are, morally.
I think most people consider the reestablishment of debtor's prisons or indentured servitude to be a step backward.