untraceable dark money is drawing political maps

@AverageJoe1 said
But the rich pay more than 50% of all taxes. How would these revenues be otherwise derived.? You are leaving something out, surely.

We're not talking about the same group of people. There's people who earn money by working, those are the people who pay taxes. But those are NOT the people who have all the money.

@wildgrass said
We're not talking about the same group of people. There's people who earn money by working, those are the people who pay taxes. But those are NOT the people who have all the money.

“A trend where rich people don’t have to pay taxes anymore”. I took your post at face value, This is a debate.,

I cannot imagine, deriving, if you will, info from a link with which to respond. Y’all are so weird.
Next I will do a thread that is titled “Look At This!” And just insert a link.!


I used to judge debates. Gave out F’s left and right! Mean as any liberal you know!

@AverageJoe1 said
“A trend where rich people don’t have to pay taxes anymore”. I took your post at face value, This is a debate.,

I cannot imagine, deriving, if you will, info from a link with which to respond. Y’all are so weird.
Next I will do a thread that is titled “Look At This!” And just insert a link.!


I used to judge debates. Gave out F’s left and right! Mean as any liberal you know!

Got it, thanks for your opinion. Rich people don't pay taxes anymore, because they bought the politicians, and you're ok with it.

@ said
Got it, thanks for your opinion. Rich people don't pay taxes anymore, because they bought the politicians, and you're ok with it.

Sound like an old bitty at a bridge club. Geez.


First, the claim “rich people don’t pay taxes anymore” just isn’t true. High earners still pay a large share of total income taxes. A LARGER share. The more accurate criticism is that they often pay a lower effective rate on certain types of income (like capital gains) and have more ways to legally reduce their tax burden.
And saying they buy politicians, there are campaign, donations, and lobbying, etc. that is just the way it is. So boring discussion. Life ain’t perfect.
Yes there is definitely a perception that the system favors people at the top.

But it’s not really accurate to say rich people don’t pay taxes at all. They do pay a big significant share overall. The more precise issue is that they often have access to deductions, loopholes, and lower rates on certain income that most people don’t. We can assume these loopholes are put there for a reason, like in their way to cause developers to have incentive to develop. To plow more money back into their endeavors. We all profit from that. So what if a guy makes $1 billion doing it. We all profit.

That’s a policy debate worth having without reducing it to “they bought everyone.”
That sounds like blanket sonhouse

@AverageJoe1 said
Sound like an old bitty at a bridge club. Geez.


First, the claim “rich people don’t pay taxes anymore” just isn’t true. High earners still pay a large share of total income taxes. A LARGER share. The more accurate criticism is that they often pay a lower effective rate on certain types of income (like capital gains) and have more ways to legally reduce their tax bu ...[text shortened]... e worth having without reducing it to “they bought everyone.”
That sounds like blanket sonhouse

High earners are not the people I'm talking about.

@AverageJoe1 said
Sound like an old bitty at a bridge club. Geez.


First, the claim “rich people don’t pay taxes anymore” just isn’t true. High earners still pay a large share of total income taxes. A LARGER share. The more accurate criticism is that they often pay a lower effective rate on certain types of income (like capital gains) and have more ways to legally reduce their tax bu ...[text shortened]... e worth having without reducing it to “they bought everyone.”
That sounds like blanket sonhouse

I've heard the strategy is "buy, borrow and die".

Purchase assets, borrow spending money against those assets, then give the stuff to your kids. All of this is tax-free. You can also create fake business and report losses there against other income gained from capital. None of these practices add anything to the economy, but politicians fight hard to keep them because their donors like the loopholes.

I'm stuck with 20% income tax just because I have a job. It is very harmful because it disincentivizes real work.

@wildgrass said
I've heard the strategy is "buy, borrow and die".

Purchase assets, borrow spending money against those assets, then give the stuff to your kids. All of this is tax-free. You can also create fake business and report losses there against other income gained from capital. None of these practices add anything to the economy, but politicians fight hard to keep them because th ...[text shortened]... h 20% income tax just because I have a job. It is very harmful because it disincentivizes real work.

Effective 20% tax on gross income is not an unreasonable amount. Use these AI tools to help you understand other countries and what others pay. It might help you appreciate what you have instead of being bitter. Here is CoPilot making a comparison with the US and Norway :

*****************************************
Q: Compare two single people one living in the US and one in Norway, what would be the take home pay on $100,000 US annual income.

A: Below is a clear, apples‑to‑apples comparison of take‑home pay for two single individuals with no children, one living in the United States and one in Norway, each earning USD $100,000 gross per year.

I’ll state assumptions first, then show the results and explain why the numbers differ.
Key assumptions (important)
Single filer
No dependents
No retirement contributions or special deductions
Employee (not self‑employed)
US person lives in a no‑state‑income‑tax state (e.g., Texas or Florida)
Norway person earns the NOK equivalent of USD $100,000
2025 tax rules
Average 2025 USD→NOK exchange rate ≈ 10.4 NOK/USD
exchange-rates

So:

USD $100,000 ≈ 1,040,000 NOK
🇺🇸 United States – Take‑Home Pay
Taxes applied
Federal income tax (progressive)
Social Security: 6.2%
Medicare: 1.45%
No state income tax
Breakdown
Gross income: $100,000
Federal income tax (after standard deduction): ≈ $14,260
Social Security (6.2😵: $6,200
Medicare (1.45😵: $1,450
✅ US Net Take‑Home Pay
≈ $78,100 per year
≈ $6,510 per month

This aligns with major 2025 US salary calculators using IRS brackets.
calculatesalary

Norway – Take‑Home Pay, Taxes applied
22% flat income tax
Progressive “step tax” (bracket tax)
National Insurance (8.2😵
Norway taxes income more heavily but includes healthcare, education, paid leave, pensions, etc., in taxes.

Breakdown (for ~1,040,000 NOK gross)
Total income taxes + national insurance: ≈ 30–32%
Typical effective tax rate at this level: ~31%
✅ Norway Net Take‑Home Pay
Net income: ≈ 720,000 NOK
Converted back to USD: ≈ $69,000
Monthly take‑home: ≈ $5,750
Estimates based on Norway 2025 calculators and tax tables.

🧠 Why the US Take‑Home Is Higher
Lower overall tax burden
No universal healthcare or higher‑education funding via taxes
Retirement and healthcare costs are largely private
🧠 What Norway’s Higher Taxes Buy You
Included without extra payroll deductions or premiums:
Universal healthcare
Tuition‑free public universities
Generous unemployment protection
Paid parental leave
Strong public pension system

✅ Bottom Line
Pure take‑home cash: US is ~$9,000 higher per year
Total lifetime benefits & risk protection: Norway offers far more coverage

********************************************

@Rajk999 said
Effective 20% tax on gross income is not an unreasonable amount. Use these AI tools to help you understand other countries and what others pay. It might help you appreciate what you have instead of being bitter. Here is CoPilot making a comparison with the US and Norway :

*****************************************
Q: Compare two single people one living in the US and o ...[text shortened]... s & risk protection: Norway offers far more coverage

********************************************

Maybe not unreasonable. It's just a much much higher percentage than rich people pay.

And honestly, $9,000 more take home pay is pitiful. Most people, especially families, pay at least that just for health insurance. The US wastes its tax revenue on useless military interventions instead of healthcare.

@wildgrass said
I've heard the strategy is "buy, borrow and die".

Purchase assets, borrow spending money against those assets, then give the stuff to your kids. All of this is tax-free. You can also create fake business and report losses there against other income gained from capital. None of these practices add anything to the economy, but politicians fight hard to keep them because th ...[text shortened]... h 20% income tax just because I have a job. It is very harmful because it disincentivizes real work.

Yes, there is such a strategy, and it does favor people who own assets over people who live on wages,

2. Add important nuance he’s leaving out

But as usual, you leave something out. Borrowing against asset is not free money it has to be paid back. And what about the pesky fact that asset values can fall which means they take a huge risk with this strategy


And always remember these people that seem to have these tax breaks have a trade-off, which is that they have to take a risk when they do these things. They are beyond wage earners so there has to be a little bit of a carrot with this stick to get them to stick their neck out for the advancement of their business, which means our country.

And I think “adds nothing.” Is off the mark.
Someone building and investing certainly does add to our economy, contributing to economic growth, housing jobs etc.
I always want to ask y’all, but I don’t waste my time where you think all of these jobs come from. There’s no way you would give us a straight answer, because you would have to say that some rich guys provide the jobs and you just cannot do that.

@wildgrass said
Maybe not unreasonable. It's just a much much higher percentage than rich people pay.

And honestly, $9,000 more take home pay is pitiful. Most people, especially families, pay at least that just for health insurance. The US wastes its tax revenue on useless military interventions instead of healthcare.

The US and Israel are powerhouses of military strength.
The rest of the world full of $$htt in this area
Russia or China or Europe are lame big mouth pussies.
You are in the right place. Be thankful.

Although I live in a tropical paradise, drinking beers and partying, I actually envy you. Pay your taxes and shut up.

@Rajk999 said
The US and Israel are powerhouses of military strength.
The rest of the world full of $$htt in this area
Russia or China or Europe are lame big mouth pussies.
You are in the right place. Be thankful.

Although I live in a tropical paradise, drinking beers and partying, I actually envy you. Pay your taxes and shut up.

Thank you Raj.

I appreciate you've gone out of your way to explain how other people's tax dollars should be spent.

@Rajk999 said
The US and Israel are powerhouses of military strength.
The rest of the world full of $$htt in this area
Russia or China or Europe are lame big mouth pussies.
You are in the right place. Be thankful.

Although I live in a tropical paradise, drinking beers and partying, I actually envy you. Pay your taxes and shut up.

We're spending billions to put those boats in the middle east to blockade a strait for no gull darned reason at all. It was open before.

I don't think you would feel very good if you just paid your taxes and the government lights the pile of money on fire and walks away.

@Rajk999 said
Effective 20% tax on gross income is not an unreasonable amount. Use these AI tools to help you understand other countries and what others pay. It might help you appreciate what you have instead of being bitter. Here is CoPilot making a comparison with the US and Norway :

*****************************************
Q: Compare two single people one living in the US and o ...[text shortened]... s & risk protection: Norway offers far more coverage

********************************************

Not very realistic since median household income for a single person in the US is nowhere near $100,000 (it was $41,382 in 2023 https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/median-household-income-by-state) and only 9 US states don't have State income taxes. https://financebuzz.com/no-income-tax-states?msockid=17b4b52994316743009fa715954f666b