Quoted from Jerryuop:As far as I’m concerned, my local, state, and federal government haven’t done a damn thing to earn any taxes from me in the last 20 years. I vote against every new tax, but I’m surrounded by morons out here in California.
If you think you're surrounded by morons now, just think what it would be like if taxes didn't fund free K-12 education!
I think about this sometimes when I drive past one of those CalTrans "Your tax dollars at work!" signs on the freeway, just how ignorant people are about what their taxes do. And I mean that in a really broad sense, both good and bad, for all sides of the aisle.
Like, if you're a "taxation is theft!" style person, maybe there are a lot of things you take advantage of from taxes that might at least make you appreciate it some if you considered it. Beyond the obvious stuff like roads and a fire department, but those too of course.
Alternately, if you're more of a "we're all in this together!" person, and think everyone paying in for the greater good is a worthwhile system, what percentage of your taxes really go towards things you'd consider to be the greater good? Does the average person even know? I doubt it!
IMO the problem is that the system is just so damn complicated. And I'm going to pitch you a flat tax scheme or something, but how the hell is anyone supposed to actually understand this stuff? It's hard enough to even explain to the average citizen how marginal tax rates work, and that's the easy part! If the system was clearer, it was more obvious who was and wasn't paying their fair share, and the benefits and downsides were easier to grasp I think we'd make smarter decisions. And appreciate what we get out of it more afterwards. Maybe we'd be happier and argue with each other less, money and taxes are definitely a 3rd rail in politics, just look at this thread.
Problem is neither side really wants anything to be easy to understand (at the top decision maker level, not normal citizens). Some groups like the confusion, makes it easier to get favorable treatment for their pet causes. Lower taxes on the rich or whatever. Other side wants to just keep adding on, even if well meaning, and making the damn thing denser and messier. Either way the documents just keep getting thicker.
And that's how we end up with this garbage. I weep thinking about JJ's post. Like I'm a lefty, put me more in the "we're all in the together" bucket, I dig things like roads, and I'd love it if our healthcare mess could be sorted out better. But how the hell is what he has to deal with now better for anyone? All these states, all these tax regions, and one small business is supposed to keep track of it all? That's insanity.
All I know is just looking at the hobby itself, I agree with the people who said this is gonna drive the secondary market up. The price you pay is the price you think about when you sell. If you paid an extra $600 because of taxes, and everyone else is doing the same thing, that's the new price of the game. And human nature says nobody like to lose more than they have to on selling. Fair or not, left or right in your politics, whatever, it's hard to not see that being the new reality.