A lot of crap is being spewed from the mouths of pundits and pundit wannabes about the recently revealed fact that 47% of US households paid no income tax. And there’s even people (read the comments to the entry, not the entry itself) going so far as to say that anybody that doesn’t pay income taxes shouldn’t be represented by the government. I.e., They should have their right to vote taken away. I’ve heard that argument before and any time I hear it my blood starts boiling.
Everyone gets to vote but every vote gets weighted by the amount you pay into taxes per year. If you don’t pay in, your vote gets multiplied by zero!
That makes sense… all are equal under the law, unless you’re rich, then you’re more equal, right?
I think that only people that serve in the military should get to vote because they know what it means to accept the responsibility of being a citizen.
Except our system of government is built of and run by civilians and the military is under civilian charge. I have an idea! Let’s make it so only military members can be in government! That seems to work great for all those other military dictatorships around the world!
Only those with a vested interest in the land in which they lived had the right to vote upon how it should be managed.
Yes, because only landowners pay taxes.
Luckily there seems to be more people in those comments that actually understand what all that means and have spoken up.
So Paris Hilton’s vote will count more then mine? How about Megan Fox? How about all those highly paid actors and athletes? You are right. Tiger’s vote should count more.
and
So because I’m unemployed I shouldn’t get to vote? Even though I don’t collect unemployment? I pay taxes on my house, land, cars, and well just about everything but food. Those taxes don’t count? Only income tax should count?
There’s a few other better quotes that say pretty much what I’m about to say, only in fewer words. What can I say? I’m longwinded.
It should be plainly obvious to anybody that buys stuff or pays bills in America, that income taxes aren’t the only taxes in the land.
If you own and drive a car you pay “registration fees” (taxes) for the car, plus driver’s license “renewal fees” (taxes). Anybody that puts gas in their car, or even a gas powered lawn mower pays fuel taxes. If they have a phone (land line or cell) there are “taxes, fees and surcharges” on those bills. Cable TV? Same thing. If they own a home they pay property taxes. Insurance on that home? Taxed. Renter’s insurance for those that don’t own homes. Taxed. If they have city provided sewer or water service, they likely pay taxes for those. If they have electricity, they pay taxes. A lot of states and cities have sales taxes on pretty much everything a person buys except the bare nessecities. Soda and sweets taxes are all the rage these days because kids are fat.
The only people that get any kind of break from those taxes are those that itemize their returns. Only 35% of people itemize. So this idea that there are people that pay absolutely no taxes is bull. Not everybody pays INCOME TAXES, not everybody pays PROPERTY TAXES, but those aren’t the only taxes in the good ol’ USA, everybody pays some kind of tax. And as taxpayers, they should be represented in government.
