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Politics : The Trump Presidency -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Dracin72 who wrote (15686)	4/21/2017 1:07:54 PM
From: koan	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 365066

Nothing is free: "I hear this all the time and it makes me nuts-lol." It is not a matter of being free, it is a matter of SOCIETY doing what is in the best interest of the people and society. The most effective means of increasing production and lowering crime and poverty is education. Nothing works better. So the Nordic counties knowing this provide mostly free education which helps everyone and makes for a strong society. The myth perpetuated by the right wing forever is that small government is best. But studies show in democracies usually large governments are best. The right wing has brain washed people, and remember the right wing is the political arm of the plutocrats who want a small government so they can pay fewer taxes. Yes, all the Nordic countries have high taxes and large governments and affordable education and health care. And time and again polls show they are the happiest people on earth. Isn't that the criteria? Message #15686 from Dracin72 at 4/21/2017 12:52:24 PM Koan nothing is free. I understand maybe its popular to label things like Tax Payer Funded education as Free Education but everything has to be paid by someone as nothing is free. You are correct if the tax payers fund free education for everyone that is indeed income redistribution. If you take Sweden which is perhaps one of the more successful socialist countries they have an income tax rate of ~57% at the highest rate which triggers at an equivalent of $88k USD. Their VAT is 25% and they come in a bit lower then us on corporate taxes at 22% but my guess is they have fewer loop holes. Now in order to pay for everything if we were to use the Swedish tax system we would be adding a significant portion of the lower class to the tax pool since in Sweden only poverty level isn't taxed so here in the US any earning over $16k for a single person would now be paying A LOT more in taxes. And the middle class here would also see a drastic increase in taxes. You have to sell that kind of tax structure to the American people before you can ever achieve any Nordic Like Social system.