Justinian is a Student...so, he is exempt from many of the taxes I pay.
ALSO..... Schniep, Im at the top of the food chain.
In Germany, Is the tax rate FLAT or graduated ? Does the top earners pay the same % ?
In the US :
ALL Earners pay the SSI/Medicare tax. Thats a fixed % of 6.5 by the employee, matched 6.5% by the Employer.
Now....Note this: that 13% of MANDATORY withholdings goes to be administered by the state....not to the individual.
IF Anyone dies, this withheld fund does not get returned to the wage earners estate. That money that was SUPPOSED to be for your retirement, is now gone to the system.
ALSO NOTE: this "Matching portion" that the "EMPLOYER" Pays....is actually a cost of employment, and is really paid by the Employee. In other words, if there was no such thing as SSI/Medicare tax, that would go to the cost of employment, or the employee.
I have X amount to pay for a position.....that X Includes all taxes/costs of employment for that position. This same fact applies to all my competitors where X is the same amount. Follow ? Its simple math, and simple economics on the micro level.
SO, when you say, "My Employer pays that portion" Its really you.
The X+ factor is the matching funds to a retirement account that YOU Control. In the US We call them Pension funds and/or also 401K(Private sector)/403B (Govt. Sector) Funds. These funds, if you die, DO go to your estate. When an employer matches....thats an added cost to employment, the X"+" factor.
As an economist, I encourage ALL to always put in max amount UP TO THE Employer matching amount. ALWAYS take advantage of this angle. ALWAYS put in MAX Match if you can afford it. This money grows TAX Differed, and is not taxed until you draw on it.
Also, tax advantaged individually controlled IRA(Indiv. retirement account) are tax deductible, or tax deferred with govt. mandated CAPS (Max amount in.)
Schiep, My Fed withheld, of 38%, I get a lot of that back, to be fair.
Stuff like Interest payments on my home mortgage, Money I pay for my Children's Education, Money into private retirement accounts, are all deductiple at the end of the year, and I get that tax that was withheld back.
Mind you, that money I get back, is NOT with interest......the govt. holds my money interest free.
Again.....Im at the top tax bracket, those making less could have as little of 18% held at the Fed Level.
ALSO, I live in New York City.....so the New York State, and New York City portions are AREA Taxes.....Justinian from the South, may have no State or Local taxes.....he also may live in a state w/o Sales tax. Again thats a local/state tax on all FINAL Sales....its not a VAT tax.
You see, in the US...if you are in the low income bracket, Like you seem to be, ESPECIALLY if you had a family making that amount of money......You would QUALIFY for a state sponsored (Socialized) Medical Plan.
If your wife is Pregnant, WIC (Womans and Infants.... not sure of rest) you get coupons for Milk/Juice/cereal/Fruit. for Pregnancy, and through infants first 2-years.
You qualify for "Section 8" that is a large portion of your RENT gets paid by the state.
You qualify for Low Income Housing. If you live in an area designated for Housing assistance, you can get a Subsidized Low cost FIRST HOME BUYERS house.
You qualify for Low income Mortgage. (This is where the Federal Govt. Got in trouble, and caused the housing bubble) You can get favorable, gimmick loans that have the front end (2-5 years) of very low mortgage payments. These then adjust to full price later, assuming you might/would have climbed the income chain. If not, you could sell your house, grasp the Capital gains from the sale, and roll it into a new House, or refinance and do the GIMMICK all over again......Assuming the Value is in the house to do this.
Guess what. If the house looses value, you cant do the Gimmick again.....OOOOOooopppppssss.... This is what happened to the US Housing market.
Thank yous SOCIALIZED, FEDERAL Housing administration...... Known as FHA.
Your kids get Free Lunch in school. Get Tuition assistance, Federal and State grants for College......Etc.
Dude.....guess what. My kids dont qualify for this.
My family doesnt qualify for the above.
I do get a write off for these above expenses off my taxes though.
SO.......I hope this helps you show, the US is not so evil and does MORE THAN enough for low income/No Income
What OBAMA wants to do, is push the Envelope out further.
To the point where the System collapses.......Like the Federal Housing market did.
You push it out to the point where there is NO GROWTH....or very LITTLE GROWTH.....
Almost like the Euro System.....very small GDP Growth. Very small individual wealth building.
In a system/Govt. of dramatic control like this....It is VERY HARD to escape the Envelope of the Govt. Mandated and Controlled Umbrella of coverage.
The system is so giving, that there is no Motivation, no incentive to push past the envelope.
No incentive to GROW personal wealth.....
No incentive to persevere, to develop, to improve and to prosper.
I tell you the truth, its getting very hard for me to increase my business size. The Govt. keeps trying to take all the wealth I can generate.....and this new Administration looks like that ENVELOPE is FINALLY going to swallow me up.
To be honest, this does include the Socialist Republic of New York State, and its Partner New York City.
Come .......joust w/the master.
I'm always Right. You are just intellectually Left.....behind.
Individual patriot, and a REAGAN Conservative.