Unfair US Taxes And America's Move To Socialism

In this short article, I will cover many things, including health costs, poverty, taxes, communism, socialism, and fascism. I have never seen this information presented in this way, anywhere, so I felt compelled to give it to you straight - the real data in an easy-to-understand way that THEY don't want you to see!

I want to touch on Health Insurance costs before we get started. Here are some 2010 numbers to think about. [ref]

• On average, the annual premium was $2,985 for a single person and $6,328 for a family.
• The annual premium differed from state to state. For example, the premium for a family health plan in New York was $13,296, while a similar plan in Iowa was $5609.
• The annual premiums for health plans were also different depending if the annual deductible was high or low. For example, family plans with no deductible had an average premium of $12,686 each year, while plans with an annual deductible of $10,000 had an average premium of $5,380 each year.

Also, think about government workers and their plans (more fun facts - 2009 numbers). [ref]

• In all, taxpayers spent about $15 billion to insure 8.5 million federal workers.
• Federal coverage far surpasses that enjoyed by 70 million Americans who are under-insured and at financial risk in the event of a major health crisis.
• There were an estimated 46 million with no medical insurance.
• The plan most favored by federal workers is Blue Cross Blue Shield, which covers a family for about $1,030/mo. Taxpayers kick in $700, and employees pay the rest. Seeing a doctor costs $20. Generic prescriptions cost $10. Immunizations are free. There is no coverage limit.

And then there is the poverty level in the US, which is generally less than one single tax free "Gift" you can receive from your rich friends and family ($13,000). In case you haven't read my "Gift" article, you can have a little fun here.

Ok, 2 more fun facts! [ref - this link will take you to the 2-page FHCE PDF file on exactly what the government considers the 2012 poverty level to be.]

• About 46.2 million Americans were considered in poverty in 2011, 2.6 million more than the previous year. [ref]
• Over 45 million Americans were on food stamps in 2011. [ref]

So, I crunched the numbers into the spreadsheet (below) to demonstrate exactly how unfair our health insurance costs are, exactly how our tax system works, and exactly why the rich never pay the full amount for their tax bracket - tax brackets explained in plain English! It's all just 3rd grade math, so don't let these number scare you.

Let me explain some of these numbers. In the left column, I have some key monthly earned income amounts.

• Self-Employed - If you make just $400/year in earned income outside of a regular job, you must take care of FICA, Social Security, etc. and you are required to file a tax return. Something like lawn mowing at $34/mo. forces you into a tax return nightmare!
• Employee - If someone pays you $600 in a tax year for a service, they must either do payroll for you, or get you to fill out a W9 to prove you are a corporation, in which case they must file a 1099 to get the tax deduction. The rules for services changed significantly for 2012.
• Food Stamps 1 - At $150/mo. in earned income, you generally qualify for the maximum food stamp benefits. We social workers force you to fill out extensive paperwork, in case you wanted to know, even with just $150/mo. earned income.

• Tax = None - This is the amount of the standard deduction for a single individual in 2012. [ref - all tax brackets]
• Food Stamps 2 - High end of eligibility for food stamps.
• Tax Bracket 1 - Most income taxed at 10%.
• Tax Bracket 2 - Most income taxed at 15%.
• Tax Bracket 3 - Most income taxed at 25%.
• Tax Bracket 4 - Most income taxed at 28%.
• Tax Bracket 5 - Most income taxed at 33%.
• Tax Bracket 6 - Most income taxed at 35%.

Hopefully you can see that the rich will never reach the full 35% since amounts earned less than $388,350 are taxed at the lower rates, and all these rates are averaged for the real overall tax rate.

So, let's get into those last 2 columns on insurance costs. You can see that poor people are left with the bottom of the barrel plans that probably have a $5,000 deductible, or at best a $500 deductible. They can easily spend a total of $2,400/yr. ($200/mo.) The key numbers I wanted to point out are this cost as a % of income. This is more than 42% of income for poor people, and a fraction of a % for the rich.

Then we have federal workers like me that have taxpayers pay most our cost. Most individuals just can't get access to our special plans, and they are mostly paid for by you!

So, what does all this mean? To me, it's all about getting paid by the state or not. This affects the distribution of goods, which is part of the definition of socialism and communism. It's all about money flow to me.

Are military, police, librarians, social workers, politicians, etc. paid by the state? Of course we are. I take money from the state with the worst and best of them. I have the best health insurance for about $400/mo. I admit it. I don't like the idea that I get paid 10 times what a self-employed carpenter gets, but am happy to take the checks.

What about fascism? To me, fascism is all about forcing ideas and a way of life on others. If we forced everyone to take money from and work for the state for example, that's a form of fascism, at least to me. Ever hear a politician complain about socialism or communism while they take checks from the state? I hate those fascists! Fess up you socialist hypocrites!