NO!
We are not descending - we are already there.
Well, people who get refunds still pay taxes, they just don’t seem to know it.
There has not been a republic since at least 1868.
As for the huge group who do not pay taxes, thank George Bush. Good enough reason to let the Bush tax cuts lapse.
Which was murdered around the mid 1800's.
Once the balance tipped over 50%, all was lost. When you can buy half of the population, tyranny and despotism follows. Bunker down folks, it’s going to be a long night in America.
Economic collapse is next, followed by social collapse, followed by R2/CW2.
Do those figures include the hundreds of thousands of bureaucrats and propagandists (mostly local, some with federal funding), who draw large incomes to rob others of what they produce? Most of them aren’t doing anything but plotting and scheming the next officious, legalized robbery. And how about those in the many non-profits (and many in not-for-profits), who work in concert with the deleterious and otherwise useless government employees?
The situation is far worse than what the author portrays. Maybe he didn’t want to raise the ire of those who take the greatest amounts of debt/revenues to finish ruining the country. They are also the controlling constituents in politics.
It’s a plutocracy, although most of the favored constituents aren’t really rich (cash flow vs. debts). It’s an eduocracy and kleptocracy. Have fun. Enjoy the slide.
Or stop obstructing small, domestic manufacturing starts, repair shops and owner-building in rural areas.
Everyone is unknowingly getting a PhD education in the philosophies of Mr. and Mrs. Cloward.
Crash the system and guarantee everyone a government stipend.
They are doing SO well! Why do you think the USDA runs TV commercials in English and Spanish touting the advantages of food stamps?
Why were unemployment benefits extended to 99 weeks? After 99 weeks you come to depend on that check. What’s a government check-addicted slob to do? Why, just apply for SSI. Make up a malady, hire a SSI lawyer and apply for benefits. It may take a year or two but that’s a monthly check for life, no strings attached.
Of course, the check will rarely be for more than $900/month. But now that you have SSI a whole new word of “livin’ on the government” benefits opens. Free cell phone, food stamps, housing assistance, utility assistance, child care assistance, even CASH through the Family Independence (FI) program. Now you’ve got it made. Sit on the couch and watch your wide screen TV all day.
my sigh is apropos to this thread.
I’m doing my taxes this week. The amount of petty BS I have to deal with only to find “that deduction isn’t for you” is driving me f’n nuts. Tyranny is already here.
The Appetite of Tyranny is never far removed from the Tyranny of the Appetite.