The deal that Negan gives them is actually pretty good in comparison to how we live today. You have to scavenge and then pay 50% of your take in exchange for some protection and order.
In reality, many of us pay upwards of 50-60% of our income to the government. We also have to pay mortgages and bills in an endless treadmill. We also have to put up with liberal zombies attacking us and rioting!
In Walking Dead, it actually may be a slightly better deal if you think about it.
A liberal paradise would be a place where everybody has guaranteed employment, free comprehensive healthcare, free education, free food, free housing, free clothing, free utilities, and only law enforcement has guns. And believe it or not, such a place does, indeed, exist. “It’s called prison.” —Sheriff Joe Arpio