I’m pretty much as conservative as anybody here, and I paid no taxes in 2014-2016. But I’m not a deadbeat:
My income:
Social Security, which I paid for
Annuity, 80% of which is not taxable, since it’s my own money coming back to me
Dividend income.
Because most of the annuity is not taxable income, and because my dividend income is not very high, my Social Security is not taxable.
We are big givers, so deductions are very high. Net result is typically that deductions exceed taxable income plus exemptions. Hence, no tax.
We don’t live rich, but we just got home from eating out.
Sorry - I was thinking more in terms of the multitude of people that have been bilking the system for the better part of 3 generations. The “earned income credit” and welfare fraud crowd that games the system to avoid carrying their own weight.
I, too, plan on being in a much lower tax bracket when (if) I finally retire.