[Taniwha]

yeah here in NZ we pay 39% marginal over $180k, 33% $70k-180k - no state tax - mostly free public health (5$/drug $100 max per year, $30 to visit GP, nothing for hospital/urgent care/everything else)

What we don't do is spen d all our money on a military industrial complex

[dahfizz]

> What we don't do is spen d all our money on a military industrial complex

I know it's a bit of a meme, but military spending is far from our only problem. We could cut military spending to $0 and not even make a dent in the defecit, let alone be able to cut taxes. Social security, Medicare, and medicaid together make up 42% of federal spending. (Not to mention food assistance, housing assistance, unemployment, or the dozens of other programs). The US spends a lot on social programs! We just don't get much of anything for it.

EDIT: for completeness - defense spending was 12% of the federal budget in 2021.

[1] https://www.thebalance.com/u-s-federal-budget-breakdown-3305...

[Taniwha]

last year we spent 25% on social welfare (everything from retirement pensions to the dole), 17% on healthcare for all, 13% on education (from preschool to tertiary) - military was ~3%

One big difference of course is that here in NZ the govt owns the hospitals and doesn't run them for profit, no one takes a cut providing insurance either. We bulk buy pharma for the entire country. We also have a no-fault accident insurance scheme that takes personal injury out of the courts (fewer courts, fewer lawyers, smaller law schools in universities)