[RspecMAuthortah]

A genuinely curious question to taxpayers who think they are funding the country:

With 33T debts and deficit spending being the norm, why should I pay taxes? How much of what we pay as taxes actually go to fund "the country"? Part of me still wants to believe I as a responsible citizen should feel good that I pay my taxes but it increasingly feels to me a very small part of what we pay as taxes actually go to things that matter and ultimately deficit spending will be the only way by the time I would be entitled to enjoy some of the social security benefits to fund them.

I live in a state that does not have income taxes.

[noahtallen]

Why do debt and deficit spending matter?

The US government gets a big pool of money, which includes your taxes. That pool of money pays for a huge variety of things like roads, air traffic control, research grants, the military, NASA, justice system, and the list goes on and on.

A portion of the money services debts — just like in your personal budget. Those debts paid for things in the past — perhaps an infrastructure upgrade in your area.

If the pool of money isn’t big enough to cover every expense, it goes into debt to get the money — just like you would to buy a house.

None of this means the government has a huge amount of credit card debt with 20% APR. It’s not irresponsible thing to spend more than you have if it will propel growth, resulting in more future income. Businesses do it all the time. Debt is used as a useful tool at this scale — which is very different from how debt works (or how people use debt) for individuals.

Regardless of deficit or debt, your tax money is still funding many things directly. Whether or not you agree with those things is one thing — but your comment didn’t really touch on that. Personally, I’d like to see less defense spending and nationalized healthcare.

But I’m still “happy” to pay taxes which allow me to live in a very stable country.

[devwastaken]

There are consequences to endless spending. The U.S. will not rule the world market forever, and part of its eventual burnout will be due to the untamed level of government taxation and spending. History is precedent, and we owe it to the future to not leave them with the ashes.

[thatguy0900]

It would seem people would rather leave the next generation with comical amounts of debt then admit that at some point someone will have to pay this off when the US isn't the biggest guy on the block

[sowbug]

The question is similar to why we vote. Individually, my vote is meaningless. Collectively, our votes move the needle.

Things rarely turn out exactly the way any individual wants, but that's the nature of any collective action -- taxes, voting, picking a restaurant to eat at, etc.

[Test0129]

If this was true we could survey the United States and approximately match the tax allocations.

Medicare is not a well-liked system by almost anyone on it. Gen X, Millennials, and now Zoomers see no purpose in social security (they most likely won't get it). Military tax consumption is insane. The federal law enforcement agencies take quite a bit too.

I'd imagine when surveyed Americans would generally be negative on most, if not all, of these. Yet, for some reason they allocate to these things. Is this the "collective action" you are supposing exists? Because it sure sounds like theft-by-fiat to me.

[deepsquirrelnet]

I don’t “like” any of the half dozen insurances I pay for, but I still pay for them. What do you call that?

[macinjosh]

Voting is a choice and is free. Taxes are neither. I hardly see how the two are similar.

[kelseyfrog]

Living in any state with a monopoly on violence isnt free. What's your point?

[lotsofpulp]

> How much of what we pay as taxes actually go to fund "the country"?

https://www.thebalancemoney.com/u-s-federal-budget-breakdown...

> I live in a state that does not have income taxes.

Why is this relevant?