Have you ever considered the real cost of a dollar?

Question

Please tell me your thoughts on this equation concerning the true cost of getting a dollar as I am not sure many people really realize how much we get taken advantage of when it comes to taxes. Taxes are so spread out at different rates that many people (including myself until i decided to do a simple equation) don't actually realize how much tax is paid to get and spend $1 (or $20k for the purpose of the equation):

How much does it truly cost to buy a $20,000 car?

Car Sticker 20000

Federal Taxes (Employee and Employer combined) 8550

State Taxes (Employee and Employer combined) 1440

Sales Tax on car (7.3% where I live) 1460

Property Tax year 1 (based on previous purchase) 427

Total Cost for the $20,000 car 31877

Taxes paid (59.38% total) 11877

So basically 60 cents of every dollar is paid in tax. What are your thoughts?

Answer 1

Yep, you can slice this and dice this many different ways, but I believe the general consensus is that ~55% of our national income is taxed.  Also consider that you are purchasing your car with AFTER-TAX dollars.  If you sit and think about the various paths your money takes, you'll realize that you're typically not just double taxed, but often triple and quadruple taxed.  

To run an effective nation, it is clear that we need taxes.  They are an important part of paying to have a functioning society... BUT they absolutely cripple and smother business.  Crippled businesses lead to terrible economies.  That's why I find it so interesting that there are candidates advocating raising corporate tax rates as though corporations somehow mint money... they don't.  The citizens ultimately end up at the end of any tax hike.  

Socialism can be thought of in matters of degree.  If the USSR took 100% of all its citizens labor and was socialist, the United States is essentially 55-60% socialist.  In looking at the socialist model's successes (rather, the lack thereof) we can confidently conclude that socialism does not work, and the less socialism, the more vibrant an economy and its people.  

Anyway, I can write about this for days, because people just don't understand the effect taxes have on an economy.  They just think "let the rich corporations pay for it" or "let's just add a new tax to cars to pay for this new thing"; but the point is that the taxes you paid on that car are ridiculous.

Until people understand that because you are paying those taxes, you won't be to go on vacation in that car (generating economic activity), and you won't be able to invest in companies that make that car (generating economic activity) we will be less prosperous than we could be.

There's an old saying I wish I could take credit for... "As a patriotic American I'm proud to pay taxes, but I'd be just as proud if I paid half as much".