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WASTE FRAUD AND ABUSE. A thread on taxation and governance. (I know that sounds boring, just read it - you need it).
The economy is like the water cycle. Money falls as snow on the mountain (government contractors); flows down rivulets (employees), joins rivers (consumer spending) gets to the ocean (the very rich) BUT DOES IT GO BACK TO THE GOVERNMENT?
The hugely rich receive the flow of money, but if they move it offshore, don't pay taxes on it, die without paying estate taxes, run it into a web of money losing "businesses". If no tax is ever paid at this point, then the cycle is broken and government starves
The greedy wealthy can afford to take their untaxed offshore money and buy government policy - ABUSE in wastefraudandabuse. This buys tax loopholes and defunding of the IRS and FINCEN and shady CPAs. https://www.businessinsider.com/mercer-trump-renaissance-technologies-billions-tax-bill-2017-4
KEY STRATEGY: claim it's poor people that are abusing the system. https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2017/05/24/what-happens-when-states-go-hunting-for-welfare-fraud
OBVIOUS PROBLEMS: 1. When poor people get money they put it back in the economy and don't save it or offshore it; 2. governmental investment in the poor pays dividends (healthy, educated living workforce); giving money to evil billionares begats further evil and no tax revenue.
In the water cycle analogy, even if poor people commit waste, fraud or abuse, it doesn't matter that much, because the money ends up in grocery stores and malls and goes right back on top of the mountain. In contrast, the wealthy never put it back in the economy.
ALSO NOTABLE that the loudest screamers about personal responsibility and waste, fraud or abuse, are "drain the swamp" ARE FRAUDSTERS and they suck https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/stephen-bannon-arrested-charged/2020/08/20/6d46847c-e2ea-11ea-b69b-64f7b0477ed4_story.html
BOTTOM LINE: taxes are both good and necessary and the entire economy collapses without them. G'night.
ONE FINAL POINT: Our government and our economy exist only for us, the citizenry. They have no function, except to lift us up. We should govern, regulate and tax from that perspective.
