There are always altruistic people around. They are who donate to charities, do volunteer work, etc.

Andrew Carnegie is an interesting case. He was the worst of the robber barons when he was younger, but then felt guilt over how he had crushed all his competitors and decided that he would not leave the bulk of his wealth to his kids but to donate it to a trust to do good works. His kids were upset to say the least, but we have the Carnegie Foundation and all the libraries, hospitals, and concert halls that they built. This is a great case for PRIVATE trusts doing good. Nobody taxed his money away for the 'common good'
He did it himself. There are still people like that around now. As much as I despise Bill Gates' software, I respect him for his charity work.

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"I have no convictions ... I blow with the wind, and the prevailing wind happens to be from Vichy"

Current
Monika '74 450 SL
BrownHilda '79 280SL
FoxyCleopatra '99 Chevy Suburban
Scarlett 2014 Jeep Cherokee
Krystal 2004 Volvo S60
Gone
'74 Jeep CJ5
'97 Jeep ZJ Laredo
Rudolf ‘86 300SDL
Bruno '81 300SD
Fritzi '84 BMW
'92 Subaru
'96 Impala SS
'71 Buick GS conv
'67 GTO conv
'63 Corvair conv
'57 Nomad

yeah, every time I curse windows I am reminded that Gates donated a lot of money to the unfortunate people in this world so it almost, almost makes up for windows.

I'm not wealthy, but I do consider myself and those above me on the financial food chain to be under-taxed.

As for this point:Those are definitely two different things, both of them good. The reason I would prefer to have the government take more in taxes is that it makes it harder for cheapskates to freeload on my charity. We want a civilized society, I hope, and those don't come cheap.

I keep hearing that the Scandanavians have:

Highest taxes
Highest standard of living
Best health care
Most % people happy

I do not have the primary supporting data sources however.

They do have that hottie Tina Nordstrom, so that is good enough for me.

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1998 C230 330,000 miles (currently dead of second failed EIS, yours will fail too, turning you into the dealer's personal human cash machine)
1988 F150 144,000 miles (leaks all the colors of the rainbow)
Previous stars: 1981 Brava 210,000 miles, 1978 128 150,000 miles, 1977 B200 Van 175,000 miles, 1972 Vega (great, if rusty, car), 1972 Celica, 1986.5 Supra

As far asI know, if you owe $5,000 in taxes and you send a check for $10,000 ther is no penalty. Problem solved. No new laws or Czars needed. The govt. doesn't have to "take" if YOU want to "give". Just don't assume that everyone else should just because you want to.

For one thing, I didn't mean to suggest that I want my taxes to double. I'm talking about a much more modest increase. And you apparently missed my point about freeloaders.I don't see why not. That's exactly what we do now. Nobody asked my permission about the way we are taxed or how the government spends the taxes I pay now.

If you feel you are under taxed by any amount, feel free to write a check for the difference to the IRS. They have no problem taking extra money.

Just don't force me to write a similer check.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

If given the chance how many of you would not pay any taxes but still use social programms like public roads ??

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When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace.
Jimi Hendrix