My response is "Yes, by all means, make the young family trying to make ends meet and hoping to buy their first home pay more taxes. They already are paying your social security. Burden them some more."
I am a low tax kind of guy. I am glad that Tennessee does not have a state income tax. I think government should generally do less. I have rarely met a tax I like. However, to shift the tax to others just because of age is selfish and unfair. I know life is not fair and some people are poor through no fault of their own. However, unless some tragedy befell you, by the time you retire you should have a nest egg and a paid for house and a paid for car. With less expenses, one should be able to get by with less income.
The elderly already get breaks. When it comes to income taxes, a couple where both are over the age of 65 doesn't have to pay any taxes unless they earn more than $30,700. There are programs to help low-income seniors with their property taxes. In Davidsons County there is the tax freeze program and the tax relief program.
The elderly are not particularly bad off in America. Only about 8% live in poverty. The poverty rate for children is about 18%. Female headed household have a poverty rate of 23%. Single males between the age of 18 and 24 have a poverty rate of 24%. 18% of Black Americans live in poverty.
And yes, if you are on Social Security, it is people who are working now who are paying your social security. Social Security is like welfare. Welfare is a transfer payment and money paid in by working people is immediately paid out to current recipients. That is how social security works.
From time to time, we do need to tweak tax rates and tinker with tax credits, but to say just because you reach a certain age you should be exempt from taxes, in my view, is just selfish. That is a desire to have a group that is in general better off, be subsidized by people who are worse off.
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Amen!
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