Do people realize just how much they pay in taxes?

[Masark]

Wait.. what's a tobacco tax?

Exactly what it sounds like. An extra tax levied on tobacco products.

[Kujako]

Exactly what it sounds like. An extra tax levied on tobacco products.

It's kind of odd when you think about it, since we have taxes to increase the cost of tobacco to discourage it's use while at the same time we have tobacco subsides to keep the price low.

[Lumineus]

It's not really so much a "tobacco" tax as it is a cigarette tax. Pipe tobacco, you pay sales tax on. That's why RYO is becoming so popular now.

[Annoying]

I look at my gross vs net on every check. It's pretty ridiculous. Comes with the territory, I suppose, but still. It's more in tax than a good chunk of people make in an entire year. Pretty crazy.

[Reds4Life]

It's kind of odd when you think about it, since we have taxes to increase the cost of tobacco to discourage it's use while at the same time we have tobacco subsides to keep the price low.

Most people don't even know who makes the most money on the sale of a pack of cigarettes or a gallon of gasoline. Hint: it isn't the company who made or sold the product.

[Yvaelle]

Sometimes I think America needs to take one of their states (let's say... Mississippi) quarantine it off from the rest of the country - and then declare it "Little Somalia".

We can name it Paradise. It can be a tax-free zone where free trade and the will of the market determine the value of all goods and services. Entrepreneurs are free from government regulation or oversight to do business as they please, and everyone can have guns - lots of guns.

This way, whenever the far right starts barking about how great the world would be if only there was no government - they can go sign up to spend a month inside the 'Paradise' quarantine zone.

There's nothing like seeing what an absence of government buys you like going to a place where there is no functional (or a small) government.

I fully understand the concern about money in politics (and share that concern), or that far too much money gets spent ineffectively. America spends 70% more than the next biggest spender on healthcare per capita, Norway, yet ranks 37th in the world in terms of quality of coverage. Every country above the US uses some variant of single-payer, probably not a coincidence.

Making the government run more efficiently - while maintaining or increasing effectiveness - is a great idea everyone can get behind. The idea that if you just remove government everything would be great though... there are plenty of examples of such places in history - and around the world - and I'd hate to live in any of them.

[Elegiac]

The fact that employers aren't required to contribute doesn't bother me that much. We have a mandatory contribution system called SS. If we want to increase employer contribution the nob is there, rather than new mandates.
There are penalties for early withdrawal from a 401k that require Proof of Hardship to dodge, I'm ok with that.

At the end of the day, the issue with a 401k is that the people with the lowest after-retirement SS revenue are the one's least able to contribute to their 401k, and least likely to have employer contribution.

The penalties for withdrawing from 401k are not nearly severe enough to constitute a real deterrent to touching the money, especially in "emergency situations".

Ideally, 401k should resemble the Australian superannuation system which has proven extremely successful and has resulted in Australia having one of the most self sustaining retirement programs alongside its pension.

[Vargur]

Exactly what it sounds like. An extra tax levied on tobacco products.

Ah ok, I thought it's something non-smokers were paying as well..

[obdigore]

I know how much I pay in taxes. I pay far too much for what I get back, because of all the corporate tax breaks and how the government and our society encourages large employers to not pay their employees a living wage, which means I have to help cover the difference.

[Deleted]

But I do understand credit cards, they are optional here in the USA, if you do not like a companies policies, do not use their product.

Once again that's not the point though. The meat of the matter is that Delaware's potential success stems from dubious business practices which you are unwilling to recognize - instead you choose to promote them and urge other states and countries to follow the suit.

Also, when it comes to Delaware's alleged profiting from all the companies it should be noted that given the staggering amount of corporate entities in the state - more companies than people - the streets of Delaware should probably be paved with gold.