Many people on the left see tax as an appropriate punishment for wealth.
In their worldview, wealthy people are demonised and dehumanised. The left are convinced that wealthy people are parasitic on society.
This leftwing ideology seems peculiar to me, having seen the data on who's funding public services, and who's benefiting from public services.
Think of it like insurance of your status in the system. Your insurance premiums are proportional to the value of the stuff you want to protect. Presumably you own a house. A pension. Various other investments perhaps. All these become worthless if civil society fails and we go back to the Leviathan.
It is right that you should pay a higher premium for that type of insurance than those with no such wealth at stake.
Any perks from the NHS for the wealthy? Or the same service as everyone else?
One thing I know for sure - less public money is allocated to my children (I live in the countryside) than children in urban areas, due to the funding formula.
"Clash of Autonomy and Interdependence" is an interesting somewhat related read on the topic[^1].
[^1]: https://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2009/10/cl...
The thing is, even people who pay $100,000 a year in taxes actually gain far more value than that from a properly functioning society with strong public services and social safety nets. It's hard to put a proper price on personal safety or the opportunity cost of having to spend time, energy and money on securing your family and belongings rather than just being able to generally trust the people around you.
1. Who works harder, an office worker working for 7.5 hours or a nurse who works for 12+ hours?
2. Who works harder, a person who works 37.5 hours in an office, or someone who works 80 hours a week, founding a company?
3. Who has worked harder to get where they are, an office worker who spent 6 months getting an NVQ in Microsoft Office or a nurse who spent 4-5 years getting a degree in nursing?
4. Who takes more risks, a person who works 37.5 hours in an office or a founder who puts their own capital in to try and create a company?
5. Which brings more value to a community, a person who is employed, or a person who employs people?
Inherited capital in every startup I've worked at. And enough of it that they got several runs at success. It wasn't risky at all.
> Which brings more value to a community, a person who is employed, or a person who employs people?
Too vague a generalisation to have any value. What matters is who does the work and the social value of that work.
Also, I love how you glossed over that the founders you idealize are largely already from privileged backgrounds that give them the opportunity to fail. The vast majority of people will never get that chance.
Have you ever been a senior manager before?
If you had, I hope you'd understand that the role involves creating jobs, hiring people, promoting people and generally supporting them, mentoring and advancing their careers? Taking responsibility for any problems they cause, and ensuring they get the glory of any successes. As well as doing my regular job as a developer at the highest level. I'd never worked so hard in my life.
It was exhausting and I'd expect to be compensated richly for it. Few people would stick the job.
The more jobs created, the more competition for employees, and thus the higher wages offered. We all owe a debt of gratitude to job creators.
