EvanTh
26d ago
Indeed!
This spread dates back to the Civil War, when there were a lot of traitors whom the government would rather not put to death. In the event, most of them weren't even charged, but Congress wanted to have that option available.
EvanTh
26d ago
But on the other hand, individual knowledge can make a difference.
If I sell my neighbor a gun, ordinarily, I'm fine. But if I've heard my neighbor talking about wanting to shoot his ex, and then he goes and does that with the gun I've sold him, I might be in trouble. I'm comfortable with there being some similar point at which parents are responsible not to let their teenager have a gun.
(Do these particular parents meet it? I don't know the facts well enough to confidently say.)
EvanTh
18hr ago
No, they don't know it. I volunteer with the VITA program doing tax prep for low-income people, and most of my clients don't appreciate that the government is taking money from their paychecks to pay tax. I explain it to them every year, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't stick.
I'm pretty sure half my clients don't even read their W-2's or other tax forms, except to go "this's a tax form from my employer / bank / charity / etc; guess I'll bring it when I go do taxes."
EvanTh
18hr ago
The IRS does publish just that, with two pie charts and text, at the end of the Form 1040 instructions!
- Social Security, Medicare, and other retirement: 29%
- National defense, veterans, and foreign affairs: 15%
- Social programs: 33%
- Physical, human, and community development: 13%
- Net interest on the debt: 5%
- Law enforcement and general government: 5%
In fiscal year 2022... federal income was $4.897 trillion and outlays were $6.273 trillion, leaving a deficit of $1.376 trillion.
Unfortunately but unsurprisingly, hardly anyone reads it.
What evidence do you have this happened, or was even threatened, at Nuremberg?
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