Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why do you believe voting works? Remember when people voted for BRexit?
I believe "Voting doesn't work" works very well for preserving the status quo. Don't you agree?
Congress Is About to Ban the US Government from Offering Free Online Tax Filing
201–210 of 717 posts
Re: Congress Is About to Ban the US Government from Offering Free Online Tax Filing
#202Earlier quoted context omitted.
The elimination of medical bankruptcy is a “convenience”?
Yes, obviously anytime you get something for free that's a convenience. Someone has to pay for that though and that person is not experiencing freedom. I don't know much about the German healthcare system but it's quite possible that you also don't have as many choices for healthcare as in the US due to increased governmental regulation. I'd also add that healthcare is one of the least free aspects of US culture espe…
You have strictly more choices. In the USA, chances are you cant afford healthcare and have none.
Re: Congress Is About to Ban the US Government from Offering Free Online Tax Filing
#203You know, I get the uproar about this, but I'd like to put one thought into your heads before you respond: Imagine, as complicated as tax forms are, and as obtuse as the IRS instructions are compared to TurboTax. Now imagine the government puts up a website for you to file your taxes. Do you really want to use that? Do you think it will be as easy to use? Do you think you'll have a nice wizard to walk you through it?…
I can actually make this comparison, because corporate tax returns still require paper forms.
Now I know the US tax system is much more complex, so take this with a grain of salt. But "free and government provided" doesn't necessarily mean "bad".
And if it were successful enough to drive TurboTax out of business, that would be a massive indicator of popularity and a net win.
I find it utterly absurd that the USA is beholden to this kind of regulatory capture. Forcibly preventing the government from delivering better services to protect an entrenched player? That's an absolute perversion of capitalism - I'd actually say it's reminiscent of communism more than anything.
Re: Congress Is About to Ban the US Government from Offering Free Online Tax Filing
#204Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, obviously anytime you get something for free that's a convenience. Someone has to pay for that though and that person is not experiencing freedom. I don't know much about the German healthcare system but it's quite possible that you also don't have as many choices for healthcare as in the US due to increased governmental regulation. I'd also add that healthcare is one of the least free aspects of US culture espe…
> I don't know much about the German healthcare system but it's quite possible that you also don't have as many choices for healthcare as in the US due to increased governmental regulation. You have strictly more choices. In the USA, chances are you cant afford healthcare and have none.
Re: Congress Is About to Ban the US Government from Offering Free Online Tax Filing
#205Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's easy to achieve such "freedoms" in a small ethnostate. Not so easy to do in the racially, economically diverse US.
Ah the popular "the US is too large and too diverse to function" excuse. Not that long ago the size and diversity was seen as a unique strength of the US. When did "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" become "societies only work when they are homog…
> Don't feel sorry, we are fine.
Re: Congress Is About to Ban the US Government from Offering Free Online Tax Filing
#206Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I don't know much about the German healthcare system but it's quite possible that you also don't have as many choices for healthcare as in the US due to increased governmental regulation. You have strictly more choices. In the USA, chances are you cant afford healthcare and have none.
What if you can afford healthcare? Not everyone is poor. I suspect there is a great choice to be had in the US.
Re: Congress Is About to Ban the US Government from Offering Free Online Tax Filing
#207Earlier quoted context omitted.
What if you can afford healthcare? Not everyone is poor. I suspect there is a great choice to be had in the US.
We shouldnt judge a healthcare system by how well it works for some lucky people.
Re: Congress Is About to Ban the US Government from Offering Free Online Tax Filing
#208Earlier quoted context omitted.
We shouldnt judge a healthcare system by how well it works for some lucky people.
You can keep moving the goal posts but the fact is there is a lot of choice in the US. Not everyone can afford all choices but that’s an entirely different conversation.
Re: Congress Is About to Ban the US Government from Offering Free Online Tax Filing
#209Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's still maintained by the Free File Alliance. So you're giving your data to a third party that's not the government. I use it, but I would rather I didn't have to share my financial information with third parties to do so.
No matter what, you will always be using software and systems controlled by other entities. From you web browser, to the operating system, the data transport links, routers and switches in between, and when the data gets to the destination the software is typically written and maintained by commercial contractors hired by the government.
Re: Congress Is About to Ban the US Government from Offering Free Online Tax Filing
#210Earlier quoted context omitted.
What would stop people from consulting to get more favorable taxes? Very few people need tax optimization[1], and government default doesn't preclude it - maybe Intuit could offer this as a service instead. In any case, I don't think the net tax would be higher than the current one that includes paying hundreds for TurboTax or a tax accountant (multiplied by all filers). 1. A guess. The majority think of rebate as "m…
Your premise is incorrect. Under 20% of people file a 1040ez, the simplest tax form. (Which doesn’t allow you to claim basic deductions like student loan interest.) That means the vast majority of filers see some benefit from “tax optimization.” If your computerized system did just the 1040ez calculation, for example, that’d be a huge effective increase in taxes.
1040ez is out, so that stat is gone unfortunately.