Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Tax increases may also help. I don't live in a costal state, but when I do consulting work typically at charity rates alongside my standard full-time job, I have to pay 24% federal tax, 15.3% FICA, and 7.85% state tax. I am already taxed whenever I want to help anyone at 47.15% . That's before the required tax structures and consulting for doing all the invoicing legally. God himself only wanted 10%, so it seems a…
You're talking about your marginal rate and we simply are far to the left on the laffer curve, raising taxes will raise revenue. I'm not unsympathetic, my marginal is close to the same - but generally I think people's claims that they will stop working are generally more bark than bite and the evidence largely backs that up. If you don't want a tax-based solution, I do hope you are agitating for SS and medicare cuts.
They stop paying taxes and work off the books instead but you don't announce that publicly for obvious reasons.
The incentive to do this increases with tax pressure. The willingness of people to pay for tax-free work equally increases because you'll pay less.
There's also an increasing asymmetry of what the government gains from a tax hike versus how oppressive it becomes that becomes unfavorable as tax rates go up.