THE COST OF NOT HAVING A SOCIAL SAFETY NET
We hear a lot about how Europeans pay very high taxes and how lucky we are to be living in a country with low taxes. However, I have been doing some quick “back of the envelope” calculations with our own budget, and I find that, when you consider where all our money is going and has gone, we probably have a “tax” rate comparable to the European tax rate, and we have a lot less financial security because there is no social safety net if something goes wrong.
Add up the following expenditures – these are all necessary expenses that result in no consumption. You don’t have a nice car or clothes or a vacation or even a nice dinner out to show for them. See if you, too, are spending well over half of your gross income on things that would be covered with higher taxes and a serious social safety net.
Federal income tax
State income tax
Property tax
Health insurance
Life insurance
Disability insurance
Long term care insurance
Retirement savings
College tuition
Out of pocket health and dental expenses
Fees
Sales tax
Child care
Paid maternity/paternity leave
what is the per capita cost of law enforcement and incarceration in the “social safety net” countries?
Of course, another thing they do which we duck is gun control – no pesky second amendment – so I’m sure that helps in this regard.