The question is not how much you deserve to keep; it's how much you should have to pay for the services society provides, and what the appropriate services are. That is one nice side benefit of a sales tax; it avoids this stupid distortion of the issue into "stealing" and "how much you deserve to keep" when people want to score rhetorical points over taxation.

That's why I vote for policies that will allow me to take more of Khross' money.

I know this isn't a new concept, but we need to do away with payroll deduction. Make people write a check for the taxes every year. It's probably the only thing that will ever stimulate any real change.

The #1 problem in the US is that people can't save money...

You know, it was my recollection that I got offered a wage *before* they made me fill out a W-4, Riov.

with the understanding that taxes would be taken out. Are you really so naive that you think that such things are not figured in?

You do realize that for a significant portion of our population this is entirely the government's fault, right?

with the understanding that taxes would be taken out. Are you really so naive that you think that such things are not figured in?

Actually, you're the naive one since at least 40% of the total cost of your employment isn't something you ever hear about ...

You do know that your employer matches both of your payroll tax deductions? You do know that your employer is required to keep various forms of liability and damage insurance beyond whatever immediate benefit is provided to you right? You do know that your "unemployment benefits" are paid into a state run insurance account and fundamentally operate as a tax on you having job? You do know that your employer likely pays somewhere around 75% of your actual group plan costs right?

More to the point, you do know that all of these wonderful expenses no one told you about in high school are based on your gross salary, not your net? Consequently, since your employer actually has to figure out how much you cost them (and you better believe your value needs to meet their cost, not your salary ...) based on your gross pay, it would be naive to assume they do their calculations based on your take home at all. In fact, the only thing about your net they care about is not breaking a god damned withholding law in getting you that check.

And, by the by, all of those taxes and government imposed costs are higher if you're self-employed ...

But, yeah, I offer my employees their wages based on take home ...

Actually, you know, come to think of it ...

In 13 years of owning a multi-state operation, I've never once offered a person a salary based on what they'd take home; I've always offered them a salary based on what it cost my **** business.