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Today I've been doing a little bit of web research, and found myself diving down the rabbit hole of income taxes. Specifically, I've been reading up on the differences between the U.S. and other countries, namely Denmark. Denmark is considered a welfare state which leaves many U.S. citizens polarized on the topic. Danes pay 45% of their income in taxes, which is the third highest in the world. The average American pays 25.6% of their income in taxes. Which is an insane difference. Yet, when you dive into the 'why' of the matter, the idea is intriguing to say the least.
To quote an article I read:
"The reason behind the high level of support for the welfare state in Denmark is the awareness of the fact that the welfare model turns our collective wealth into well-being. We are not paying taxes. We are investing in our society. We are purchasing quality of life."
In exchange for paying more in taxes, Danes enjoy free college tuition, and fully funded health care. Many are arguing that this is the main reason why Denmark is #2 on the World Happiness Report. U.S. is #19 in case anyone was wondering. So the question I would like to pose is pretty obvious. Would the U.S. benefit from a setup like this one? We are rather large in comparison to Denmark, perhaps their size has something to do with it as well.
Personally, I do not see Americans jumping on board for something like this. It's a cultural thing. Then you have the argument that our government would just use the extra money to fund things we don't want or care about. What does everyone else think?