Tax Rates for Socialism

Pied pipers of socialism Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders are very popular, and the media's attention on them is very high. They love telling voters about how much the voters will receive if the two's socialist proposals are adopted. Free this. Free that. Tax employers and individuals in the top 1% or 10% of income to pay for at all. They ignore or downplay what they propose will cost, even to those who are in the lower 99% or 90% of income. They posit Denmark or Sweden as ideal. They revel in half-truths that are worse than lies. What they don't say is high taxes for all, Venezuela, and Cuba exemplify socialism, too.

Here is a good article that counters their half-truths. Quote: "To turn most self-described socialists into capitalists you really only need to ask one question; would you yourself be willing to pay more?"

How much more? I believe the question should be more realistic, as follows. Would you yourself be willing to pay twice the taxes you do now? That's double all taxes -- income, payroll, and sales. Also ask, Do you want to also double all tax rates on all your friends, relatives, and co-workers who pay taxes? That would raise taxes to about their magnitude in Denmark or Sweden. See the graph on Wikipedia here.

You may note Sweden's 0% income tax rate on the first 18,800 kronor. At the current exchange rate 18,800 kronor is the equivalent of about $2,000 in U.S. dollars. So the average folks pay a 32% income tax rate on most of their income.