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Comment by zero-sharp | Hacker News Reader

The article offers a few explanations. Aside from the abandonment of moral education, the one that stands out to me/comes to mind is the prioritization of scores. For example, I knew kids who started studying for the SAT as soon as they hit high school. They were taking the PSAT as early as 9th grade, maybe 10th. They were also busy outside of that with accelerated courses and other enrichment. And college was more of the same. Can anyone really say that this is balanced?

Attention and energy are finite. If success in education or in your job require a disproportionate amount of energy, then there's less to go around for giving a shit. It doesn't even have to be success, some people are struggling to make ends meet. So I guess that's the economy story?

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And after they graduate, the scoring system changes to be income and status based.

The US at least has moved to be much more of a "winner takes all" with taxation changes moving in a regressive direction for the last 45 years.

VAT was probably the most damageable tax "invention" ever created.

What do you mean by this?

Not parent, but a common criticism against VAT is that it broadly increases transaction costs which disproportionately burdens the less well off due to how their consumption is structured and that they have less to spend in the first place.

> […] disproportionately burdens the less well off due to how their consumption is structured and that they have less to spend in the first place.

Offer credits (tax refunds) for lower incomes:

* https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/child-famil...

The VAT is an broad tax that is eaten fully by the working class, and partially ignored by the owning class (the more you own, the easier it is).

I've never paid VAT on my school stuff (notebooks,pens...) because my uncle owned a company. His wife owned a sport shop and I never paid VAT on any of my sports equipment until 10 years ago when I realized how privileged I was. No VAT on most food because I lived on a farm (that I think is fair), and my other uncle managed to escape the VAT on solar panels by making his own roof a part of his power company. He still had to pay the VAT on his swimming pool (probably), but I'm pretty sure his cars were VAT-free until he sold everything (he had to buy them from himself).

VAT evasion is the reason why independent contractors should start a LLC that employ themselves instead of getting a 'self-employed' status, at least in my country.

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