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Comment by buellerbueller | Hacker News Reader

Or, just pay your taxes. We collectively benefit from them.

Is there really any correlation between tax revenue and spending at the federal level anymore? It seems the U.S. government is willing to spend at huge deficit levels. If everyone stopped paying federal taxes I suspect nothing would change.

What would change is the government would need to greatly increase their debt. In 2025 the government got about $5.23 trillion in tax revenue and spent about $7 trillion. So most of the government spending is financed by taxes. Remove that and the rate of debt quadruples (and by extension inflation).

When do we finally hit the cliff? Deficit has been going up for decades.

> When do we finally hit the cliff?

When you can't pay the interest anymore?

Just add it to the deficit.

Fact is US is able to run up 39 trillion and counting in debt because it prints the god damn monopoly money. No one would offer a loan to someone with that financial history. Shit really went off the rails after Bretton-Woods, huh?

Magical thinking! You may as well recommend the government prints more money and give it to everybody...

In FY2025, the U.S. federal deficit was $1.78 trillion, with total revenue at $5.23 trillion, so clearly it's a majority of revenue.

Up to now, I would have agreed with you. However, many residents of cities victimized by ICE see paying federal taxes as money that goes directly toward an enemy that is destroying their communities. I will happily pay my city and state taxes, but I no longer feel that my my federal tax dollars are helping much.

I live in Minneapolis, MN. The Federal government has cut public health grants, Medicaid, laid off a large portion of he Department of Health, cut Department of Human services, cut school funding, cut University of Minnesota funding, cut heating assistance, cut flood mitigation, cut USDA programs, and cut SNAP. This is just the things I can remember! Our city hosts Hennepin County Medical Center, which provides emergency care to the entire state, and it is risking closing due to federal cuts.

Minnesota has historically paid more in federal taxes than other states, and contributes more than it gets back. I think it's time for a change.

>The Federal government has cut public health grants, Medicaid, laid off a large portion of he Department of Health, cut Department of Human services, cut school funding, cut University of Minnesota funding, cut heating assistance, cut flood mitigation, cut USDA programs, and cut SNAP.

Not paying taxes isn't going to re-fund these things. In fact, it will ensure they don't get funded.

There are always people who don't agree with a particular government's funding priorities; if we didn't pay when we don't agree, government would happen when we do support its priorities.

Paying federal taxes isn't going to re-fund those things. Executive Branch is now spending without Congressional approval.

Why pay taxation without getting representation?

We collectively benefit if you give me $1000 and I give you $1. That doesn't mean it's a good deal.

Your example is zero sum; there is no collective benefit. Investment in roads enable commerce. Investments in education enable future technology.

What if you were keeping the $1000 in a bank account and I will invest $900 into a scholarship to pay for someone's education. You can invest $0.90 into roads. Now the example has a collective benefit for both of us.

You keep making these silly examples that are not how taxes work. Try again with everyone investing $0.90 into roads, and everyone investing $900 into education.

And does our government do that? It seems we have one party that wants to pay for theatrical law enforcement and another party that wants to pay for performative DEI nonsense

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