Quote from: Churchillvv on July 13, 2025, 10:23:06 AM

Apart from tax payers money is there no other ways government generate revenue? My country is rich in mineral resources which is basically enough to hand most of the government budgets of every year without tax payers money.

So I ask do we still need to pay more tax to get what the people deserve? it might be very different in every one's country but yet for a country like the US with about 37T trillion in debt and still find a way to sponsor wars in other countries wouldn't that be budget to satisfy the desires of the tax payers than take more debts and make them pay more just to use it to sponsor criminal groups like Isis, bokoharam of Nigeria and other internal was of different countries through the so called IMF funds?

If we make a rational thought about tax payers money and how it is controlled it's nothing more than a device to keep the poor being poor, because obviously that's what the debts are meant to do, as long as you earn bigger you pay bigger making you remain in the same cycle so I do not agree that the people want more but don't want to pay more because indirectly we already pay more than we request of the government!

About government revenue: it is not just taxes. Some countries really do have natural resources or state-owned companies that bring in a lot of money. But, even in those places, I often see two things happen:
- The money from resources (oil, minerals, etc.) often does not reach everyday people the way it should. It gets lost to corruption or just mismanaged
- When those prices fall or demand drops, suddenly the budget hole is back and then everyone talks about taxes again

About the US and huge debts, yeah, we have to wonder how a country can have $37 trillion in debt and still spend billions outside its own borders, whether it is wars, aid, or other projects. Why is there “never enough” for people at home, but always money for things far away? You are not the only one frustrated by this. And the way big global organizations (IMF, whatever) move money around can make regular people everywhere feel powerless

I also agree that the way taxes and debt are managed often keeps regular folks in a cycle: paying more, getting less, always a step behind. The rich find ways around the system, while the poor and middle class pick up the slack. I do not think that is fair

Where I might see it a bit different: I still notice, in most countries, that when a service gets cut or taxes go up, there is always public anger. People might already feel overtaxed, but nobody wants to lose what they have, either. It is a tough, lose-lose cycle. I feel like governments use this confusion to make everything extra complicated so that nobody knows who's really to blame

Quote from: davis196 on July 13, 2025, 11:04:13 AM

The debts would keep growing until the global financial system collapses. This is inevitable. The global economy is addicted to debt. The governments are addicted to debt. If suddenly all governments start increasing taxes, cutting government spending and achieving budget surplus, the nations would become very unhappy and this might lead to social tensions. The global GDP might also shrink.
There's still room for growing even bigger debts...

The addiction is real. All that is left for growth is just more debt on top of old debt. It is even political suicide to discuss paying it off or reducing spending. Governments know that people do not want sacrifice, they want comfort. I understand your point that the system will only stop when it fails completely. There is always someone saying, "just print and borrow more, the party is not over yet". And perhaps they are right at the moment. There is still some room left, especially for the US, as the dollar remains the main currency in the world. That exorbitant privilege allows them to play this game longer than anyone

But at the same time, doesn't that make the ending riskier? The longer you push your luck, the bigger the mess when it all snaps. I cannot help thinking the next crisis will feel different from 2008 or COVID. Maybe more sudden, less fixable

Quote from: davis196 on July 13, 2025, 11:04:13 AM

...The US dollar would also get devalued because of the tremendous debts. This means that paying off debts with a less valuable currency would be easier, but the problem remains.

It works until people lose faith in the dollar itself. If that happens, it is not just the US that has a problem, but everyone who’s been using dollars as their safe bet. That is a global reset nobody really wants

Quote from: mindrust on July 13, 2025, 11:10:33 AM

Most of us are victims to this well known phenomenon.

Gamblers, traders, business owners, white/blue collar workers, housewives…

We all share one thing in common:

We all want something for nothing.

It is not just greed. Greed can be kept under control. This, this cannot.

Everybody wants to live like a king and pay nothing but the resources are limited. Somebody has to pay for it. Poor wageslaves do. How sad. Embarrassed

EVERYONE (AND MYSELF INCLUDED) is trying to win some version of “the lottery of life” without paying the price. And it is not just greed. Even the most humble person, deep down, wishes for more than they put in. I look around and see the same pattern everywhere. Doesn't matter if you are a trader, a teacher, or just hustling to make rent. Most of us, at some point, hope for an easy break or a shortcut. It is human. But when everyone does it, and the system encourages it, the whole thing gets unsustainable

Somewhere along the line, we went from “work hard, maybe get ahead” to “why don't I have what they have?” And there is always someone to blame: government, billionaires, the system, whatever. But like you said, somebody always ends up holding the bag, and it is usually the people with the least power to say no. It is really sad, realizing how easy it is to just drift along, hoping things will change while knowing deep down that nothing is free and someone pays in the end. Maybe what scares me most is how easy it is to become numb to it all. Just accept that is how it is