I'm right there with you. My luck came a bit later in life, so I had 10 working years of income tax actually paid close to 0% as I made little and had huge student loan debt from an attempt to get a degree.

I finished the degree and 10 yrs into a well compensated career and I'll gladly pay thousands to the government. The wealthy people that complain about paying their share have zero perspective. They're basically spoiled brats.

I've also lived in a state with lower taxes, and now one with higher taxes. You get what you pay for. I hear people everywhere complain about the roads where they live. Not everyone has had to replace whole wheels due to the stuff that some places are calling roads. Again, zero perspective if you don't get out and see the world at least a little.