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submitted 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) by General_Effort@lemmy.world to c/lemmyshitpost@lemmy.world

I feel that “outgroup dumb” is shitposting but it’s from a real poll.

https://today.yougov.com/politics/articles/5057-understanding-how-marginal-taxes-work-its-all-part

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[-] Kuranashi@lemmy.world 159 points 2 weeks ago

If you ever wanted proof that a population that doesn't understand math allows the billionaires to take advantage of them here it is. This is why education systems are under attack, because if you understood how taxes work you'd more likely support higher tax rates for the rich.

[-] slaacaa@lemmy.world 31 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I think this is at least partially the result of intentional propaganda. It benefits the elite greatly if a lot of Americans are screaming against higher top tax rates due to this faulty logic. There are also a lot of anecdotes of people not accepting higher paying job offers or promotions within their company, which also benefits the business owners.

[-] Raiderkev@lemmy.world 9 points 2 weeks ago

https://youtube.com/shorts/-621rVJvUdY

Mr. "Population collapse is the biggest threat to the world."

Maybe it's just the biggest threat to capitalism and your ROI. Why do you think he's supporting the make everyone dumber party?

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[-] finitebanjo@lemmy.world 145 points 2 weeks ago

To be clear for those unaware, you pay the lower bracket rates for the amounts earned in that bracket and the higher bracket rates for the amounts earned above that bracket.

https://www.irs.gov/filing/federal-income-tax-rates-and-brackets

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[-] LodeMike@lemmy.today 71 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I'm more concerned about the third of dems who don't understand this.

[-] deranger@sh.itjust.works 63 points 2 weeks ago

it's in the shitpost community and there's no sources cited

My tired brain read your comment as "shitpost economy" and somehow that still made sense to me.

[-] ragebutt@lemmy.dbzer0.com 67 points 2 weeks ago

I used to be a supervisor at a psych hospital and had to regularly explain this to staff who were refusing overtime. They wanted to do it, sometimes desperately so because they needed the money, but they were utterly convinced that once they crossed 40 or 45k or whatever they would be taxed higher and make it all pointless. I felt like some just didn’t want to do ot, which was fine, but some legit keep meticulous records of their earnings to ensure they wouldn’t go over the line. I swore to them it didn’t work this way but they never believed me

[-] OccultIconoclast@reddthat.com 39 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Should print out a poster infographic explaining progressive taxation and put it up on the wall in the break room

[-] kameecoding@lemmy.world 29 points 2 weeks ago

Yeah I am pretty sure they wouldn't understand this either

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[-] thermal_shock@lemmy.world 23 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Seen the same bullshit when I worked retail. Nothing will convince them.

It's easier to trick someone than it is to convince them they're wrong.

[-] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 10 points 2 weeks ago

I wonder how different the planet would be if boomers had just been taught, from an early age, that it's OK to be wrong.

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[-] Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 16 points 2 weeks ago

We covered how taxes are calculated at school, it isn't very complicated. Yet SO MANY people insist they end up getting paid more it made me question myself for a while.

Although sometimes the removal of certain benefits does mean people can be worse off for £1 extra. Which if anything is just a sign that the benefits were poorly thought out and should taper off instead of being a hard limit.

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[-] AlligatorBlizzard@sh.itjust.works 13 points 2 weeks ago

The only way that's a problem is if you're on certain government benefits, if you make just a little bit too much there's a hard cutoff for many benefits so you may end up losing more than you made in OT. But if your staff is facing this dilemma, they need to be paid more.

[-] theangryseal@lemmy.world 13 points 2 weeks ago

Pay them more? So they can lose their benefits? Are you crazy?

I’m kidding, of course. I know that what you mean is, “pay them so that they can afford to live without requiring benefits.”

You get into some of the poorer places in the country though, that truly would be nearly impossible for most businesses. There are some places in West Virginia that would immediately have no access to gasoline, groceries, etc.

It is crazy to think that Bobby McBusinessman gets to ride around in a giant RV all summer because the government pays his employees. They don’t see it that way though, as they collect their HUD payments and accept food stamps while all of their employees receive food stamps and medical benefits.

All while the rest of the community lives on nothing and experiences very little joy in this life.

What do I know though? I’m just a pissed off hillbilly who helped make someone who isn’t me very rich.

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[-] w3dd1e@lemm.ee 67 points 2 weeks ago

This is the problem. My partner doesn’t want to work OT because he thinks it will cost him more in taxes. I explain why that’s not exactly true, but I can tell he’s not interested. Financial Literacy in the US is abysmal.

[-] GaMEChld@lemmy.world 18 points 2 weeks ago

Your partner is a moron who doesn't understand relatively simple math.

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[-] sloppychops@lemmy.ca 11 points 2 weeks ago

This is not a US specific issue, tbh. I've heard this weird belief repeated by all sorts of people.

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[-] arrow74@lemm.ee 10 points 2 weeks ago

Oddly enough it kinda does. OT can make you pay out more taxes on that one check since withholdings are calculated by check. Basically the government/payroll system thinks you're going to be making that every week so more taxes will be taken out.

In reality this only effects the size of your tax bill or return at the end of the year.

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[-] surewhynotlem@lemmy.world 10 points 2 weeks ago

"you can't make less money by making more money"

[-] kkj@lemmy.dbzer0.com 20 points 2 weeks ago

Unless you're poor enough to be on welfare. The Welfare Cliff is awful.

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[-] ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de 64 points 2 weeks ago

It boggles my mind how many people who have had to pay taxes for decades even, don't understand how tax brackets work.

The only time you'll get screwed on making more is if you were getting some sort of socialized assistance and you make a dollar over the cut off for aid.

[-] kkj@lemmy.dbzer0.com 17 points 2 weeks ago

Yeah, the Welfare Cliff is the only place where this happens and it's unconscionable.

[-] straightjorkin@lemmy.world 16 points 2 weeks ago

It is kind of by design to keep people from trying to get ahead at all

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[-] burgerpocalyse@lemmy.world 55 points 2 weeks ago

try telling this to people who think government agencies pay taxes

[-] tigeruppercut@lemmy.zip 9 points 2 weeks ago
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[-] Carrot@lemmy.today 45 points 2 weeks ago

This belief is held by many older folks due to propoganda, and it is passed down to their children when their parents teach them about taxes. Since almost all younger folks use automated tax services, if they aren't doing the math themselves, the fact that this isn't true isn't going to be discovered. I was taught the incorrect way when I was a kid, but noticed that it was wrong the first time I had to do my own taxes. But when I told my parents the way it actually worked, they didn't believe me until I showed them the .gov site that breaks it down. I grew up in a small, blue collar town, and every single person I talked to about taxes parroted the same incorrect system.

[-] straightjorkin@lemmy.world 20 points 2 weeks ago

And they'll also refuse to believe you when you try to explain it to them

[-] ZILtoid1991@lemmy.world 14 points 2 weeks ago

Hungary used to have a system, which worked like what the republicans imagined, which made "taxing the rich more" a widely unpopular move...

[-] General_Effort@lemmy.world 12 points 2 weeks ago

FWIW globally, there is the issue of "welfare traps". Benefits for low income people are usually tied to income (or savings). Once income reaches a threshold, these benefits must be replaced with income. So a higher income may result in a net loss.

[-] dream_weasel@sh.itjust.works 12 points 2 weeks ago

How dumb do you have to be? By the time you make that much money you should, in theory, know the answer definitively or have a guy.

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[-] Treczoks@lemmy.world 11 points 2 weeks ago

For someone outside the American tax system, can anyone put the difference in approximate numbers?

[-] jj4211@lemmy.world 27 points 2 weeks ago

This all boils down to a common misconception about 'tax brackets'.

To simplify, pretend there's a 28% tax bracket up to 100,000 dollars, and a 33% tax bracket when you hit 100k. The first 100k is always taxed at 28%, no matter what you make, and it's only the incremental amount that gets taxed heavier. So here in this example, that would mean tax burden would be 28,000.33 instead of 28,000.28. These are not the exact brackets or percentages, but it's at least showing the right magnitude of increase versus total amount.

However, many people are "afraid" of bumping a higher tax bracket. They think the tax bill would go from 28,000.28 to 33,000.33. That the tax bracket bumps up all your liability. I remember growing up people saying "I have to watch out and not hit the bigger tax bracket, if I'm close then I need a big raise to make it worth it, or else the raise is going to cost me more than it would make me". This a big driver of antipathy toward democrat tax policies, a belief that mild success will punish them, despite it only increasing on the incremental amount.

[-] Lyrl@lemm.ee 9 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

A lot of US benefits have "benefit cliffs" where making $1 more substantially reduces or even completely disqualifies a person from programs like SNAP (food stamps) or childcare subsidies or Medicaid. https://www.ncsl.org/human-services/introduction-to-benefits-cliffs-and-public-assistance-programs

It's not surprising people whose families are directly affected by, or who know people affected by, benefit cliffs think the lawmakers set up taxes the same way.

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[-] quitthebiz@lemmy.world 11 points 2 weeks ago

In exact numbers, 5 cents.

[-] CluelessLemmyng@lemmy.sdf.org 8 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

That one dollar in the 33% bracket has .33 in taxes instead of .28. So their obligation goes up .05 per every dollar in the 33% tax bracket.

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[-] joel_feila@lemmy.world 9 points 2 weeks ago

And this why democracy won't work. How can people votw in their best interests when they don't know how basic taxes work

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this post was submitted on 17 Mar 2025
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