Let's put aside the single-parent part. Last year I made about $25,000.
I enjoyed the protection of the US military, was treated at hospitals using techniques developed with federal funding, and benefited from the federal regulation of interstate commerce.
I also had a nice room in a shared house in Santa Barbara, CA. I had a car, ate healthy food, went out to bars, and lounged on the beach.
Oh but you did pay taxes. The cost of your rent is directly tied to the amount of property tax that house owner is required to pay. All the goods you purchased would have been taxed as well. The gas you bought for your car helped pay for the roads. You may not have paid a federal income tax (I don't know if that is true though) but you still paid social security taxes, and your employer paid payroll taxes that factor in to how much you get paid.
> The cost of your rent is directly tied to the amount of property tax that house owner is required to pay. All the goods you purchased would have been taxed as well.
Well, we were talking about federal taxes. That's why I listed services of the federal government. Property and sales tax are state. Social security and gas axes are supposed to be a closed systems. None of those pay for the military, interstate commerce regulation, or medical research.
But the important thing is that I wasn't claiming I didn't pay taxes. (I did, although not much.) I was challenging the notion that I shouldn't be paying taxes just because I make less thank $30k.
It can happen. If you get a large enough body of voters that start to live off the government, that government can stay in power for a long time. See New Zealand from late 90's to a couple of years ago.
