You can’t cut any taxes or programs to fund your idea. Nothing else in your government is going to change. It can’t be a tax that you avoid somehow. The money comes from you and similar people in your situation. Don’t try to get around it in some way.

What would you pay more taxes to support?

  • elephantium@lemmy.worldEnglish
    17·
    1 month ago

    Jury duty stipends indexed to cost of living.

    Today, in my county, you get $20 a day. That won’t even cover parking near the courthouse.

    Serving on a jury shouldn’t prevent you from being able to make rent for the month.

    • metaStatic@kbin.social
      1·
      1 month ago

      I recently found out that if you’re in casual work that is enough to be excused in Australia. It’s not on the paperwork they send you so most people don’t know.

  • PhlubbaDubba@lemm.ee
    11·
    1 month ago

    Let’s do one that wouldn’t end up saving the taxpayer in the long run.

    Universal access to legal council.

    Too many matters are not brought to the court which probably should be because of costs to the litigants, and far too many times are costs to the litigants used as a weapon to keep people from exercizing their rights under threat of getting buried.

    It’s the worst kept secret that whoever has more money is gonna win the case 9/10 times and making lawyers salaried public servants as opposed to hired mercenary litigants, and providing access to legal services and council for free at point of service, would go a long way towards balancing the litigious inequality that is often experienced in the US.

    So yeah, I’d pay more in taxes for the little guy to have the deck not be so blatantly stacked against them in the judicial system.

  • SavvyWolf@pawb.socialEnglish
    9·
    1 month ago

    Improved access to mental health treatment. We have free healthcare here, but the mental health side isn’t great. This would also include support for those who are neurodivergant, suffering from trauma, experiencing gender dysphoria, etc…

    Honestly, I think something that would be good as a policy is that at least once a year schoolchildren see a counsellor. Just to talk about anything that’s bothering them, and give them help for things that are happening in their home life.

    • I'm back on my BS 🤪@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      1 month ago

      While I agree with this, I’m a bit hesitant of the implementation. I have received mental health (MH) care from the Veterans Affairs (VA) and private providers. Private providers are in another level of care to the point that I pay out of pocket rather than go to the VA where they basically treat me like a problem to their life, liar seeking disability and drugs, and child that needs babysitting. They can be some gaslighting jerks. If we get universal health care including mental health, I would hope that it would follow something like Medicare that pays for private providers of our choosing rather than setting up a government agency that provides it directly.

      For example, I received VA MH care for about 7 years. They declined to give me an ADHD assessment when I told them I have considerable attention issues. The psychiatrist literally looked away from his computer, looked at me, and said, “I’m not going to give you stimulants.” I was then diagnosed with bipolar 2 and placed on antipsychotics for 5 years until I insisted against medical advice to come off of them. I also sought care for traumatic events, which they told me weren’t traumatic. A friend that is a psychologist then told me that I was autistic. I asked the VA for an autism assessment. The VA psychologist already agreed I was likely autistic, but told me that her supervisor declined to allow an autism assessment, “Since [I] was in the military, [I] can’t be autistic.” After telling friends this and listening to their advice, I sought private care. They assessed me thoroughly and diagnosed me with autism and ADHD. I was then referred to a psychiatrist and prescribed ADHD meds. My life hasn’t been this put together ever. I honestly think VA MH made my life worse, resulted in poor relationships, hampered my career, and caused some deep trust issues.

      • SavvyWolf@pawb.socialEnglish
        1·
        1 month ago

        That’s a problem here as well. I’m hoping that if we invest more resources into it, they’ll not feel that they have to withhold and prioritise treatment. Give them the resources to treat everyone, rather than the few who tick all the right boxes.

        Although that’s just wishful thinking on my part, most likely. And probably also requires social change as well as economic…

  • j4k3@lemmy.world
    6·
    1 month ago

    An few orders of magnitude more IRS agents and people armed with pitchforks pointed at the oligarchy and corruption.

  • leaky_shower_thought@feddit.nl
    71·
    1 month ago

    job / income safety nets

    universal health care

    better public transpo and infra to support

    public internet / utilities

    housing

    libraries

    • Scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.techEnglish
      1·
      1 month ago

      Transit is a big one for me. I firmly believe a lot of things get better for people when you can just get around easier. No requirements to be able to drive, no requirements for licenses, you can live in more affordable neighborhoods while working Ina completely different place. The list goes on