Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Happy Tax Day. Are we getting our money’s worth?

tax forms
Photography by Phillip Rubino/Getty Images

Hill was policy director for the Center for Humane Technology, co-founder of FairVote and political reform director at New America.

Here comes Americans’ favorite day – April 15, Tax Day! In the land of “No taxation without representation,” we Americans throw a fit over how much we fork over to the government, which taps into related complaints over government waste, budget deficits and more.

Considering how much we focus on the amounts we pay in taxes, you would think more people would also shine a spotlight on what we get in return. A thorough tax analysis would need to create a two-sided ledger, in which all the support and services Americans receive are listed on one side, and the amount of taxes and any additional out-of-pocket expenses, fees and surcharges we pay are listed on the other.

Here’s the surprising thing: When you sum up the total balance sheet, it turns out that Americans pay out as much as those "high-taxed" Europeans — but we get a lot less for our money.


In return for their taxes, most Europeans receive a generous support system for families and workers — services for which Americans must often pay exorbitant out-of-pocket fees and surcharges.

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter

That includes quality health care for every single person, the average cost of which is about half of what Americans pay, even as various studies show that most Europeans achieve better health metrics.

But that’s not all. In return for their taxes, most Europeans also receive affordable child care, a decent retirement pension, free or inexpensive university education, job retraining, paid sick leave, paid parental leave, ample paid vacations, affordable housing, senior care, efficient mass transportation and more.

In order to receive the same level of benefits as these Europeans, most Americans must fork out a ton of money in out-of-pocket payments in addition to the taxes we pay.

For example, most Americans are paying escalating health care premiums and deductibles, which reduces their effective net pay and acts like a steep tax on households. Moreover, 28 million Americans, nearly 9 percent of the population, have no health care at all, even though many are working and paying taxes. But most Europeans receive health care in return for a modest amount deducted from their paychecks.

Many parents in the United States are saving nearly $100,000 for their children’s college education, and most young Americans graduate with thousands of dollars of debt. But European students attend for free, or nearly so (depending on the country).

Child care in the U.S. costs over $18,000 annually – paid out of pocket – for a family with two children, but in Europe it costs about one-third to one-sixth that amount for a family, depending on the country, and the quality is far superior.

Millions of Americans are stuffing as much as possible into their IRAs and 401(k)s because Social Security only replaces about 40 percent of a worker’s income. Many European retirement systems are more generous and replace about 60 percent 75 percent (depending on the country) of workers’ income.

The U.S. also spends a lot less of public health dollars on elderly care, resulting in American families self-financing significant amounts for their own senior services, compared to most European countries.

Americans also pay various hidden taxes, such as $300 billion annually in federal tax breaks to businesses that provide health benefits to their employees. That means Americans with no health care are subsidizing those who do have health care.

When you sum up the total balance sheet, it turns out that Americans pay out just as much as many Europeans — we just end up receiving a lot less for our money. One Norwegian colleague – from a conservative party – remarked to me, “Americans like to talk about family values, but we have decided to do more than talk.” Europeans actually put their money on the barrel.

Certainly, European countries have their own vigorous debate about the right levels of taxation. Income taxes in Europe are high for some people, but the highest rates that generate alarmist headlines in the U.S. are paid only by those in the highest income brackets. Many middle class and low income Europeans don’t pay more taxes than their U.S. counterparts. Especially since Americans also tend to pay more in local and state taxes, as well as in property taxes.

Many U.S. politicians say, “The government should let you keep your own hard-earned money in your pocket,” and there’s something to be said for that. That has long been the American Way. But the European Way takes some of those taxes and designs more efficient and cost-effective support systems for health care, child care, education, senior care and more. Those are services that all families desperately need in today’s quickly shifting economic world to ensure healthy, productive, and happy families and workers.

Most Europeans can count on these forms of support, and for less money out of their own pockets, while most Americans cannot — unless we have the private means to self-pay out of our own bank accounts.

Or unless you are a member of Congress, which of course has made sure that its members’ families receive European levels of support.

Happy Tax Day.

Read More

Congress Bill Spotlight: Repealing Trump's National Energy Emergency

White smoke pouring out of the chimneys of the power plant.

Getty Images, Eric Yang

Congress Bill Spotlight: Repealing Trump's National Energy Emergency

The Fulcrum introduces Congress Bill Spotlight, a weekly report by Jesse Rifkin, focusing on the noteworthy legislation of the thousands introduced in Congress. Rifkin has written about Congress for years, and now he's dissecting the most interesting bills you need to know about, but that often don't get the right news coverage.

President Donald Trump has labeled everyone from Hillary Clinton to Jeb Bush as “low energy,” but what about his executive order on the subject?

Keep ReadingShow less
Defining the Democracy Movement: Andy Moore
- YouTube

Defining the Democracy Movement: Andy Moore

The Fulcrum presents The Path Forward: Defining the Democracy Reform Movement. Scott Warren's weekly interviews engage diverse thought leaders to elevate the conversation about building a thriving and healthy democratic republic that fulfills its potential as a national social and political game-changer. This series is the start of focused collaborations and dialogue led by The Bridge Alliance and The Fulcrum teams to help the movement find a path forward.

Andy Moore is the founder of Let’s Fix This, an Oklahoma-based civic engagement organization.

Keep ReadingShow less
USAID flag outside a building

A USAID flag outside a building.

J. David Ake/Getty Images

Just the Facts: Foreign Aid

Our ongoing series, “Just the Facts,” strives to approach news stories with both an open mind and skepticism, so we may present our readers with a broad spectrum of viewpoints through diligent research and critical thinking. As best we can, we look to remove personal bias from our reporting and seek a variety of perspectives in both our news gathering and selection of opinion pieces.

How much and what percentage of total foreign aid has been cut since President Trump's inauguration?

Keep ReadingShow less
Just The Facts: Mass Deportations
barbed wire
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Just The Facts: Mass Deportations

Our ongoing series, “Just the Facts,” strives to approach news stories with both an open mind and skepticism, so we may present our readers with a broad spectrum of viewpoints through diligent research and critical thinking. As best we can, we look to remove personal bias from our reporting and seek a variety of perspectives in both our news gathering and selection of opinion pieces.

How many deportations have there been since President Trump was elected?

Keep ReadingShow less