I relooked at my tax returns to see how much money I paid in taxes last year. It was about 50 times what President Trump paid. I have one home, no businesses, and a relatively modest income at this time. Why did I pay such huge taxes?
First, while I've worked steadily throughout my life, I did not spend a lot of time working with financial advisers to maximize tax benefits. Some would say this is foolish, but honestly, I spent most of my time caring for my family and my work. I had no trouble paying my fair share of taxes.
Next, I used some money I put aside to pay off any college loans my children had. Again, I suspect that people like Trump may not even pay for his children's colleges or private schools. He likely fudges the paperwork so he gets substantial financial aid. I know people that do that--they work the money so they get lots of financial aid for college. Perhaps I'm a fool, but we paid our share which was all or most of the tuition payment. My dad left me with no loans for undergraduate, so I wanted to do the same for my children. Using my savings to pay off loans meant I paid greater than usual taxes.
Also, while if you add up all the money I made over my lifetime, it would not be a large sum, but in the later years I made far more than in all the early years added up together. Teachers' generally don't get rich on their salaries, but if they get the right number of years and credential they can earn a liveable wage.
I'm not complaining as I believe that every American should pay their share to cover the cost of the services we collectively use--services that support good living across the country. I agree that taxation should be a sliding scale, but I don't believe that a man like Trump who flaunts his great wealth and business credentials and cheats the system should get away with paying only a few dollars in taxes. That's cheating, and that doesn't cover all the water, soil, air he pollutes and uses day after day at his fancy clubs. His taxes don't cover his excesses and the way he preys upon and uses the American people and our resources. His cheating is an affront to honest, hard working Americans everywhere. I don't want a crook in the White House. I want an honest, hard working public servant there.