Poor people pay just as much as everyone else in sales tax, excise tax, tolls, meal tax, etc. And because they are poor, they pay disproportionately more of their income in taxes than the wealthy.
I live in the Boston area—even though there are 70 colleges and universities here, none of them are free for poor people.
That's incorrect. The tax rate is lower for lower income thus they pay less proportionally.
> I live in the Boston area—even though there are 70 colleges and universities here, none of them are free for poor people.
Every ivy league school has income adjustment and will offer free ride based on need:
https://college.harvard.edu/financial-aid/how-aid-works/harv...
If you look at what I listed—sales tax, excise tax, meal taxes—those are the same whether you’re rich or poor, except they have a disproportionate impact on the poor.
Poor people do get most of what they pay in income tax back once they file but that’s not the case for these other taxes.
A guy repairing my dryer has charged $350 for one hour. I'm sure some of it went towards spare parts and such, but even $50 bucks an hour is a pretty decent income.
I didn’t suggest that having a STEM degree was the only way out of poverty. My point: if poor students wanted to get STEM degrees, they often don’t have the high school preparation to do so and their families can’t afford the tutors, test prep courses and academic coaches affluent families have access to.
It's that we help only the poor. Look, I pay taxes. Poor people don't. Fine. I get it. But they do get free medical insurance, I don't. They get free college, I don't. All I get back are reminders about "straight white men privilege". That's not fair.
Nobody likes paying taxes. But if it's "guys, let's all cough up what we can and build a greater society for all of us", I'm for it. If it's "let's build a greater society for the poor" - that's a much more bitter pill to swallow.