The rich shouldn’t feel like the enemy’: Is New York turning on the wealthy?

Re:The rich shouldn’t feel like the enemy’: Is New York turn... by titzer on Tuesday April 06, 2021 @08:49AM (#26711126)

In Germany, you'd be paying 42%. You'd get subways, a national rail system, universal healthcare, and college would be free. America doesn't have a "spending" problem, it has a history of mal-investment and neglect. But those F-35s. And nukes! Enough to wipe out most of humanity.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The rich shouldn’t feel like the enemy’: Is New York turn... by cwhiz on Tuesday April 06, 2021 @08:53AM (#26711169)

Not a spending problem.

Proceeds to list things that we spend and invest unnecessarily on.

We have a subway system in NYC. Run by the MTA. A bloated and incompetent organization that needs a billion dollars to extend a subway line a single mile, and will routinely spend hundreds of millions of dollars on unnecessary bridge painting and other shenanigans.

There’s a reason we don’t have nice things, and it’s not because our taxes are too low.

Edit: It is actually $3.5 billion for a mile.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The rich shouldn’t feel like the enemy’: Is New York turn... by iso1631 on Tuesday April 06, 2021 @09:06AM (#26711306)

London's 2 mile northern line extension costs about $1.7b, so doesnt sound out of whack. Berlin did extend the U5 about 1.4 miles for $600m but it's the right order of magnitude.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The rich shouldn’t feel like the enemy’: Is New York turn... by cwhiz on Tuesday April 06, 2021 @09:10AM (#26711350)

I was wrong. The latest expansion was $3.5 billion per mile.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/28/nyregion/new-york-subway-...

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The rich shouldn’t feel like the enemy’: Is New York turn... by titzer on Tuesday April 06, 2021 @09:00AM (#26711245)

A billion dollars a mile is because corruption.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The rich shouldn’t feel like the enemy’: Is New York turn... by cwhiz on Tuesday April 06, 2021 @09:07AM (#26711320)

Call it whatever you like. The MTA spends $17 billion per year.

And we get rickety subway service and piss stained stations that make you feel as if you’ve traveled in time back to the 80s.

How much does Germany spend per year on rail?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The rich shouldn’t feel like the enemy’: Is New York turn... by titzer on Tuesday April 06, 2021 @09:24AM (#26711456)

I don't know which city would be most comparable to New York, but Germany recently announced 120+ a billion dollar investment in upgrading rail infrastructure nationwide[1].

The high-speed rail connnection between Berlin and Munich cost 10 billion Euro. Even then, it was criticized for being over budget. It travels at 200km/h+ and is over 600km long. I think that project is completely infeasible in the US, at any price. It seems like a bargain to me.

Of course, high-speed long-haul lines are a different thing than subways. I lived in Munich for several years and I can say firsthand, subways are magical. As an American, it's embarrassing we cannot dig holes. It's not because money.

[1] https://canada.constructconnect.com/dcn/news/infrastructure/...

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The rich shouldn’t feel like the enemy’: Is New York turn... by cwhiz on Tuesday April 06, 2021 @11:51AM (#26713365)

That’s $125 billion over a decade. Less per year than the MTA spends on a single city.

You said it’s not a spending problem, but it sure seems like a spending problem, no?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The rich shouldn’t feel like the enemy’: Is New York turn... by titzer on Tuesday April 06, 2021 @02:35PM (#26715575)

NY does not seem to be getting a good bang for its buck.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The rich shouldn’t feel like the enemy’: Is New York turn... by dredmorbius on Tuesday April 06, 2021 @01:05PM (#26714443)

NYC's nuclear deterrent is among the smaller in the world.

Taxes supporting the US arsenal are applied nationwide.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The rich shouldn’t feel like the enemy’: Is New York turn... by dash2 on Tuesday April 06, 2021 @08:59AM (#26711232)

Those nukes, and associated military spending, prevented all of Germany becoming East Germany.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The rich shouldn’t feel like the enemy’: Is New York turn... by prh21 on Tuesday April 06, 2021 @09:08AM (#26711327)

Person from Germany here. The 42% is the top rate so that on 100 k$ the effective rate would be less than that. Healthcare costs come on top of that. Free college is included.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The rich shouldn’t feel like the enemy’: Is New York turn... by titzer on Tuesday April 06, 2021 @09:27AM (#26711480)

45% is the top rate. 42% kicks in 57k income. 45% at 274k. You're right that the effective rate might be less for $100k, but not much. The curve is quite steep.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxation_in_Germany#/media/Fil...

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The rich shouldn’t feel like the enemy’: Is New York turn... by titzer on Tuesday April 06, 2021 @09:28AM (#26711491)

Also, VAT is high in Germany.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The rich shouldn’t feel like the enemy’: Is New York turn... by iso1631 on Tuesday April 06, 2021 @04:21PM (#26716894)

Who pays vat? Less than 10% of my monthly outgoings are on VATTable things, and most of that expenditure is because I bought a new car rather than a second hand one.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The rich shouldn’t feel like the enemy’: Is New York turn... by cwhiz on Tuesday April 06, 2021 @12:56PM (#26714308)

Based on that chart, the effective tax rate is not near 42%. It actually appears to be closer to 31-35%, which is almost exactly what the $100k person in NYC would pay.

I think the issue that most non-US citizens fail to realize or comprehend is that most people in America don't pay any tax at all. The labor participation rate is 61.5% and then half of the people that do work still don't pay any effective taxes due to all the credits and deductions. A minority of earners support the entire tax base.

...and then, of course, we frivolously waste the revenue we do generate.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The rich shouldn’t feel like the enemy’: Is New York turn... by titzer on Tuesday April 06, 2021 @02:38PM (#26715613)

I am a US citizen, and I've lived abroad. Americans are being fleeced, and the entire mindset is that infrastructure is a cost, rather than an investment. It's crazy that we spend so much on "defense". The words of Eisenhower's parting address were not heeded.

But, regardless. If I were in charge I would fire the entire management of Amtrak and all Metro rails and just put the Germans, Swiss or Japanese in charge of it.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The rich shouldn’t feel like the enemy’: Is New York turn... by iso1631 on Tuesday April 06, 2021 @09:00AM (#26711244)

$100k is £72k, in the UK you'd be paying 30% (£22k). 36% if you're still paying off your student loan (which would be about 6 years to repay the fees and another 7 to repay the cost of living loans)

UK has nukes too

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The rich shouldn’t feel like the enemy’: Is New York turn... by csomar on Tuesday April 06, 2021 @09:15AM (#26711378)

> But those F-35s. And nukes! Enough to wipe out most of humanity.

Doesn't these F-35 and nukes give the US trade advantage and wealth transfers (aka free money from unstable countries) and thus make it possible for Americans to be that rich?

[ Parent | on HN ]