this post was submitted on 29 Apr 2026
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Explain Like I'm Five

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I asked a similar question a while back, but why do my taxes go to things I do not use like schools and such. The majority said you need to pay them. Now tell me why I have to pay for a ballroom? (lemmy.world)
submitted 2 days ago by Patnou@lemmy.world to c/explainlikeimfive@lemmy.world
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[–] Lumidaub@feddit.org 10 points 2 days ago

Taxes are your contribution to a functioning society, they're meant to be used for things that should, in theory, benefit everybody in some way. You "use" schools in so far as the people who go there are the ones who later use their education to provide you with goods and services. Of course one might argue that taxes are frequently used for complete bollocks (cf ballroom) but that's part of what living in a society is: constant negotiation about how to use the resources that are available to the group. Not everybody is going to agree what the best use is.