I suppose we can debate every tax, and whether we receive benefits from it that are commensurate with the price that we pay. In the case of social security and Medicare, I guess we’ll see whether I end up receiving any benefits when we get there. At the moment, I have some real questions in my mind.

Certainly some will suggest that even federal and state income taxes are the price that we pay to live in our society, and we should gladly contribute to such a worthy cause.

Whether you feel like it’s a good deal or a poor deal, it’s still a tax that we have the privilege of paying. As one politician famously said about another tax, “call it bananas if you want; it still felt like a tax to anyone who had to pay it”.

Personally, every dollar that I pay to the government sure seems like a tax to me. And so I’m not afraid to label it as such.

“But I’ll try not to let paying all those taxes interfere with driving my Ferrari.”

Nice flex.

I don't have kids. A lot of tax money goes to support an infrastructure to provide for them, from direct investment to the enforcement of more indirect laws and regulations to keep them from getting harmed and help accelerate their progress from little humans to adult humans.

I live in a city. A lot of my taxes go so people can live far from a city yet still have paved roads, schools, utilities, and other perks that their population's tax base could never hope to adequately cover building, much less maintaining afterward...not to mention the above mentioned indirect rules and regulations that brought things like utilities to their communities in the first place.

I've never lived in a disaster area, but my taxes have helped rebuild towns and cities I've never visited or want to visit.

As far as the original question of how much money do you need to make to spend 40K on a baseball card...minimum wage for at least 4 years with a few grand left after taxes to figure out housing/food/etc over those 4 years...or a few days as the a CEO of a major corporation. Personally, I would pick the 2nd option.

The only Ferrari I have had, is the one I used to push around on the floor as a kid.
When I flex, it's about my 6 dogs that were abandoned.....And how they live a great, spoiled, comfortable life now.
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$267K Gross Income…

Assuming your first need to save the $40K (not taking a loan for it) over 1 year, which is $3.3K per month. If your Gross Income was $267K and discretionary spending availability was 15% after 401K outlay to receive company match, plus all other OpEx, Taxes, Emergency Fund, Fun/Blow Money, etc.).

Counterpoint: Open 3 new credit cards with introductory low APR rate, spread purchase out between the 3 of them, stalk out Target, Walmart, and Costco for Pokemon restocks, fight other strangers wearing socks with sandals for the restock, sell on Ebay, repeat for the next 6 months trying to outrun the higher APR kicking in, realize you've barely made a dent in it, don't pay and wait for collections to call, change phone number, wait for the threat of having your wages garnished, sell the card at a 10K loss because you need the money now.

Maybe the loss could be written off (shrugging shoulders)…

Only if you’re a dealer or an investor. And even then, as an investor, the loss gets limited like any other capital loss.

You could also move to a lower tax state, county and/or municipality, but there's a reason people stay in those higher-tax places, as I'm sure you know. It's almost as if people think it's worth it to pay higher taxes once they realize the benefits that can be provided with that revenue. Most people—including the rich, up to a point—like having nice roads, sidewalks, schools, police fire and emergency services, etc.

I suspect for many of us, it’s as much about family as anything.

I have a friend from New York who claims that there are two types of New Yorkers - those who talk about leaving, and those who have already left. As a California refugee, I suspect similar sentiments would apply to Californians, among others.

Yeah, family and work are probably the biggest ones, I would guess. Also the fractured political climate in the country is a barrier for many people too who might otherwise consider changing their state of residence.

While paying lower taxes always sounds great in a vacuum, I consider myself extremely fortunate that I have the $ to participate in a hobby like vintage baseball cards. If some of those dollars go to help those less fortunate, I'm all for it. (And I don't even have a Ferrari!)

If you’re willing to live with high mileage and a few imperfections (i.e. collectors grade), you can probably pick one up for around $125k, less than the cost of a lot of nice prewar cardboard these days.

Drivable at that cost? That does seem like a bargain compared to a lot of cardboard...

I have all those things in a lower tax location. :shrug:

LA is like a divorce: expensive because it's worth it. Ya don't see this in cheaper places:

https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibi...usters%202.jpg
https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibi.../caligirls.jpg

I like to live in a destination city and I pay a 'resort fee' for the privilege. Can't beat the comedy scene in a media capital either.

https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibi...BCF%202016.JPG
https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibi...%2005%2003.png

Well done, Adam.
I will take the 3 girls walking in the middle picture.