Rima Grace

I think she's naming a real tension that's baked into our system.

Like, I can understand how some people like her would feel this weird moral tension around taxes in the U.S.

Like, if you don't take advantage of every loophole, then you're doing something wrong, you're leaving money on the table.

But on the other hand, you feel this, like, moral or social obligation to not avoid your taxes.

Yeah.

But also, I don't know about you, but the way I think about it is that, like, our tax system is full of incentives that we use to encourage things like, you know, homeownership or having kids or starting a business.

So it's like when we're trying to lower our taxes, really we're responding to those incentives.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, cheating is an interesting word.

Clearly, this person's trying to be a good, helpful citizen and, like, contribute to their family.

And, you know, I guess lowering your taxes, it can feel like you're kind of gaming the system.

But like I've said, it's how it's designed to work.

We are being asked to think individually about how to pay less while also being part of this structure that depends on all of us contributing.

So I get it.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I agree with the state and local taxes, but I think the federal can feel more abstract.

It's interesting, her video got so many strong responses from people in the comments.

Do you see that?