Only the richest ancient Athenians paid taxes – and they bragged about it

&quot;Above all, the Athenian rich paid their taxes because they craved the social success that came from their compatriots publicly identifying them as citizens who are good because they are useful.&quot;<p>This part really resonated with me.

So, not much different from people today who donate to universities, hospitals, PBS, etc in return for getting their name displayed prominently.

&gt; Only the richest ancient Athenians paid taxes<p>And only the richest ancient Athenians had the right to vote. There may be some causation...

I’m sure the fact they had a heavy amount of influence on how the taxes were spent made a difference.

Well a trierarch would brag because he actually had to go on the trireme.<p>Presumably the best crew wants to be on the best boat with the most generous trierarch.

Panels of ordinary people can solve problems that the professionals fear to tackle <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;archive.is&#x2F;mcazu" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;archive.is&#x2F;mcazu</a>

In the US the top 1% pay more in income tax than the bottom 90% combined. Of course they aren&#x27;t the only ones paying tax, but the top 1% pay for a very significant percentage of the US budget.