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Since this is tagged with Bernie Sanders by the OP, I'm thinking the asker is interested in why wealthy people in Norway seem more willing to pay taxes than is the case in USA.Norway, compared to USA is a society with much more equality. This means the poorest people in Norway are wealthy, compared to in USA, but also that we've got comparatively few ultra-rich the way they do in USA. While Americans talk about the death of the middle-class, in Norway it feels more accurate to claim that "everyone" is middle-class.To put concrete numbers to that:In Norway, a average person in the upper quintile earns 3.9 times as much as a average person in the bottom quintile.In USA, the equivalent factor is 8.4If we zoom in even more, on the very poorest, the same pattern repeats but in a more extreme form. In Norway a average person in the bottom 10% of income-earners has a income that is a factor of 6.1 smaller than a average person in the top 10% of earners.In USA? A factor of 15.9The difference between "rich" and "poor" is more than twice as big in USA as it is in Norway.The "rich" in Norway are less rich, and the "poor" in Norway are less poor. There's less class-division, and also less class warfare and more solidarity. That's easier to maintain with more moderate income-differences; if you live in Norway, odds are that the professors children and the children of the person cleaning his office attend the same school and are invited in each-others birthday-parties.In addition to this factor, Norwegians are more left-leaning politically than Americans are; we're more likely to see higher taxation and correspondingly more generous public services as a shared benefit, rather than as "theft" like some on the right of the American political spectrum do.Last, but not least, even from a purely egoistical perspective, many feel that the services we've got are WORTH the taxes paid.My family is for example a fairly typical upper-middle-class Norwegian family. We earn about $15K a month, and pay about 30% of that in income-tax; on top of that we pay VAT ranging from 0% to 25% on most of the products and services we purchase; in sum total that's expensive. But look at what we get for that:For each child we had (we've got 3) we got over a year of parental leave, paid at 80% our normal salary.Education at all levels up to and including universities is tuition free; we don't need to save a cent for College for our kids.High-quality childcare is subsidised, and our co-payment was $200/month for one child; less if you've got several as there's rebates, and also less if you're a low earner. For comparison, average childcare-costs in USA is $972/month.Universal healthcare-coverage for everyone is included in taxes paid; there is no such thing as separate healthcare-insurance that you need to purchase and pay for in addition.If one of our kids fall ill and one of us needs to skip work to be at home and take care of it, we can do this at full salary.If one of us fall ill, we can stay at home at full salary; no doctors confirmation of illness is needed for shorter ilnesses up to 3 working-days; while if you're sick for longer you need to have a doctor confirm it (in which case you can be at home ill with full salary for up to 12 months)Retirement-insurance, unemployment-insurance, disability-insurance and so on are also included in taxes.Now, if you're REALLY wealthy, as in Trump or Gates level wealthy, then these benefits have little or no value to you. You'll probably pay extra for more luxurious options anyway, and besides, even if you DO use the public offering, you'll be paying more than it's worth given that taxes are progressive and even 1% of a hundred million dollars is a large amount.But even if you're moderately well off; say you've got a net-worth of half a million dollars and household income well over $100K, these things still have substantial value. Do the math. Look at what you're paying for these things. Then remember to subtract that value prior to comparing Norwegian tax-levels to those in USA.

Form 8949Nonbusiness Bad Debts - All other bad debts are nonbusiness. Nonbusiness bad debts must be totally worthless to be deductible. You can't deduct a partially worthless nonbusiness bad debt.A debt becomes worthless when the surrounding facts and circumstances indicate there's no reasonable expectation that the debt will be repaid. To show that a debt is worthless, you must establish that you've taken reasonable steps to collect the debt. It's not necessary to go to court if you can show that a judgment from the court would be uncollectible. You may take the deduction only in the year the debt becomes worthless. You don't have to wait until a debt is due to determine that it's worthless.Report a nonbusiness bad debt as a short-term capital loss on Form 8949.pdf, Sales and Other Dispositions of Capital Assets, Part 1, line 1. Enter the name of the debtor and "bad debt statement attached" in column (a). Enter your basis in the bad debt in column (e) and enter zero in column (d). Use a separate line for each bad debt. It's subject to the capital loss limitations. A nonbusiness bad debt deduction requires a separate detailed statement attached to your return. The statement must contain: a description of the debt, including the amount and the date it became due; the name of the debtor, and any business or family relationship between you and the debtor; the efforts you made to collect the debt; and why you decided the debt was worthless.[1]Footnotes[1] Topic No. 453 Bad Debt Deduction

I have answered this question to a different context earlier.Arun Mohan (അരുൺ മോഹൻ)'s answer to What are the main Hindu deities of Kerala?I know this question carries a lot of political issues these days. I have a clear political stand which I expressed many times, so not repeating that again.This answer is strictly in terms of my belief in Hindu myths, legends, history and folklore. I am not going much into philosophical concepts as it would make things more complicated and less understandable for the common man.I must also set my credentials right as many in Quora thinks, I am a communist spokesman who has no faith etc due to my political stance on the issue. Let me make it very clear, I am a believer of Hindu faith with a clear understanding that Hindu faith is not of a monotheistic order, rather extremely pluralistic and diverse. Secondly, I am a believer in Ayyappa legends. I used to visit the temple earlier but stopped after a personal vow that I would enter and meet my Ayyappa only with the presence of my mother and sister. Despite of that, I strictly observe 41 days of fasting annually within my limitations.So now to the question,What is the difference between Swami Ayyappan of Sabarimala and Sree Dharma Sastha? If Dharma Sastha and Swami Ayyappan are not the same but different deities, why is the Sabarimala Swami Ayyappan Temple called as the Sastha Temple?The basic concept of Sastha as Lord of Dharma with his wives- Poorna and PushkalaAyyappa and Dharmasastha are same.Ayyappa is an honorific word used to denote Dharmasastha. It comes from two Tamil words- Ayya (Sir, Lord) and Appa (Father, Protector). So its a word used to call the god, just like how we use the word- Bhagavan, Prabhu, Ishawara etc in other parts of India.Just, for example, the word Iswara or Ishan means God in Sanskrit, but equally another name for Lord Shiva, as Saivaites consider Shiva as their only God. In Kerala, Isho is a word in Malayalam, used to denote Christ. It doesn’t mean Isho, Ishan etc are specific names of a specific god. It's a way to address the only god concept of few, while in linguistic concept, it means just GOD.Same way, Ayyappa is a way to address God- Dharmashastha just like we use Prabhu or Iswara for Krishna and Shiva respectively. In Kerala, traditionally all Shaiva deities were addressed as Thevar. It doesn’t mean there is another god called Thever. Same way, Ayyappa is an honorific way of addressing Dharmasastha.History of the concept of DharmasasthaDharmasastha or popularly known as Sastha is a Hindu god, specifically worshipped in South India. It's actually an adapted or absorbed deity much like many deities in the Hindu pantheon. None of the ancient Hindu texts mention such a deity, rather the first reference of this deity/god comes from a 7th century AD work called Brahmanda Purana.The significance of this Purana is that, its one of among 18 Puranas that actually has a detailed travel guide about places that we can identify today like Kashmir, Kancheepuram etc and extensively details about various historical dynasties etc. In Brahmanda Purana, a reference is made about a new god referred as Hari-Hara Putra (meaning son of Shiva-Vishnu). Essentially in Bhagavat Gita, a reference is made about an interaction between Shiva-Mohini, so that episode effectively got linked with the concept of new deity in Brahmanda Purana later.However, there is no much detailed narration of this deity concept as such in the Purana.One thing we need to understand is that Hinduism isn’t an organized religion. Infact it's not even a religion as one believes, as per western concept. Its a constantly evolving faith and itself is an umbrella concept of thousands of traditions and faith. So multiple local folklores and folk deities existed in South India during the 6th-10 th century period. The basic concept of Ayyappa/Ayyannar is essentially a part of this local folklore which itself has a lot of Buddhist influence.Even Buddhism much like Hindu faith wasn’t a religion in those days. It was just a sect or a different school of philosophy. So essentially many concepts of faith simply overlapped. Someone believing in a village god could essentially take many Buddhist core values as part of their worship. So essentially these deities were of mixed tradition.The 4th century Tamil Epic- Silappatikaram written by a Chera Prince (Cheras were Emperors of Kerala) mentions worship of a Tamil deity called Cattan as a major deity. So as many Tamil hymns praises about a God called Cattan as the son of Siva. For many in Tamil speaking lands, Cattan was a form of Murugan as such but not specifically Murugan as different legends exist.Then by the 9th century, Cattan worship got enlarged with the rise of Cholas. Cholas aggressively believed in the concept of Cattan. As Cholas were staunch Hindus who believed in a Brahminical order, the concept of Cattan thus slowly moved from local village folklores to a Vedic concept as fit for Brahminical worship. Its this time the Brahmanda Purana’s references were actually used to cover the concept of Cattan, ie Brahmins started worshipping Cattan as Hariharaputra as mentioned in Brahmanda Purana to give a Vedic base.There was a reason for giving this Vedic cover to Cattan. Chola Empire’s religious atmosphere was polluted with extreme hostilities between Saivites and Vaishnavites. Cholas generally were staunch Saivite, thus Saivite culture became the official faith in the empire. This has aggrieved Vaishnavas of the region and thus conflicts were the order of the day (just like Hindu-Muslim issues of later). The cult of Shiva-Vishnu fusion thus seen as a better way to appease the two sects. So essentially it was Cholas who gave the concept of Catta as Hariharaputra. Some historians suggest the cult of associating tiger with Cattan was due to this Chola influence as tiger represent Cholas, their official emblem and imperial standard.At this same time, the same god was worshipped locally outside the Brahminical style as Ayyannar. But as Brahmins and locals never had common worship, essentially both identities remained separate and exclusive.Tamil folklore god- Ayannar with his friend- Karupppayar, commonly found in many villages of TN, worshipped in non-brahminical wayThe cult of Ayyannar slowly moved downwards to Madurai since 8th century and Pandyas equally worshipped this concept, but not in the Brahminical concept of Hariharaputra as Cholas did as Pandyas had several mixed traditions where the Non-Brahminical concepts were prominent in that time.In Pandya territories, a form of heterodox Buddhism called Ājīvika (locally known as Aseevaga) was popular at that time. This form of Buddhism believed in a lot of abstract concepts and this is actually a mix of many traditions including Jain concepts. They associate Ayynnar worship as part of their cult. Infact many village gods were associated with this cult strongly. This includes the belief of Karuppuswamy who was a friend of Ayyannar etc and both being worshipped together. Apart from this Assevaga tradition, Ayannar had a local tradition, as the belief of a local Ay chieftain (Ay were a warrior clan who later claimed as local rulers of extreme South TN/Kerala). This symbolized as Ayannar was projected as a warrior sitting over a charging horse. There was a folk story that Aynnar letting a tiger into Madurai city which led to hostile people to seek his support to tame it back and worshipped him after he brought the tiger under control.In the year 1020, Cholas invaded Pandya territory and burned Madurai city. The Pandyas was defeated and its widely believed a few Pandya princes fled Madurai taking the 3rd idol of Meenakshi from their celebrated Madurai temple to protect from invading Cholas. As per local beliefs popular in both TN and Kerala, the prince somehow crossed the mighty western ghats and reached Central Kerala which was land of Imperial Cheras who welcomed them and gave refugee. The third idol of Goddess was consecrated in Kerala at Kottayam (Kumaranellore Devi) as Cheras believed Meenakshi crossed the Western Ghats and came to their land. In that honor, these princes were bestowed larger estates and eventually became a local vassal Kings which we identify today as Poojanar, Pandalam and similar dynasties.With the entry of Pandya Princes to Kerala, the asveega and samana traditions followed by these Pandya princes also made got patronage in places like Pandalam and similar areas of Kerala. Already Buddhism and Jainism were much popular in Kerala at that time. Some even suggest that many Chera emperors were Jains at that time. Naturally, the cult of Aynnar worship as such also entered into Kerala and a shrine in honor was established in these mountains ranges being established.Statue of a Buddha in Bhadrasana as found in Maharashtra has an uncanny resemblance to the posture of AyyappaAs I said before, none of these traditions worked as exclusive religion or faith as we see today. It was heavily mixed. So the same temple also had people believing in the local cult of Cattan which were heavily worshipped in Cheras (not as Hariharaputra as in Chola land). Some suggest it was a Buddhist vihara that time with the influence of Buddhist worship cult of Avolikideswara, a form of Buddha.However this period, ie 10th-11th century was the rise of Brahminical power in Kerala. Kerala Brahmins known as Nampoothiris along with their followers (whom we consider as Nairs today) were taking up the power of many regions and influencing local systems with their Vedic traditions. Unlike Tamil Brahmins, Nampoothiris never worked as an exclusive community. While clinging to their hardcore Vedic beliefs and Śrauta traditions, Nampoothiris always tried to absorb as such as local faith and traditions to make their beliefs popular locally.So in this manner, even the cult of Cattan worship was absorbed which they called SHASTA as in Sanskrit terms. Shasta terminology was popular as it means Teacher in Buddhist Pali language, a term used to denote Buddha as such in North. However, for Nampoothiris, they used to symbolize as a guru or teacher and it was a phonetic way to say Cattan in Sanskrit style. They equally accepted the popular Chola belief that Sastha as Hariharaputra as it already has a strong Vedic base. And shortly every Catta temples in Chera effectively became Shasta Temples due to brahminification. A section of occult practicing Nampoothiris (black magicians) also took this same concept as Chattan which later became a popular occult god- Vishnumaya or Kuttichattan in much later centuries.Many concepts associated with Ayyannar also been absorbed. For example, its likely that the Ayyanar’s friend Karuppar became Vavar (Muslim warrior friend) in Kerala traditions as Muslims were often regarded as part of Nair community in past, not completely outsiders as we see today.Typical to Nampoothiri traditions, Dharmasastha got featured like any Hindu god decked with gold ornaments and with 2 wives etc and got heavily worshiped in Tantric style.In Pandalam, probably someone from their family might have become a monk and been with the hill shrine temple which was mostly a Vihara or similar. This is not yet proved, rather speculated theories on origins of belief of Ayyappa tradition.Whatever be it, in a later period when Sabarimala also came under Nampoothiri influence, the concept of Dharmasastha as such got extended to the existing Cattan worship, equally accepting the local beliefs of tales of Pandalam prince- Manikanda etc.Probably it might be by 14th and 15th century, many concepts as what we know today might have started shaping up. To justify every worship and belief, a typical Vedic style narrative is needed. So a narrative or a story came up that club all the multiple traditions, faith and concepts that this tradition had accumulated over centuries in the typical brahmin story fashion.The story of Ayyappa got extended from the story of Durga who slain demon Mahishasura (likely to originate from nearby Karnataka-Mysore region) and this demon had a sister- Mahishi who vowed to take revenge. She got boon from Brahma that only a son born to two male gods can kill her. In this process, Shiva-Vishnu (who took the form of Mohini) mated each other to produce a child - Manikanda, who was reared by a childless couple of Pandalam Royal family. When the child was 10 years old, he was tricked by a Minister in the court who used the queen to fake a stomach ace which needed tigress milk to resolve. The prince went to the forest and fought and killed Mahishi and returned back with a tiger (Indra in disguise). He requested his father to lead an ascetic life and merged his identity to the existing shrine of Dharmasastha at Ponambalamedu (a mountain opposite to the Sabarimala)Birth & History of Sabarimala Lord AyyappanSo the original story already assumes, there was a Dharmasastha as such in the Hindu Pantheon (without going to explain in detail of the story of Dharmasastha separately). There is a reason for this. As the concept of Dharmasastha was adopted from existing worshiping cult of Cattan, Nampoothiris has to assign a specific tantric value to the deity. They have to associate the deity into any existing Vedic pantheon to invoke for various rites. As Cattan was heavily associated with Buddhist culture as a form of Buddha preaching Dharma, Nampoothiris started associating Sastha as Dharmasastha and reassigned him to the position which once Yamadharma held in Vedic order. Both Yama and Dharmasastha are essentially the preachers of Dharma. Yama is a Vedic god and is worshipped by Nampoothiris pre-10th century. Even today in all yajnas, there is a specific sacrificial offering (Ahvisu) offered to Yama. But since there were two deities of similar position, as a comprising technique, Nampoothiris reduced the importance of Yama as God Dharma and relegated as mere God of Death. Infact majority of Malayalees don't even address Yama in that word, rather simply as Kalan in his form as the god of death and eventually stopped worshipping him, though Nampoothiris still does for various rites.Rather in place of Yama worship, Dharmasastha came up. The general conscience of Kerala society is that Dharmasastha is God of Dharma (righteous). As we assume Dharmasastha as a Vedic god, there is no more importance in talking about origins of Dharmasastha mythologically just like we don’t talk origins of Agni or Vayu or Varuna etc. So many elements of erstwhile Yama worship now got associated with Dharmasastha.And Manikanda became just a Human avatar of Dharmasastha who merged into Dharmasastha after his mission, as per brahminical narrative. This narrative eventually got absorbed even in Tamil Brahmin conscious too later.If one looks, there are many elements of erstwhile Ajivika/Aseevaga traditions absorbed into tantric order. For example, the concept of 18 holy steps associated with Dharmasastha is definitely part of Aseevaga tradition of associating 18 colors symbolizing transit from ignorance (Black) to enlightenment (white). This is why we wear black clothes to enter Sabarimala, to highlight the ignorance of devotees who need to climb the steps to attain the enlightenment.The Aseevaga tradition of associating each color to a stage of mental knowledge of an individual has well absorbed into Tantric tradition by associating each step with the same color while doing the Padi Pooja (Worship of Steps).So essentially in Sabarimala, its a temple consecrated for Dharmasastha which later got brahminified as Hindu deity once it came under Brahminical control.Forms of SasthaTraditionally in both Kerala and Tamil culture, there are 8 forms of Dharmasastha just like any 8 forms of other major gods. They are;Adhisastha:- Believed to the first form of Sastha as worshipped by Cholas in its Hindu concept. This form has 2 wives- Poorna and Pushkala and a traditional Chola Yogapatta (a belt) over the hip and left leg. Cholas were adherent worshippers of this form and essentially many in Kerala also worship lord in this form.Dharmasastha:- the form which Nampoothiris crafted from existing Catta cult. This is the form which we see in general in Kerala and widely popular across the world. However again, there is Poorna and Pushakala with the concept of Dharmasastha tooGnana Sastha:- The sastha who forms as lord of wisdom. Also known as Vedasastha. This motif is very close to the concept of Dakshinamoorthy of Lord Shiva. The belief is that Devi Saraswati resides within the body of this Sastha, thus the lord is worshipped both in Male and Female form together. The god holds a Veena much like Saraswati with 4 Vedas at his feet. The famous temple at Thiruvallukavu in Thrissur is celebrated for this form of Sastha as well as Vedanayaga Sastha temple in Salem.Kalyna Sastha: The Lord who helps in marriages. This form of Sastha is present in Thirunelli in Palakkad. Over a period of time, people started calling this sastha as Gajarooda Sastha as the lord sits over an elephant with his two wives as well as Maha sastha in some places.Sammohana Sastha: This form of Sastha mixes the concept of Chandra and Indra to it. Ie, this form is known for providing conjugal bliss and sexual harmony. The form is very close to Chandra as the aura around the lord is that of a Moon. This was the form he appeared before Indra, thus Iravata or divine elephant of Indra became the mount of this concept of Sastha.Santhana Sastha: This form of Sastha is a replica or mirror image of Sukran or Planet Venus. This was the form which lord appeared before Asura Guru Sukaracharya, hence assumed his own form. He is known to bless couples with children, hence the name. This lord is referred indirectly in Ramayana as the God who appeared before Dasaratha when he did Putrakameshti Yajna seeking children. This was the god, who offered the sweet dish to Dasaratha who gave to his wives and thus bestowed with children. He is equally known as Brahmasastha also.For this form, the wife’s name is Prabhavati who holds a Veena and a son called Satyaka sits next to this god.Veera Sastha:- The Sastha who sits on a horse in a warrior form. This form of Sastha is closest to the Tamil folk god-Ayannar. This form is something referred to as Vettakkorumakan as in Malayalam citing the role as a Divine hunter, who is normally the family god of many Royal families.Simharooda Sastha: This form of Sastha sits over a lion or sometimes a tiger with a bow and arrow. Some attribute as a form of Manikanda as the form is too close to the character. However, interestingly, all motifs show the deity with his two wives.In almost all the forms, there is a presence of a Female energy which is an intregal part of Sastha tradition.In Sabarimala, we worship the Lord as DHARMASASTHA,Picture of Sabarimala Dharmasastha idol as in 1970sWe call this form as Dharmasastha, which is the most popular form as common in Kerala. We call this god as Ayyappa as an honorific way just like we call Lord Vishnu as Guruvayurappa in Guruvayur or Shiva as Vaikathappa in Vaikom temple.When Nampoothiris standardized Sastha worship, they equally standardized the rites to worship this god. This is very unique to Kerala, as Kerala strictly follows the Tantric form of worship. Every deity is worshipped in the way its mentioned in Tantrasamuchayam, the standard tantric text that has detailed mentioning of the mode of worship of each deity.In tantric order, there is no Manikanda, no Ayyappa, no other form. Just Dharmasastha as the moola mantra is standard for ONE CONCEPT, not multiple forms. It means, if you have a Krishna temple, the priests have no moola mantra for Krishna, rather uses the Moolamantra for Lord Vishnu as Krishna is just a sub-sect of Vishnu. Same way, in a temple which has Shiva in form of Rajarajaeswara (King of Kings), there is no specific moola mantra for that form, rather the standard Moolamantra for Shiva.Same way, across all Dharmasastha/Ayyappa temples in Kerala, there is one Moolamantra. And there is NO SINGLE MANTRA INVOCATION that differs for Sabarimala from other Ayyappa temples as there is only one tantric concept for this god- the Dharmasastha which is common everywhere.I am not spelling it out the Moolamantra as it's against the Tantric law being considered as a tantric energy capsule in its own right. But it carries specific words to invoke the energy of Poorna and Pushkala along with Sastha. This same mantra is used in Sabarimala too. Even the basic Dhyanam of Dharmasastha which the priests recites daily in Sabarimala, speaks a lot about that marital status of the lord.Om shree poornaa pushkalaambaa sametaShree hariharaputra svaamine nama:(Salutations to Son of Harihara ,who resides with Poorna and Pushkala on his sides)Dhyana MantramThat's one reason why Tantri never quoted Tantrasamuchayam for his defense to prove the deity is celibate at Supreme court as every single reference to Dharmasastha ends up with his female energy. This is primarily because, in Vedic Hinduism, there is no deity who can be worshipped without a female energy. If a deity has no female energy, there will be no balance at all, hence the single form of energy is uncontrollable and fierce which needs extreme penance and utmost devotion in the deity to control so (this is known to many in the story of Kali when she goes out of control as Kali had no male energy to balance, which resulted in Lord Shiva to offer his chest to Kali to stamp upon, to balance the energy)This is one key reason, why Nampoothiris rarely worship Hanuman or Garuda, the two extreme celibate deities as their energies are too fierce to be controlled once invoked.So in tantric order, there is only ONE SINGLE GOD related to this, ie Dharmasastha and every single temple of this god will be in that name, irrespective of the form he being worshipped by devotees at the temple.