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2 votes (12.5%)
4 votes (25%)
5 votes (31.25%)
5 votes (31.25%)

16 members have voted

boymimbo
boymimbo
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April 12th, 2011 at 7:12:37 PM permalink
It's good to see people agreeing that things should be cut. I don't necessarily agree that every "democrat" and "liberal" program should be cut. Government spending however went up 90 percent in the last 10 years. That's absolutely ridiculous. It's time to chop, end the stimulus, and take a hard look at every program. But tax rates, both personal and corporate, are at all time lows too. So you have a huge government deficit caused by too much spending and not enough revenue. So raise revenue, and cut spending. I do think the rich should pay the extra taxes. They have a number of tax shelters that simply are not available to the poor, like allowing mortgage interest to be deducted on vacation homes, tax loopholes for managers of hedge fund, billions in tax breaks for offshore operations of financial companies, estate planning to avoid taxes, and so on and so forth. And how many jobs have the rich truly created by the Bush tax cuts?

We continue to see an erosion of the middle class in America. The rich get richer and the poor just keep on getting poorer. So tax the rich.
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timberjim
timberjim
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April 13th, 2011 at 3:50:05 AM permalink
Quote: boymimbo

So tax the rich.



What tax rate at what income level do you propose?
RonC
RonC
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April 13th, 2011 at 4:03:47 AM permalink
Quote: boymimbo

We continue to see an erosion of the middle class in America. The rich get richer and the poor just keep on getting poorer. So tax the rich.



So the only reason there is an erosion of the middle class is because the rich aren't taxed enough? I don't buy that. There is more to it than that...the drain of social programs that don't meet their supposed intended purpose--lifting people out of a bad situation by providing enough to get by while working their way out--but instead become lifetime sources of income for generations of people also help pull those who work and make up the middle class down. The rich can't pay enough taxes to fund the leeches who have no desire to work and no incentive to do better for themselves. That is why all of us pay that burden.

Close loopholes and make the tax situation more fair to everyone, that's fine. Targeting "rich people" and making them the "bad guy" is just class warfare. There are those who have generational wealth that we can never touch--and should we want to take money from them that was already taxed once when it was earned (I know some may not have been taxed; we can't live life worrying about every penny...but most income is taxed when earned IF the laws are written fairly)? Those who make $250,000 may live better than you but they are not yet rich in many cases. The ones I know also bust their ass every day trying to get better...better education, better at sales, better jobs, etc. They want to build generational wealth. Tax them fairly but don't attack them because they are earning more than others.

Simply taxing the rich more is not the answer. It may net more revenue but it won't be as much as some think it will be. Simplify the tax code, tax all "income" as "income" (the hedge fund managers pay capital gains or something like that instead of the income tax) and don't give anyone back more than they have paid in. Once you have a fair system, set the rates accordingly without putting target signs on anyone.
AZDuffman
AZDuffman
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April 13th, 2011 at 5:07:11 AM permalink
Quote: RonC

Simply taxing the rich more is not the answer. It may net more revenue but it won't be as much as some think it will be. Simplify the tax code, tax all "income" as "income" (the hedge fund managers pay capital gains or something like that instead of the income tax) and don't give anyone back more than they have paid in. Once you have a fair system, set the rates accordingly without putting target signs on anyone.



The more and more I look at it I think the best solution is change the constitution to prohibit income taxes and make a national sales tax. While there will be some underground economy I doubt it would be more than there is today. And we could no longer target "the rich" or whoever to pay more. Everyone would be paying a share, including illegal aliens!
All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others
timberjim
timberjim
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April 13th, 2011 at 9:46:10 AM permalink
Quote: timberjim

What tax rate at what income level do you propose?



The top 1% of income earners make about 19% of all income, yet they pay about 40% of all the tax. Just asking what level would be acceptable? The tax the rich crowd also never take into account that with any significant increase in their taxes, the "rich" will change their habits. Look at the areas of the country that instituted punitive tax rates on the highest earners - they simply moved to areas with lower tax rates.
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