http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=30026 This about says it all. How do you make society better and more productive? Why if you're a Democrat, you say have a draconian tax code that punishes your society's most productive citizens. This is all our current tax code is, a thinly-veiled socialist wealth redistribution program.
Good article. The author's opinions are also consistant with why communism fails. Communism & Socialism sound nice - everyone equal, everyone getting the same benefits and wages - but it does not account for HUMAN NATURE. As soon as certain lazier people in communist countries realize that their wages will be the same weather they work their butt off or slack off, which one do you think they will choose? And will the remaining good workers enjoy working twice as much while the slackers get the same wages?Without an incentive/reward to work hard, no one will do it. That is why free countries grow, and the others shrink.
Punished your most productive citizens? ROTFLMAO!! Geez, Fastow and Kenneth Lay have really been "punished", haven't they? Poor babies, I feel sooooo sorry for them. What a JOKE!! The Democrats CORRECTLY have a sensible approach to taxation. The ones with the most disposable income who have BENEFITTED the most from society pay the larger share. Wow, what a dastardly and sinister plan!! LOL!! Also, everytime one of these flat taxes like Dick Armey (BTW, one question I never could get answered -- if the flat tax was such a great solution to the unfair and mean taxation currently done, why didn't the elephant men EVER bring up the flat tax for a vote? Geez, I was really hoping we could do away with the inefficient system we have now. Oh wait, I remember now. It was because the FLAT TAX DIDN'T ADD UP -- countless economists said the rate specified was an absolute JOKE to try to raise what they claimed. Oh, and when the people found out that mortage interest would even NOT be deductible OR if it was, the rate would go through the roof to make up for it, people would vomit on the proposal. The bottom line is the radical right in the country LIES about the tax rate the wealthiest pay to begin with. When you take away the deductions and the fact that tens of thousands of dollars are taxed AT LOWER TAX RATES (i.e. their earlier earnings in the year that fall in the lower tax brackets), all of a sudden, the sewage that the rightist wingnuts try to spread is exposed for what it is -- COMPLETE GARBAGE. Anyone, let's please pray and remember the poor and downtrodden and persecuted in this country. You know, the Kenneth Lays, the Fastows, the Martha Stewarts, etc. Please light a candle for each of these and pray that they can make do with their 6 houses or so.
More like the crooked than the poor and lazy >>Tom wants those that work, create business' and jobs to give most of their money to the stupid and lazy. Don't they deserve it? As usual, you are clueless. Since when did people who SET THEIR OWN SALARIES deserve the money they are paid. Board of directors scratch each others' backs by giving themselves stock options that appreciate based upon BOGUS accounting techniques that artificially inflate the price of the stock. Then, we have Mr. Wonderful saying that corporate executives are fabricating writeoffs (he said it was a joke if I thought 3 martini lunch writeoffs had really gone away, they were just hidden somewhere else). So yeah, I REALLY, REALLY think that the slimeballs of the world are treated unfairly in this country. :-( >>Does everyone deserve the same income regardless of their production? I'm really curious. If you were in complete control of the tax code (I know folks, it's frightening but bear with me) what would your plan be. At what rate would people be taxed? What would the structure be? No, actually we agree on the principle but not on the judgment. I DON'T think that everyone deserves the same salary, BUT, apparently UNLIKE YOU, I actually believe you should get PAID FOR GOOD PERFORMANCE AND ACTUALLY EARN YOUR MONEY. You should NOT get paid whatever the hell you want to give yourself just because you are high enough in the corporate structure to get away with it. Also, the payment scale should be more in line with OTHER FREE ENTERPRISE countries around the world. This country's executives get paid something like 8 times more the discrepancy between the highest paid and the average worker in a company compared to those other countries. That is, if other countries pay their top executives 7 times the average worker's salary in the same company, the US companies pay theirs 56 times. Those numbers are not exact, but the principle is definitely true and has been widely criticized as ridiculous compensation. See, UNLIKE YOU, I actually walk the walk on personal responsibility and corporate responsibility. You don't get something for nothing, and THAT INCLUDES CORPORATE TYPES!! I have already given you my tax structure, so take notes this time. I would have a PROGRESSIVE tax system similar to what it is now(even MORE progressive), BUT the first tax breaks come in the most regressive areas now. An example would be that SINCE the tax rebate package occured due to a supposed surplus, mainly in social security at the present time, the tax rebates should have been in social security payroll taxes. That would limit the amount the wealthiest 5% or so would get since social security is only contributed to up to a certain income per year. That would have been a TRUE middle class tax cut, not the SHAM job that Sapling tried to pull where over 50% of the refunds given back went to the upper 1% of taxpayers. Oh, and when you have a tax refund, you ACTUALLY have to say what programs are going to be cut due to it or how the revenue will be otherwise replaced. See, none of this PHONY and FUZZY MATH that the elephant men do where they claim the "economic benefits of the tax cuts" will make up for the lost revenue. It has never worked that way yet -- it didn't work in the Bonzo administration, and it hasn't work for Sapling either. You BORROW and SPEND GOPers just handwave as the deficits soar when lost revenue is not made up and spending actually INCREASES.
I answered it -- if you aren't bright enough, that is your problem Let me summarize and PLEASE feel free to ask a retarded child to help you understand, you rightist wingnut. 1) P-R-O-G-R-E-S-S-I-V-E tax system. Do you know what that is or do I have to draw you a picture? 2) Tax rates DEPEND on the amount of money the government is planning on spending. Ask your IDIOT Sapling how much money he will WASTE on the moronic missile defense system, pork barrel military spending, etc. and I would be able to give you more of an answer about tax bracket %s. So, the bottom line is I gave you the information before along with the REASONs about why the current taxation method is better than flat taxes and why your "the people who do more work should get paid more" is a bunch of CRAP. YOUR definition of doing more is sitting on their fat asses and robbing companies blind with UNDESERVED stock options, etc. which THEY THEMSELVES voted on. I've got news for you, Sparky. I am 10 times the FREE ENTERPRISER you could ever dream of being, because I don't believe in commodity subsidies, stock options for fat cats doing nothing to improve their company nor the US economy in general, and am for open accounting, expensing of stock options to shareholders, etc. But hey, keep YOUR messages short, because quite frankly, they are pretty much just full of CRAP anyway.
Oooh a Helmsleyite.... only the little people should pay taxes. Major corporations in this country pay ZERO, but let's go get the shoe shine boys. Major corporations piss on this country and move their headquarters - some patriots. Who bears the tax burden? The people in the 30K-100K category, that is who. Their 25% hurts a hell of a lot more than 33% on the millionaires. Then add the 7% FICA, which millionaires don't pay on most of their income and you see the rates is about equal. And then figure in the capital gains rate is around 20% - I'll leave it to you to figure out who benefits the most. But leave it to the thinly disguised fascists to tell us how mistreated the rich are. Oh, and the best yet is the death tax which will RAISE taxes on moderate estates (under 750K) while cutting taxes for the ultra rich. And then they accuse others of class warfare. Not to mention that the wealthy get far more from the government than the average worker. But true to far right wing philosophy, some people are better than others and the rest of us shumuks should be proud to finance them. A progressive tax code isn't socialism - socialism is taking cash from an autoworker, transferring it to a Bush campaign contributor and then telling us how productive those greasy government contractors are.
I love how those who wear their high morals and religion on their sleeve (criticizing those who didn't vote for the wacko right senatorial candidate as abandoning their morals) piss on poor people. YOu learned your lessons from Pat quite nicely. Tell me, when you get sick, do you send your hero cash so that he can squint his eyes and cure your disease?
oh right, we are republcian so we all listen to rush and send money to those religious freaks why should the death tax exist? that money has already been taxed at some point, either through taxes on earnings, or capital gains taxes.
Most good posts by JD and the estate tax issue First, JD, glad to hear yet another voice pointing out the hypocrisy of the pseudo class warfare shouters. Have you noticed that THEY are the ones who bring up the tax bracket structure, accuse the poor people of not earning THEIR money, when instead it boils down to the Boards of Directors who are not only INCOMPETENT, but set THEIR own salaries, give themselves stock options that many times aren't even expensed off the company books, and commit insider trading violations left and right. Oh yeah, the rich is this country have it so bad. They BUY the politicians' votes (particularly the elephant mens' officials) to try to get as many benefits as possible with little responsibilities. Now to the estate issue. Income is taxed multiple times all over the place. That happens to dividends which are taxed at the corporate level and then taxed at the individual level when dispersed. So my question to those who demagogue the issue of estate tax, and it is the same one as normal. What program are you willing to cut to offset the lost revenue? Who would be taxed in lieu of the estates being taxed? Why does the Gates family, Buffet family, etc. say that this is a reasonable way of raising revenue because the other ways are worse? Anyway, I'm sure the elephant men on this board will continue to avoid the issue by ranting and raving at this tax and that tax yet continuing to set pork barrel spending records and throwing money down useless programs like the Missile Defense? system which experts have pretty much said is a "feel good" joke.
Don't get me started on CEOs. I saw on one of the shows last night that one of bush's ceo nominees saw his compensation increase each year while a ceo, while corporate profits decreased each year while a ceo. He's an example of a hard working productive person.
