I totally agree - they are not. I don't need to say any more about the republicans but this business of the democrats giving more tax credits to people who pay little taxes anyway is nonsense as well. EVERYONE above the poverty line should pay some tax - maybe 10% of the amount above if you're right on it - it gives them some stake in and reason to pay attention to what is going on. The problem of course is that the 40-100 range is where 90% of taxpayers (aside from the poor) reside - cut their taxes and it kills receipts and quickly unbalances any budget. Note that the republicans use people in that 75-100K range in their stats for the top 5% paying all of the taxes; the dems do the same, only in the other direction. I left industry to teach in college - I don't make squat - my idea was just to pay the bills off of my salary and beef up the 401K a bit, but that's still not easy. I'd love a tax cut, but I never get one.
It's great that you are teaching. It's just too bad that teachers are not adequately rewarded for what they do.
Well, I only work 9 months a year (could do summer but the pay is terrible terrible) and get 4 weeks at Christmas; I'm not complaining. I could quit and get a real job if I wanted to. I will say however that the energy level required to teach is a lot higher than I anticipated - you're on stage 3-4 hours a day with a live audience; tiring.
I have no problem with a graduated income tax, with limits. I think having to pay a third of your income is just wrong, no matter how much you make. I also think 25% is WAY too much for people not even making 100K. 25% should be the top bracket, in my opinion. Middle class people should only be paying between 10-15%. I've got a friend who is an accounting major who is a big fan of the flat tax, saying the flat rate should be at 15%. I've also heard of a group called Americans for Fair Taxation pitching a national sales/consumption tax, where every consumable good except food/utilities/medicine is taxed at 20%. What do you guys think of that idea? Any talk of REAL tax reform is wishful thinking, however, until we reign in government spending. Bush hasn't been aggressive/conservative enough for my tastes in that department (although since we got a tense world out there, I can kind of understand). The federal govt. should be 40% it's current size, 40% it's current payroll, 40% it's current budget, IF NOT LESS. We've got to put the federal govt. back in it's Constitutional cage, or tax rates will never go down significantly.
Sales taxes are regressive Jetstorm wrote: >> I've got a friend who is an accounting major who is a big fan of the flat tax, saying the flat rate should be at 15%. Then, your friend needs to review his math. Even Armey was talking a higher tax rate than that, and the economists said that for a flat tax to work it would have to be in the 20's% range. Also, the flat tax would be devestating to home ownership where interest writeoffs are an important way for millions of American families to be able to afford a home that initially (without the tax deductions) looks out of their reach financially. >>I've also heard of a group called Americans for Fair Taxation pitching a national sales/consumption tax, where every consumable good except food/utilities/medicine is taxed at 20%. What do you guys think of that idea? It stinks. You have just made medicines even LESS affordable for the elderly. You also have made taxes more regressive on the people who HAVE to buy the items you mentioned but would have to pay much more due to the taxes. The justification of the progressive tax rate is that those who have benefitted the most from society pay a larger percentages to keep the government solvent and able to function which in turn gives them even more opportunity to make more profits (the honest ones that is, don't give a damn about the crooked corporations). Someone brought up that highways don't benefit the rich more -- of course, they do, at least for the ones who have land highway transportation as an integral part of their business. I don't know of too many poor people who own trucking lines, etc., but the wealthiest benefit when THEIR trucks roll down the highway.
