Top 1% of Americans reaped 67% of income gains.

Look at this (it's a relatively unbiased source, btw): http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=2908

Are we still debating the estate tax? We need to tax the hell out of these people. Think of the new revenue streams!

I've no problem with estate taxes and so forth. Heck set the tax rates on the wealthiest back to the Regan era while we're at it.

sure, this data's been out there for years now. rich get richer isn't just a catch phrase. we used to be a country where things where the average Joe would reap the benefits of increased GDP but now that's mostly going to the top 1% while we peasants fight among ourselves for their crumbs. many economists will also tell you that this type of huge disparity in wealth and income leads to economic crisis as well.

I support the so-called "death tax". I don't like any sort of tax system that punishes the successful, but I do like the idea of telling the successful's children to pull their own weight.

I support the so-called "death tax". I don't like any sort of tax system that punishes the successful, but I do like the idea of telling the successful's children to pull their own weight.

Oleg_Huzwog

I support the so-called "death tax". I don't like any sort of tax system that punishes the successful, but I do like the idea of telling the successful's children to pull their own weight.

Oleg_Huzwog

[QUOTE="Oleg_Huzwog"]

I support the so-called "death tax". I don't like any sort of tax system that punishes the successful, but I do like the idea of telling the successful's children to pull their own weight.

rawsavon

Could we rephrase that last part to: taxed when parent earns it and taxed when child earns it via inheritance? If an inheritance can be categorized as a separate transaction, can we still say the same income is taxed twice?

Or at least, that's how I rationalize it.

But what is the incentive to be rich?

Those 1% also have to pay taxes! LOTS of taxes!

Taxes make being rich not even worth it. I mean poor people get to keep 100% of their income, so really poor people are more rich than rich people.

What fun is a 400 foot sail boat when you have to pay 51% of your income to the governement? Why even buy a 50,000 sq foot home for your 19 year old super model girlfriend, the government is just going to take some "Luxury tax" whatever that means. Since when is owning a home a luxury? last i heard shelter was needed to survive. checkmate Govt.

Want to buy an island? hold on there buddy the Government wants to charge you taxes to pay for "Public schools" and "Nation Defense" WTF, my kids don't go to public schools, and i can just buy an army to defend myself, so why should i pay taxes? Poor people need healthcare? Well I don't need healthcare, my live in family doctor does all that. Poor people should just get live in family doctors. problem solved, omg i'm a genius, No poor people are just too dumb to think of theses things.

If i wanted to drive i would just have a road paved and then torn up after i'm done. Poor people should just do the same.

Poor people use money as an excuse for everything. get a job that pays 30 million a year and quit complaining.

[QUOTE="rawsavon"][QUOTE="Oleg_Huzwog"]

I support the so-called "death tax". I don't like any sort of tax system that punishes the successful, but I do like the idea of telling the successful's children to pull their own weight.

Oleg_Huzwog

Could we rephrase that last part to: taxed when parent earns it and taxed when child earns it via inheritance? If an inheritance can be categorized as a separate transaction, can we still say the same income is taxed twice?

Or at least, that's how I rationalize it.

They already do tax the same money twice.
The GIVER of money pays the taxes not the receiver.

So if I earn billion dollars and give away 500 million to my kids...I pay the taxes (no matter if I am alive or dead).
This is part of our tax law (there are limits...i forget what they are...but you can give under a certain amount to people per year (yearly and lifetime limits) with no tax).

I just don't think the gov. should be able to tax my money twice.
-I have no problem with the first tax...I like roads, education, defense, etc.
-but I hate the fact that if I just keep it = no tax, but if I give it away = taxed again (except for charities)

This is part of our tax law (there are limits...i forget what they are...but you can give under a certain amount to people per year (yearly and lifetime limits) with no tax).rawsavon

But what is the incentive to be rich?

Those 1% also have to pay taxes! LOTS of taxes!

Taxes make being rich not even worth it. I mean poor people get to keep 100% of their income, so really poor people are more rich than rich people.

W

Meejoe27

But what is the incentive to be rich?

Those 1% also have to pay taxes! LOTS of taxes!

Taxes make being rich not even worth it. I mean poor people get to keep 100% of their income, so really poor people are more rich than rich people.

Meejoe27

[QUOTE="Meejoe27"]

But what is the incentive to be rich?

Those 1% also have to pay taxes! LOTS of taxes!

Taxes make being rich not even worth it. I mean poor people get to keep 100% of their income, so really poor people are more rich than rich people.

W

LJS9502_basic

The purpose of taxes is supposed to be to fund the legitimate functions of government. Its not supposed to be a way to "punish the nasty rich". The fact is that we have reached a point in this country where the federal tax code is a social engineering tool. We give tax breaks for mortgage interest, but not for rent paid because the govt has decided that home ownership is a desirable social goal. Eventually they will get around to taxing some activity that you enjoy because its deemed bad for society. I don't figure it will be long before we see an excise tax on soda pop / sugary drinks. If you like drinking pepsi,coke,mt dew, whatever, are you going to be happy paying an excise tax just because the govt has decided your indulgence is hurting society?

How about we start taxing WEALTH instead of income. You know guys like Ted Kennedy (may he rest in peace) paid very little in taxes because he had very high wealth but not a great deal of income. Most of his income came from tax sheltered investments. How about we pass a law to just confiscate everyones wealth above $10 million. I mean, hell, who needs more than that? So, if Steven Spielberg has a net worth of $200 million, lets just take $190 million of it. Surely he can live on the $10 million we let him keep.

Reagan cut the top marginal income tax rate from 70% to 28%. He cut all the other tax brackets as well. When Reagan took office the annual fed govt revenue was approx $500 billion. When he left office the annual fed govt revenue was approx $950 billion. Cut tax rates and tax revenues increase. It worked when JFK did it. It worked when Reagan did it.

Last thought: I have never in my life been offered a job by a poor person

the joys of the free market. that why i like state run stuff but hate everything else Communist

[QUOTE="Meejoe27"]

But what is the incentive to be rich?

Those 1% also have to pay taxes! LOTS of taxes!

Taxes make being rich not even worth it. I mean poor people get to keep 100% of their income, so really poor people are more rich than rich people.

Ontain

I'm sorry i was just being sarcastic. I've just heard this argument so many times from rich people with no understanding of the poor.

My dad is pretty rich, he pulls in about 700K, and he pays about 350K in taxes. I've heard him complain so much about how unfair it is. I'm guessing he has 4-6 million in the bank.

I don't feel bad for him or anyone else with millions who complains about taxes.

Call me when you have to rip out your own tooth because you can't afford a dentist.

But what is the incentive to be rich?

Those 1% also have to pay taxes! LOTS of taxes!

Taxes make being rich not even worth it. I mean poor people get to keep 100% of their income, so really poor people are more rich than rich people.

What fun is a 400 foot sail boat when you have to pay 51% of your income to the governement? Why even buy a 50,000 sq foot home for your 19 year old super model girlfriend, the government is just going to take some "Luxury tax" whatever that means. Since when is owning a home a luxury? last i heard shelter was needed to survive. checkmate Govt.

Want to buy an island? hold on there buddy the Government wants to charge you taxes to pay for "Public schools" and "Nation Defense" WTF, my kids don't go to public schools, and i can just buy an army to defend myself, so why should i pay taxes? Poor people need healthcare? Well I don't need healthcare, my live in family doctor does all that. Poor people should just get live in family doctors. problem solved, omg i'm a genius, No poor people are just too dumb to think of theses things.

If i wanted to drive i would just have a road paved and then torn up after i'm done. Poor people should just do the same.

Poor people use money as an excuse for everything. get a job that pays 30 million a year and quit complaining.

Meejoe27

Actually, those 1% pay less taxes ratio wise than the middle class do. They have a ton of legal loopholes they use for tax write offs, so in the end, the %of their total wealth they pay to taxes is much less than what the middle class has to pay. Most of the American taxes come from the middle class.

I support the so-called "death tax". I don't like any sort of tax system that punishes the successful, but I do like the idea of telling the successful's children to pull their own weight.

Oleg_Huzwog

Look at this (it's a relatively unbiased source, btw): http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=2908

Are we still debating the estate tax? We need to tax the hell out of these people. Think of the new revenue streams!

People say "TAX THE RICH" and all that bs but think about it most of them worked hard to get where they were and deserve there money but if you were rich and were being taxed big time because you worked hard you wouldn't like it and be crying "DON'T TAX ME PLEASE"

I think some people are jealous.

(and no i am not rich by any means)

People say "TAX THE RICH" and all that bs but think about it most of them worked hard to get where they were and deserve there money but if you were rich and were being taxed big time because you worked hard you wouldn't like it and be crying "DON'T TAX ME PLEASE"

I think some people are jealous.

(and no i am not rich by any means)

People say "TAX THE RICH" and all that bs but think about it most of them worked hard to get where they were and deserve there money but if you were rich and were being taxed big time because you worked hard you wouldn't like it and be crying "DON'T TAX ME PLEASE"

I think some people are jealous.

(and no i am not rich by any means)

cs45F

[QUOTE="cs45F"]

People say "TAX THE RICH" and all that bs but think about it most of them worked hard to get where they were and deserve there money but if you were rich and were being taxed big time because you worked hard you wouldn't like it and be crying "DON'T TAX ME PLEASE"

I think some people are jealous.

(and no i am not rich by any means)

Unassigned

Screw that, you're gonna need a better argument and proper spelling, punctuation, and grammar if you want my cookie. Rich people aren't rich because they work harder, they're mostly rich because they inherited wealth. People like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are the exception, people like Paris Hilton are the rule. If you want to talk about hard work spend one day following around a construction worker, or an electrician, or a mom who's working two jobs to support her family. After that, spend the next day following one of the CEO's who runs the company that employs them and tell me who works harder. Compare their salaries, their benefits, their standard of living and tell me the disparity is proportionate to the work they do.

[QUOTE="cs45F"]

People say "TAX THE RICH" and all that bs but think about it most of them worked hard to get where they were and deserve there money but if you were rich and were being taxed big time because you worked hard you wouldn't like it and be crying "DON'T TAX ME PLEASE"

I think some people are jealous.

(and no i am not rich by any means)

The purpose of taxes is supposed to be to fund the legitimate functions of government. Its not supposed to be a way to "punish the nasty rich". The fact is that we have reached a point in this country where the federal tax code is a social engineering tool.

collegeboy64

[QUOTE="cs45F"]

People say "TAX THE RICH" and all that bs but think about it most of them worked hard to get where they were and deserve there money but if you were rich and were being taxed big time because you worked hard you wouldn't like it and be crying "DON'T TAX ME PLEASE"

I think some people are jealous.

(and no i am not rich by any means)

Look at this (it's a relatively unbiased source, btw): http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=2908

Are we still debating the estate tax? We need to tax the hell out of these people. Think of the new revenue streams!

Hot-Tamale

So people turned a profit, and?

Screw that, you're gonna need a better argument and proper spelling, punctuation, and grammar if you want my cookie. Rich people aren't rich because they work harder, they're mostly rich because they inherited wealth. People like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are the exception, people like Paris Hilton are the rule. If you want to talk about hard work spend one day following around a construction worker, or an electrician, or a mom who's working two jobs to support her family. After that, spend the next day following one of the CEO's who runs the company that employs them and tell me who works harder. Compare their salaries, their benefits, their standard of living and tell me the disparity is proportionate to the work they do.

theone86

So only lower class people are working people?:|

So only lower class people are working people?:|

MarcusAntonius

Its not really related but the founder of the small private company i work for makes about $600k a year after paying for everything. He has told me in great detail about the loopholes he throws his money through in order to keep pretty much all of it. I have never seen someone so proud of themself for cheating the system.

He cooks the books sooooooo much. And he's been audited and nothing happened so evidently its fairly doable without getting screwed.

Its not really related but the founder of the small private company i work for makes about $600k a year after paying for everything. He has told me in great detail about the loopholes he throws his money through in order to keep pretty much all of it. I have never seen someone so proud of themself for cheating the system.

He cooks the books sooooooo much. And he's been audited and nothing happened so evidently its fairly doable without getting screwed.

Alter_Echo

Its not really related but the founder of the small private company i work for makes about $600k a year after paying for everything. He has told me in great detail about the loopholes he throws his money through in order to keep pretty much all of it. I have never seen someone so proud of themself for cheating the system.

He cooks the books sooooooo much. And he's been audited and nothing happened so evidently its fairly doable without getting screwed.

Alter_Echo

Outrageous. I think we should bring back serfdom. After all, we all work for our fellow man. How dare people insist they keep more of what they earn. Just think of the excess he'll spend that money on, like payroll taxes, insurance, permits, licensing, investment capital, hiring more workers, just terrible.

so the top 1% of americans took 67% of income? so what. they deserve it ifthey got to where they can take it. whatsreally scary is the government took 33% of all income, and spent it on stupid crap.

so the top 1% of americans took 67% of income? so what. they deserve it ifthey got to where they can take it. whatsreally scary is the government took 33% of all income, and spent it on stupid crap.

Trollsters

People say "TAX THE RICH" and all that bs but think about it most of them worked hard to get where they were and deserve there money but if you were rich and were being taxed big time because you worked hard you wouldn't like it and be crying "DON'T TAX ME PLEASE"

I think some people are jealous.

(and no i am not rich by any means)

cs45F

[QUOTE="Alter_Echo"]

Its not really related but the founder of the small private company i work for makes about $600k a year after paying for everything. He has told me in great detail about the loopholes he throws his money through in order to keep pretty much all of it. I have never seen someone so proud of themself for cheating the system.

He cooks the books sooooooo much. And he's been audited and nothing happened so evidently its fairly doable without getting screwed.

MarcusAntonius

Outrageous. I think we should bring back serfdom. After all, we all work for our fellow man. How dare people insist they keep more of what they earn. Just think of the excess he'll spend that money on, like payroll taxes, insurance, permits, licensing, investment capital, hiring more workers, just terrible.

[QUOTE="collegeboy64"]

The purpose of taxes is supposed to be to fund the legitimate functions of government. Its not supposed to be a way to "punish the nasty rich". The fact is that we have reached a point in this country where the federal tax code is a social engineering tool.

Ontain

So not taking a person's money, that they earned legally, is "giving" them something?

You know, one of the great things about a capitalist system is that the market determine who "actually deserve"s what rewards. I know I would rather work in a system where I am free to negotiate my pay (reward) for my work, than work in one where some elected politician, or a government bureaucrat gets to decide.

And I really don't understand the hostility to the rich. The rich create jobs and economic activity that benefits many people. Take Bill Gates for example. How many people has that man made rich? All the people who started Microsoft with him. All the people that make computers, software, peripherals, etc etc. Not to mention the increased productivity and subsequently generated wealth that has come from the PC. Did Bill Gates, on his own, make all this happen. No. But by pursuing his own self interest, taking an idea and turning it in to reality, he has increased the weath of millions of people.

Last of all: Several of you make statements about how most of the rich in this country just inherited it. Wrong. Approx 80% of all American millionaires are first generation millionaires. Besides, if you want to tax those nasty richers that inherited their wealth, you need to start taxing wealth instead of (or maybe in your mind, in addition to) income.

[QUOTE="Meejoe27"]

But what is the incentive to be rich?

Those 1% also have to pay taxes! LOTS of taxes!

Taxes make being rich not even worth it. I mean poor people get to keep 100% of their income, so really poor people are more rich than rich people.

What fun is a 400 foot sail boat when you have to pay 51% of your income to the governement? Why even buy a 50,000 sq foot home for your 19 year old super model girlfriend, the government is just going to take some "Luxury tax" whatever that means. Since when is owning a home a luxury? last i heard shelter was needed to survive. checkmate Govt.

Want to buy an island? hold on there buddy the Government wants to charge you taxes to pay for "Public schools" and "Nation Defense" WTF, my kids don't go to public schools, and i can just buy an army to defend myself, so why should i pay taxes? Poor people need healthcare? Well I don't need healthcare, my live in family doctor does all that. Poor people should just get live in family doctors. problem solved, omg i'm a genius, No poor people are just too dumb to think of theses things.

If i wanted to drive i would just have a road paved and then torn up after i'm done. Poor people should just do the same.

Poor people use money as an excuse for everything. get a job that pays 30 million a year and quit complaining.

xionvalkyrie

Actually, those 1% pay less taxes ratio wise than the middle class do. They have a ton of legal loopholes they use for tax write offs, so in the end, the %of their total wealth they pay to taxes is much less than what the middle class has to pay. Most of the American taxes come from the middle class.

not to mention all those secret bank accounts in Swiss and Luxembourg banks...

the rich still make tens of millions, despite paying much of it off in the form of taxes. We could get insanely high revenue if we made it illegal to hide your money in offshore accounts.

Look at this (it's a relatively unbiased source, btw): http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=2908

Are we still debating the estate tax? We need to tax the hell out of these people. Think of the new revenue streams!

Hot-Tamale