Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I think we are overdue for some massive oversimplification. Cut it all....entitlements, defense, the nickel and dime pet projects. I could care less that X amount of Americans want this or that, the problem is we all need to realize we simply cannot have it as it currently functions. Most of these programs have only been around a typical human life span, and we are only just starting to see the long term costs on society. SOMETHING has to give, and I am not talking about the tax payers!
Wow, you are the master at misconstruing. Poor don't have "no" income, they just have less. Everybody who earns income should have to pay income tax, after a reasonable personal exemption. However, today, 47% of those with incomes, and who files returns, pay nothing or less, in income taxes.
On the odd chance you are actually being serious (and it is hard to tell), if you have no income, obviously you owe no income tax, but of course nobody (except you and other strawman-crafters) are talking about them.
Out of curiosity, how many strawmen, like the above post, do you give birth to in an average day?
Let's deal with myths rather than straw men, shall we? I've already posted the information reported by the New York Times that dismisses that 47% figure as a total fabrication, so that's the first myth that needs to be summarily discarded.
Given that 47% is so close to 50%, for purpose of general discussion, let's just say the claim is "half of all people employed pay no income tax", OK? Now if you've been on this planet a while, you ought to be able to name dozens if not hundreds of people that you personally know (half of everyone you know) who pay no federal income tax, if that were true. Of course, that's absurd. I can't speak for anyone else, but I personally know NO ONE who is employed that pays no federal income tax. I'm sure there are those who's incomes are so low that they don't owe any taxes, but I don't know a single one of them, and I've known lots of people during my several decades of life.
Furthermore, there is this thing called "Alternative Minimum Tax" (ATM) which is in place to address those with a lot of deductions and exemptions which could reduce their tax liability to zero. The ATM is set at fixed levels, with virtually none of the deductions allowed in standard filing, and it is the greater amount of taxes owed between the standard filing and alternative, which must be used. In 2012, the amounts are, $33.750 for single, and $45,000 for married couples. There are two tax brackets .... 26% for all income over those levels, and up to $175,000, and 28% for all income above that. That's a far cry from the 15% paid for capital gains tax that generally apply only to higher income folks. So it's a very small percentage of people that will escape paying something in what we call "income taxes". The 47% figure is preposterous.
The second myth that must be dealt with is the fraud of separating "income tax" and "payroll taxes" as if the payroll taxes aren't federal taxes. They most certainly are federal taxes, and EVERYONE who is employed, pays them regardless of income level, and those taxes go straight into he same general treasury account as all other collected revenue is, just like "income" taxes do. The idea that there are separate "accounts", such as a "social security" account for which the SS payroll tax collected is kept is a blatant lie. No such account exists. There are only ledger entries that list (for accounting purposes) the various sources of the funds collected and placed in that general treasury account. So, because "income taxes" and "payroll taxes" are handled in the exact same manner, it's simply double talk to discuss them are separate. Both are federal income taxes, and both affect a person's take home pay, regardless of their separate designations on your paycheck stub. Fact is, lots of lower income folks actually pay more in payroll taxes than they do in "income" tax ... but it still money out of their paycheck, and it still goes to the federal government.
Another myth is that these low and middle income people who pay no income taxes are freeloaders, when the reality is, they generally pay a higher percentage of income in taxes than extremely wealthy people do, while being a crucial component to the overall economy because they spend the majority of there incomes (taxed or not), while wealthy people spend just a portion of their incomes each month.
You see, even middle class high median incomes like $100,000 will pay a higher percentage overall because their incomes come from wages and salaries which are taxed at higher rates than the income wealthy people collect from their investment incomes. That hold true for Billionaires as opposed to Millionaires .... with the Billionaires paying less percentage wise than the Millionaires .... not that anyone has sympathy for what tax rate Millionaires wind up paying.
So, the bottom line is, that 47% figure is a total crock.
Everyone is free to pay extra out of there income to the government. Stop complaining and just pay your fair share per month. Dont worry about the rich and just do your god deed!
I am just a middle class peon and i would gladly pay another $100.00 or so in taxes to help get my country get in better shape. A $100.00 out of anyone's budget here on CD wouldn't hurt you a bit(those without jobs excepted). Some of these SILVER SPOON WHINERS just appall me!
?
Oh please don't be apalled, send me a $100 Veratile ole buddy. I need t o further my education, my beer and wine budget is a little low, could stand some help with my electric bill, wouldn't mind if you subsidized my house payment either. Why run it through the hands of a bunch of half assed government workers and I end up getting only 50 cents. Come on good buddy, $100 don't sound like much though. How much do you make? How bout increasing that another 10-15%, think of it as oh I don't know, your mortgage deduction, yea I'll take that my children could use a free lunch too, hell food stamps don't go far when your next check is a shipment away. None of this drug testing for benifits neither, damn worser idea I seen yet.
I am just a middle class peon and i would gladly pay another $100.00 or so in taxes to help get my country get in better shape. A $100.00 out of anyone's budget here on CD wouldn't hurt you a bit(those without jobs excepted). Some of these SILVER SPOON WHINERS just appall me!
It's not just a matter of paying taxes, it is the fact that the government spends money in a manner that would be considered foolish by anything that is not government and STILL doesn't even achieve the desired results (which are often undesirable).
The War on Drugs is a failure and a black hole that sucks up all the money that touches it. Other nations get by just fine without the extensive farm subsidies that the US government provides (New Zealand and Canada for example), the government feels the need to regulate and dictate every private activity it can possibly thing of. American schools spend far more than most other schools in the developed world, but American schools rank among the lowest in the developed world.
The government is the only entity that is not expected to budget accordingly during a financial crisis. In fact, there is a large contingent of people (especially civil servants and politicians) who feel that the government should spend even more money during a financial crisis and they oppose cutting government spending during times of economic success as well. They are almost unwitting Soviets. Sure, very few of them would admit to being socialists or Communists (many would even be offended by the comparison), but there is not a good that does not deserve either punitive tax or a support subsidy, there is not a program that is wasteful or a regulation that is unneeded ("If it saves just one life"), and so on.
They remind me of a line in the song Fortunate Son by Clearwater Creedence Revival (which is also about another government policy...); "When you ask them 'how much should we give' they only answer 'more, more, more...'"
Well, it ain't me. Until governments start spending our money better, they do not deserve more.
I am just a middle class peon and i would gladly pay another $100.00 or so in taxes to help get my country get in better shape. A $100.00 out of anyone's budget here on CD wouldn't hurt you a bit(those without jobs excepted). Some of these SILVER SPOON WHINERS just appall me!
I have great news for you.. This is your lucky day!!! I have recently been named as a collection agent for the federal government! You can simply mail me a check and I will personally see to it that the government gets it. Look at all the hassle you've been saved. Just make it payable to me and I will make your contribution to the national debt for you!! I promise you the money will be put to just as good of use as mailing it directly to the federal government.
I am just a middle class peon and i would gladly pay another $100.00 or so in taxes to help get my country get in better shape. A $100.00 out of anyone's budget here on CD wouldn't hurt you a bit(those without jobs excepted). Some of these SILVER SPOON WHINERS just appall me!
why would you give more money to a group of people who are wasting your hard earn dollars. its like giving money to a crack head to buy food, you know they will not go buy food!!! common sense!!! its not about the amount of dollars, its about the amount of waste!! give your 100 dollars but dont make me feel bad because I dont want to give them any more money to waste!!
You can pay an extra money in taxes.I don't want to .The government need to be trimmed and all military bases need to be closed .
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
