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Some FACTS for the two of you. According to the respected Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center (among many other sources), a family of four in the exact middle of the income spectrum paid only 5.3 percent of its 2013 income in federal income taxes. Average income tax rates for these typical families have been lower during the Bush and Obama Administrations than at any time since the 1950s.
In this decade, overall federal taxes — which include income, payroll and excise taxes, and imputed corporate taxes — have been at their lowest levels for middle-income households, according to the latest data from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
"You can't reduce the deficit to the levels that it needs to be reduced without having some revenue in the mix," Obama said. "The revenue we're talking about isn't coming out of the pockets of middle-class families that are struggling -- it's coming out of folks who are doing extraordinarily well and who are enjoying the lowest tax rates since before I was born. If you're a -- if you are a wealthy CEO or a … hedge fund manager in America right now, your taxes are lower than they have ever been. They're lower than they've been since the 1950s."
Even so, when Obama said that "if you're a … wealthy CEO or a … hedge fund manager in America right now, your taxes are … lower than they've been since the 1950s," he's close: Their tax rates are at or near the lows for the years elapsed since then.
The top marginal income tax rates were lower between 1988 and 1992 than they are today, but otherwise, Obama is right. They were higher for the other years. Meanwhile, the rates that are used to tax carried interest for hedge-fund managers have been at historical lows since 2003. And effective tax rates for high-income earners were either at their lowest since 1960 or very close to their lowest (at least according to the most recent data available). On balance, we rate Obama’s statement Mostly True.
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As for 3~Shepherds' idea that the U.S. is spending tons of money supporting others, I hope that isn't foreign aid the poster has in mind. Because that is something the richest nation in the history of the world does less and less every year. While the government used to approach foreign aid as a way to spread democracy and improve the world's opinion of our way of life, foreign aid now accounts for slightly more or less than 1% of our national budget year to year in this decade.
Yet, we are in debt, by TRILLONS. How does one keep charging the credit card when the money is really not there? One thing to help with basic needs, it's another to give dollars for wars and rebuilding what they destroy.
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That is far from the perception many Americans have. The Harvard Political Review quotes some research done at the University of Maryland. "In a November 2010 poll conducted by the University of Maryland, respondents estimated that 25% of the U.S. federal budget goes to foreign aid. Numerous other polls show that Americans believe foreign aid to be one of the biggest pieces of federal spending — larger than defense spending, Social Security, and a host of other programs. In fact, respondents to the University of Maryland poll said that foreign aid should be cut down to a more reasonable level of 10% of the federal budget." Remember what I said above? IN FACT, it's 9% less than THAT!
Easy enough STOP giving to countries who have human rights issues and use the money to cause chaos in the world.
I am a legal non immigrant and pay SS Taxes, Medicare yet not eligible to receive any benefits under both.
Nature balances itself somehow.
Is this nature balancing things out or our government rearranging money you worked for?
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Originally Posted by Teilhard
A person with no reportable income will pay no income taxes … anywhere … Period.
Illegals do this a lot.......why should taxpayers pay for their lifestyle?
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Somebody who lives entirely "off the grid," eating squirrels and nuts and seeds and whatever else (s)he can gather or catch … will have no taxable income ...
This person is also not asking the taxpayer for a dime, now are they?
In general you have to be fairly motivated to be an immigrant. The US is not all that liberal about letting in legal immigrants so I bet they tend to be better skilled and educated. The illegal immigrants are a different story, but many of them take the crappiest jobs that Americans won't do.
a lie commonly pushed by pro-illegal apologists
Every time there's been a raid on these factories that employ lots of illegal alien invaders and the invaders are taken away the Americans have lined up outside trying to get the jobs.
LOL! No you don't! Entering the US illegally the first time (if you are caught) is a misdemeaner. Entering illegally a second time is a FELONY.
All people like you have to say about entering a second time, and committing a FEDERAL FELONY is.... excuse making.
Stop pretending you actually respect the law. You don't.
Excuse me … ???
I have never indicated that I favor undocumented ("illegal") immigration …
I do favor treating all persons with respect and dignity …
I also favor taking close note of the facts of history and the way past injustices come back to haunt us decades later …
I understand that in these times many immigrants -- documented or not -- are refugees fleeing oppression, poverty, violence and injustice "back home" …
Be prepared to be lectured by snotty, pro-criminal Leftists who will tell you that this fact does not exist.
You sound like you are describing Geraldo Rivera on FOX's show "The Five". He denies they take more than they give, and he also denies they are responsible for crime for the most part. This despite Kimberly showing him government stats to the contrary.
This story really hits home because I see it daily where I live. I live in a 55+mobile home park in an older part of Lakeland, Fla. When you leave the park the population in this neighborhood, is primarily low income immigrants that are not English speaking. Then there are I guess lower income people, from this country or so it seems. The Sav-A-Lot grocery store is in front of my park, and the customers are primarily the immigrants. The lines are always long, and I see one after the other using the EBT cards. Some get money back with the card, and I don't understand that at all. Yet the seniors in the park I live in, struggle to buy their food on their fixed income. I no longer go in that Sav-A-Lot, it is just to irritating to see people half my age, and not even English speaking getting all this free food. Yet our tax money is paying for them to eat. Something is very wrong with a country that is allowing this. It is very insulting to many Americans. I can't understand why the US Gov't has allowed all these people in here, that can't support themselves.
My view is. You can't clean anyone's house, until you are capable of cleaning your own. The USA is doing a miserable job on the home front, yet thinks nothing of collecting taxes from all of us to support others.
If they are getting cash back from an EBT card, that means they are getting temporary assistance for needy family or child support from the social services, too. They put food stamps and money on EBT cards. I agree they are abusing our welfare system, but then again so are many others.
Years ago when immigrants were screened prior to entering one of the things they had to show was they had someone already here who would be their sponsor,help them along until they could get work and provide for themselves. That has been replaced with the govt sponsoring them and getting food,housing,medical and college tuition and dont ever if they choose lift a finger to work. Now do you get why people will do whatever it takes to get here.? Other nations dont do this and have limits to who enters. What we have here is when things get rough and out off control,throw up your hands and surrender. So hows that working for us? Brace yourself for whats coming.
You guys always think things fit into a chart. Not so. Warren Buffett has spoken several times about the inequity and even said in one interview he would be the lowest paying tax payer in his office.
Read this article. Even when the wealthy pay a good amount in taxes, they aren't paying enough because of the loopholes allowing them various deductions.
From the article:
This is why it's such a joke when some CEO's say they're "only taking a salary of $1." How benevolent. That shouldn't even be legal.
And yet, he has NEVER voluntarily paid more money to the government. Why would I listen to a hypocrite regarding taxes?
The treasury is taking in record taxes. But we still have a money issue. That's because it's NOT the money being paid in taxes as much as the money being paid out in entitlements.
A person with no reportable income will pay no income taxes … anywhere … Period.
Somebody who lives entirely "off the grid," eating squirrels and nuts and seeds and whatever else (s)he can gather or catch … will have no taxable income ...
As does someone that deals in the cash crop of selling drugs.
But do we really need to bring additional people in from other countries to support?
It seems we should have a form of legal immigration that allows people from other countries to live here so long as they never partake in our social safety nets. It would guarantee that we get the hardest working individuals. They can purchase their own social safety nets (i.e. insurance).
Most certainly USA needs immigration, especially low wage. There is something in American air, USA grinds low income work force into useless pulp who either too disabled, addicted, depressed, dumb or otherwise incapable and it breeds the same. USA is a monster who must be fed immigrants, or it dies.
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