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.
A 40 percent jump in Wall Street bonuses this year may bring relief to New York City and Albany as the state and its biggest metropolis struggle with a combined $14 billion in budget deficits this fiscal year and next.
I wonder how many people actually believe that outlandish bonuses going to bankers is going to benefit anyone except those bankers? Give more money to rich people and everyone does better? I thought that the "trickle down" theory died when Ronald Reagan left office.
What we need is a little more "trickle up." Do something to benefit middle income taxpayers, and then everyone will do better.
Agree with Fred but the point of the link is that, because high incomes result in more city and state tax being paid (higher rates), the fiscal situation for NYC and NYS would be improved.
There may be some truth to that (though a lot of those people seem to pay minimal taxes anyway, e.g. the "capital gains" rate applied to hedge fund managers), but it sure seems a convenient point for business publications to be making.
Maybe the city and state would not need as much revenue if they didn't need to provide so many programs to help everyone else, who's been screwed for 30 years, make it through life in this expensive city.
> I wonder how many people actually believe that outlandish bonuses going to bankers is going to benefit anyone except those bankers? Give more money to rich people and everyone does better? I thought that the "trickle down" theory died when Ronald Reagan left office.
Well, everyone from the poor to the middle class felt worse when banker bonuses plunged correct?
Maybe the city and state would not need as much revenue if they didn't need to provide so many programs to help everyone else, who's been screwed for 30 years, make it through life in this expensive city.
That's an entirely different kettle of fish. I'm not sure the programs provided by the state are the problem. I think it's more like the corruption emanating from Albany. New Jersey has had a reputation as one of the most corrupt states in the union for a long time--but lately it seems as though we're challenging them for the title.
The notion that high-income people pay little to no taxes is pure nonsense, especially on the state level.
In NYS, every dollar of salary and bonus after the first $20K is taxed at the full 6.85% rate. Capital gains are also taxed as ordinary income by the state AND city. There is no separate lower rate for capital gains like federal income tax.
If there is one thing our state is very good at, it's collecting taxes.
In NYS, every dollar of salary and bonus after the first $20K is taxed at the full 6.85% rate. Capital gains are also taxed as ordinary income by the state AND city. There is no separate lower rate for capital gains like federal income tax.
But the overall percentage going to taxes, including federal, is much lower.
I have a good income as a salaried employee, enough to get me into a 33% marginal rate federal bracket. And the state and city taxes. Someone who takes home $30 million from a hedge fund might pay regular income tax on that to the state and city, but is paying only the capital gains rate to Washington. And that's nuts.
1) In theory, some of the NY revenue benefit will actually be in NJ and CT since some of the Wall Streeters live there (and many of the hedge funds are now HQ'd in Greenwich and not Manhattan).
2) Continue to make our housing costs the most outrageous in America, we don't even have California to rival us anymore. The reason most people in this area can't afford housing and why I will be pushed away one day soon is because these bankers have mega money to drive the prices up.
3) Make the costs of everything else around here more than they are elsewhere.
I really think a lot of the money the gov't gave to these greedy banks should've gone instead to a combination of helping small businesses startup and grow and to helping the long-term unemployed be able to retrain for new careers.
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.
