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The absolute amount of taxes does matter. There should not be any goal of making a high income person and a middle income person the same financially.
Being "a heck of a lot better off" does not matter.
We have two basic tax problems in the USA.
1. Our government is huge and should be reduced by 40 - 50%.
2. Too many Americans pay no income taxes.
Solve those two problems and the arguments about taxes would pretty much go away.
Not only should there be no such goal in your view, there is none anyway. Take any examples and do the maths and you will see that there are no cases where high and middle income people are the same financially because of taxes.
I pay no income tax, either. And it is fair that way. I pay into social security (and not little), but no taxes. To the government it makes more sense for me to continue my freelance work than if I were taxed out of my job and became unemployed and thus a burden on society.
The absolute amount of taxes doesn't matter. If a rich person paid 50% and a lower middle-class person paid just 10%, the rich person is still a heck of a lot better off. It's 50% of a whole lot vs 10% of very little.
Don't you see the hypocrisy of this statement? It's not about the absolute amount. It's about a percentage, that is what is fair. Of course the rich person is going to pay more dollar-wise, but he will pay more dollar-wise when the tax rate is set equally across the board also b/c it's a percentage. Why does he need to be charged a greater percentage?
I favor a consumption tax or a flat income tax, a percentage is a percentage is a percentage. There is no incentive to work and become a high earner if the gov't is just going to take it. One poster said he thinks people who make $50M/year should be taxed at 95%. That means their take-home would be $2.5M. What is the incentive for working to earn a large salary if you're going to end up bumped down a few brackets after you pay your taxes? That makes no sense.
Anyway, you are correct in that a person paying 50% of their income on a million a year is better off than someone paying 10% of their $15k/year income. Sure. But that doesn't mean it's morally right to gouge people who have busted their butts to earn a dime. You're rewarding laziness by using a progressive tax structure.
Nah, because he realized I was absolutely right. He knows I don't think much of the way he lives his life. Nor am I envious, I deliberately don't work more than I have to to make ends meet. He works, I live
You could "live" better if you worked harder/more. :roll: If you deliberately do not work harder, you have absolutely no one to blame but yourself. I wonder what your retirement will be like, if you even get to take one.
My brother is a greedy, *****rdly capitalist, and he knows what I think of him. If he were not my brother I would probably not even talk to someone like that.
I have a family member who is a mooching, self-serving, irresponsible welfare mama who refuses to get a job b/c she knows the gov't will always pick up the tab for her. If she was not a member of the family, I most assuredly would not even talk to someone like that.
You are jealous of the rich, plain and simple. You see what they have and you are jealous. You don't like rich people b/c you yourself are not rich and for some reason, you can't understand that with hard work and good decisions, you could have the things that they have. It's not about being materialistic, it's about enjoying life. Perhaps this girl and her family were an exception or something, left you with a bad taste in your mouth. But you're painting with a rather broad brush here.
I want a link to statistics or an article backing up your assertion that the poor are more generous than the rich. I think you're forgetting all the donations that the rich make, even if only to lower their tax burden. Generosity means giving of your time, talent and treasure, not just b/c you "feel it" in your wallet.
You are so off. Why is it so difficult to understand that someone does not want to be rich, does not want the stuff others have. Is it brainwashing that makes you people so one-dimensional?
It is about being materialist, it is not about enjoying life. My brother for instance is not enjoying his life, he is wasting it on work. Actually, my mother, who is also very worried about him, has told me that he told her he envies me. But he has low self-esteem and money is how he tries to prove to others that he is somebody. I feel pity for him, not envy.
Go around the world the way I have done, including developing countries, and you will notice how generous even the poorest people are...
You could "live" better if you worked harder/more. :roll: If you deliberately do not work harder, you have absolutely no one to blame but yourself. I wonder what your retirement will be like, if you even get to take one.
I can't imagine living better than I do. Myself to blame? Blame for what? Being content with what I have? Since when is that a bad thing? Where I come from modesty and humility are virtues.
My retirement will be humble as well, I am not one of those elderly who think they have a right to go on trips all the time and enjoy decades of pleasure till they finally die.
I have a family member who is a mooching, self-serving, irresponsible welfare mama who refuses to get a job b/c she knows the gov't will always pick up the tab for her. If she was not a member of the family, I most assuredly would not even talk to someone like that.
The only problem that there is no analogy here. I am not lazy, nor have I ever taken any help from government (even when I was entitled to). Next.
Don't you see the hypocrisy of this statement? It's not about the absolute amount. It's about a percentage, that is what is fair. Of course the rich person is going to pay more dollar-wise, but he will pay more dollar-wise when the tax rate is set equally across the board also b/c it's a percentage. Why does he need to be charged a greater percentage?
I favor a consumption tax or a flat income tax, a percentage is a percentage is a percentage. There is no incentive to work and become a high earner if the gov't is just going to take it. One poster said he thinks people who make $50M/year should be taxed at 95%. That means their take-home would be $2.5M. What is the incentive for working to earn a large salary if you're going to end up bumped down a few brackets after you pay your taxes? That makes no sense.
Anyway, you are correct in that a person paying 50% of their income on a million a year is better off than someone paying 10% of their $15k/year income. Sure. But that doesn't mean it's morally right to gouge people who have busted their butts to earn a dime. You're rewarding laziness by using a progressive tax structure.
Well, like it or not, I support progressive taxation, including a threshold below which there is no taxation at all.
Since you mention those incentives for working to earn a large salary, why do people need an incentive for doing that if it were what they really wished to do? I mean, if someone wants to have a huge yacht, he won't care if he has to work 5 or 8 years for it. I guess those who need an incentive to work and thus earn a whole lot are those who deep inside know they don't really need that money to be happy, but somehow society makes them think they should be trying to make a lot of money.
My point is, why does someone earning 10k a month care if they pay 3k or 4k or 5k in taxes per month? In my view that is just childish. If they are sooo pissed by the tax rate for the rich, why not cut back the work and earn less?
As to your question, I just happen to be a very non-materialist person, I used to be a Buddhist for a long time, and although I no longer am for religious reasons, I still believe in various aspects of it that make sense to me, for instance that accumulating material wealth is unwise and stupid, a waste of energy and time. I feel sorry for my brother because he is wasting his only life and doesn't realize it.
This is what's wrong with American today. Thanks for articulating it so well.
If you were a Buddhist, I'm surprised you believe that your brother is wasting his ONLY life. You can't pick and choose from religions, you either are Buddhist, or you're not. You can't say wealth is bad and a waste of time and then go on to say you only get one life. Your personal opinion (Buddhist views aside) is either that accumulating wealth is immoral b/c material things are bad (keep in mind that "rich" does not equal materialistic in all cases) or that working long hours to accumulate that wealth is immoral b/c it's wasting your life (keep in mind that those who work long hours younger in life usually get a nicer and longer retirement).
You can feel sorry for the rich all you want, they don't feel sorry for you due to a poor attitude. Heck, I'm middle class and I feel disgusted by your attitude. You represent everything I despise about how our country supports those who don't feel like doing for themselves. It's all fine and dandy if you only want to work the bare minimum but I sure as heck hope I am not paying for your food, housing, medical care or anything else now or in the future.
I pay no income tax, either. And it is fair that way. I pay into social security (and not little), but no taxes. To the government it makes more sense for me to continue my freelance work than if I were taxed out of my job and became unemployed and thus a burden on society.
Then I'm gonna go ahead and lump you in with the rest of the lazy slobs (i.e., 47% of Americans) who pay no taxes. I was a freelance writer for 2.5 years and I had to pay taxes on my earnings (yes, I also had to pay 15% for SS and Medicare, which is what you're referring to...it's only 7% more than you would pay in at a W4 position.
It's not a gov't thing to say they're not going to tax you out of your job so you don't become unemployed, that is your own doing. If you worked a little more and made more money, you would pay taxes.
You ARE a burden on society if you are not paying taxes.
Wow, just wow, you don't get it at all.
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Generosity means giving of your time, talent and treasure, not just b/c you "feel it" in your wallet.
