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Surely, you are aware that the most significant tax breaks are given to the low-income in the form of REFUNDABLE tax CREDITS, no?
If you don't know what that means, admit it and ask.
Yes i know but theres a difference between someone who makes 1,500 a mth getting tax breaks to just eat and pay the basics vs someone who has made billions in profits by getting tax breaks to create jobs he doesn't create and takes jobs overseas, or gets local tax moneys to come to town to open a store to make more profit for themselves. And even demands more tax breaks after but freezes wages to pad the bottomline. Sorry i just have no empathy for corporate america today. Esp after the last five years having record historic profits at the expensive of the tax payer and US workers.
Which we already have via SS and Medicare, the benefits recipients of which pay taxes for decades and then premiums for Medicare coverage when they become eligible.
Learn to paint a house or build a fence, and you won't be making such a crappy income unless you have some sort of physical or mental issue. I'm all in favor of helping those who can't help themselves, but not so much for those who refuse to help themselves.
When I was going to junior college making $5 an hour at Mervyn's department store. I gave up my nights and weekends learning to hang wallpaper and practicing it for weeks for free. A couple of months later, I quit the job making $5 an hour to make $20 an hour working for myself hanging wallpaper. It allowed me more time for school since I was able to work half the amount and still bring home double the pay.
If suddenly my "professional" skills were no longer in demand at my current job, I know I could hone my skills painting and begin painting homes and making probably $30k in my first year and going up steadily from that. I would also be building fences and doing landscaping that first year to help maintain some income.
I assume that you believe I'm much smarter than most of the rest of the population, since I'm going to guess that you're prepared to say most other people couldn't do this.
There are all kinds of reasons why some people just don't make it no matter what they do or don't do. But they won't go away just because more industrious, intelligent, extroverted, connected or whatever people don't like that.
Plus, there is only so much demand. When you are good at wallpapers, you might simply push an incumbent out of business.
Yes i know but theres a difference between someone who makes 1,500 a mth getting tax breaks...
I didn't ask about tax breaks. I specifically asked about what you know about REFUNDABLE tax CREDITS. There's a HUGE difference between the two. Are you ignorant as to what they are?
That is the point of a social security system, stuff gets redistributed from the top to the bottom.
Gee but for some reason never before in the history of our country have we seen such a gap in wealth and income as we do today. The last time was just before the great depression. How does that support your redistribution of wealth from the top to the bottom theory working. I would think the redistribution of weath from the poor and middle class to the elite rich would be obvious?
I didn't ask about tax breaks. I specifically asked about what you know about REFUNDABLE tax CREDITS. There's a HUGE difference between the two. Are you ignorant as to what they are?
Gee sumatics again? One doesn't take money away from you (tax breaks and loopholes, one does and returns it to you(refund). SO?
Gee but for some reason never before in the history of our country have we seen such a gap in wealth and income as we do today. The last time was just before the great depression. How does that support your redistribution of wealth from the top to the bottom theory working. I would think the redistribution of weath from the poor and middle class to the elite rich would be obvious?
Without the existing redistribution things would be much worse than they already are. The way I see it, things are not bad because of that system, but despite it.
Gee sumatics again? One doesn't take money away from you (tax breaks and loopholes
Indeed, it does. The refundable tax credit money has to come from somewhere.
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one does and returns it to you(refund). SO?
Who gets their earned money taken away from them, and who gets money they didn't earn given to them? Who gets taxed exorbitantly? Who gets a refundable tax credit paid for by someone else?
You really have NO clue what's going on. Your response indicates that you have NO clue what a REFUNDABLE tax credit is. /SMH
If you are still confused, I'd be more than happy to help you some more.
We can start with the basics:
2 > 1
5 > 2
100 > 10
Let me know if you got that, and I'll continue on.
I am quite good with math thank you very much (engineering major). You like to say that it's as simple as a flat tax but that just isn't reality.
A flat tax among everyone would widen the income inequality gap by shifting tax burden from the rich to the poor. The rich make not just considerably more money, they make an insane amount of money. People making barely liveable wages will now be subject to higher effective tax rates while the rich will be subject to lower effective tax rates.
The flat tax system may work more along the lines of your logic if there wasn't such a massive wage gap. Rich benefit off of the backs of the poor and many are not able to get ahead in life because of this gap.
There is so much systemic inequality that taxing everyone at a flat rate will be devastating.
Well, but humans are not leopards, good people don't let other people starve. And I think we should be proud of it.
Good people shouldn't expect others to provide for them if they choose not to do anything.
Oh, and good people, like myself, won't let those who can't take care of themselves starve.
I'll tell you what. How about you and I download our bank statements for each month last year and blur out most everything except our financial donations to charities that help? We can offline exchange information such as email address and phone numbers and then do that. I'll produce records showing that every single month I give to Be An Angel. It's an organization that helps poor children with multiple handicaps. I'll show the multiple amounts I've given to the Salvation Army. We can also show our paystubs and see who gives to the United Way. Why we're at it, we can also check for environment causes. I have been giving to the Bayou Land Conservancy while their in the midst of trying to purchase some wetlands south of Houston to protect. Let me know if this is something that might interest you so we can see if either of us, one of us or both of us actually care enough to put money behind it. If you say money isn't enough, I can also share with you the email conversation currently taking place where I'm organizing a book drive to help get books to unfortunate children through United Way.
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Originally Posted by Neuling
I think anyone working the whole day and giving their best, deserves a decent income they can live on, no matter what their job is. I am not saying they should earn like a doctor, but get a decent income.
How many times have you gone to your employer and asked that your pay gets equalized with those who make less than you by having some of your pay taken from your check and added to theirs?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Neuling
That whole notion of the "labor market" is utterly flawed in my view. It pretends humans are robots that employers simply buy if the technical specifications are right. Well, but one can't get humans' work without getting the whole human being with all their needs as well as they are not separate.
The more complex our world becomes, the more people will not be able to keep up. That is a global problem. The ambitious and over-achievers don't like that, but still...
Hogwash. It all comes down to skills. The better and more unique your skills, the better you are compensated.
Would you pay $20 for a McDonald's cheeseburger? Would you pay $20 for a fresh plate of trout almondeine with asparagus, shiitake mushrooms, artisan bread, rice pudding and a glass of wine?
People will only pay for what they get, be it dinner or labor. It's worth what the value determined by it's uniqueness, quality or value.
Do you pay $30 an hour for a babysitter? If so, how much do you feel you should pay a plumber? Do you feel that plumber should also make $30 an hour?
It's really really simple. If you want more pay, it's up to YOU to make yourself worth that pay.
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