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I have long favored a flat tax. Everyone pays the same rate on gross income. No deductions. No credits. No loopholes. Everyone has equal skin in the game. Easy- peasy and fair
Obviously the 2017 Congress majority did not agree.
Doubled the child tax credit means more low income earners don’t pay a dime and retained intended loopholes.
Despite this, some of those who voted for this continue to point out half the people don’t pay any taxes while protecting their donors.
If we have a flat tax, why not have flat pricing? A family with a $300,000 income pays $30,000 for their new Toyota. A family with $30,000 pays $3000 for their new Toyota. So we all feel the same pain? Right?
See, this is the problem of having nearly any debate with some people.
Not everything is binary.
Issue to consider: Tax rate of the wealthy in regards to the national debt
Option 1: Do nothing
Option 2: Tax them 100%
There is no option 3.
Issue to consider: Abortion
Option 1: Kill all the babies
Option 2: Kill none of the babies
Issue to consider: Police brutality
Option 1: Do nothing.
Option 2: Defund the police 100% and it is a free-for-all and the thin blue line is gone... AAAAAAHHHH
Sorry, but it is ridiculous notion. Why is it that the rich did SO well for so many years under Obama with the tax rate unchanged? Our economy grew fine in 2017 BEFORE Trump put in tax cuts mostly for the wealthy and crying about the federal interest rate and pushing tariffs.
Did you know that during some of the best economic times of our country, the marginal tax rate was 70%? Maybe if the government was going to take 70% it made more sense from a business perspective to keep your employees and pay them more. Crazy concept, I know.
You lost me here. The economy was NOT doing fine under Obama. It was the only administration that never had a year of 3% growth. They had punishing regulations. The Trump tax cuts did not go mostly to the wealthy. A HUGE number of middle class got a break. The lower income didn't because they pay ZERO FEDERAL INCOME TAXES.
And on that marginal rate of 70% BS, the real rate (effective rate after deductions was much closer to the highest marginal tax rate). Do not talk about what you don't know anything about.
If we have a flat tax, why not have flat pricing? A family with a $300,000 income pays $30,000 for their new Toyota. A family with $30,000 pays $3000 for their new Toyota. So we all feel the same pain? Right?
That makes no sense. No one is forced to by a car. Besides the OP wasn't advocating for a flat tax.
I have long favored a flat tax. Everyone pays the same rate on gross income. No deductions. No credits. No loopholes. Everyone has equal skin in the game. Easy- peasy and fair
Obviously the 2017 Congress majority did not agree.
Doubled the child tax credit means more low income earners don’t pay a dime and retained intended loopholes.
Despite this, some of those who voted for this continue to point out half the people don’t pay any taxes while protecting their donors.
I don't care for the flat tax as it has a greater impact on the low income and low end middle class and that are just getting by. They should have simplified the tax code in 2017 and taken away many of the tax breaks as was their promise. I agree that everyone should pay some form of tax.
Our deficits began with the Bush cuts and continued under Obama, and increased under Trump. We would have run deficits even without the wars in the ME.
If Biden wins and increases taxes upon the richest Americans (say, $500k annual income plus), would it not be better to apply it to the backbreaking debt as opposed to just giving health care to illegal aliens, paying off people’s’ loans, giving out house down payments, etc.?
So there we have it: the Republican political strategy since Ronald Reagan laid out in full view. The GOP runs up the national debt, trillions, spending like a drunken sailor, all on borrowed money. They cut taxes for the rich. Then they lose the next election and call on the Democrats, who are always cleaning up their mess, to forgo any programs because the debt is so out of hand. The Republicans are borrow and spend fanatics -- let the kids and grandkids pay for it. Somebody gets rich off of that. No, we can't have decent school lunches. No, we can't have a proper education. No, we can't offer programs for the poor or retraining for those out of work. No, we can't afford universal healthcare. No, we can't address the high cost of college or student loans. The Republicans have to find some way to spend the country into a hole -- the military is always a good money pit. Maybe a war (Iraq?). Build a wall? The GOP has spent us in a hole and the Democrats are shamed for having to get us out. The Democrats tax and spend -- also known as 'pay as you go'. Maybe you will have to pay taxes -- instead of buying the latest Apple Watch. But your kid gets a real lunch at school. You might not be homeless because your wife has cancer. The car might have to go another year. You might get retrained when the corporate boss sends your factory job to India. The rich might have to keep the old yacht.
Take a good look at corporate profits in recent years. Take a look at the individuals that are piling up billions and pay little or no taxes. Once upon a time we sent people into space and to the moon, fought a costly war in Asia, waged a war on poverty, educated a huge population boom of students, worked our way through a revolution in civil rights, and built or refurbished our infrastructure all at the same time.
So, sure, we could (and should) pay down the debt with those higher taxes. But maybe we could purchase a few hundred fewer cruise missiles and smart bombs and use some tax money to help Americans?
The current military spending alone is a sucking wound on the Federal budget. The cruise missile attack on the three Syrian bases in 2018 cost us all $92 million. Maybe we should have offered Assad a check for $70 million to take a hike. Each cruise missile costs $1.4 million and has a shelf life of 30 years -- but it has to be occasionally refitted and upgraded because of improved technology and new software (ca-ching). The ever-popular drone (the "Reaper") costs $15.9 million per unit -- not counting maintenance and those pesky upgrade$. If we had pulled out of Afghanistan two years ago, would there be any real difference in the outcome than if we pull out two years from now? No...except we would not have spent $150 billion and could have used some of that money on other things -- or not at all.
It is time that we started thinking differently. I think your percentages are too low though to even get the revenue we have now. I mean, once you get above 125,000 household income the tax rate is like 20%. At 175k it is like 27%. Just a total guess, but I would think the rates would have to be:
If Biden wins and increases taxes upon the richest Americans (say, $500k annual income plus), would it not be better to apply it to the backbreaking debt as opposed to just giving health care to illegal aliens, paying off people’s’ loans, giving out house down payments, etc.?
—the national debt is not the responsibility of rich Americans over any other group of Americans
—I agree with you about “free” stuff and giveaways
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