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What I'm getting at is the wealthy should pay the same percentage of income in taxes. No more, no less. That's not asking too much.
The same percentage as the poor? I'm all for that. But...who'll pay for all our country's expenses if nobody's paying any taxes at all? It makes no sense.
I'm glad you bring this up. Here's some info I got in an email a few weeks back. Let's compare that same hundred bucks this way:
____________________
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve.
"Since you are all such good customers", he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20". Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.
The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his "fair share?"
They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.
And so:
The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.
"I only got a dollar out of the $20," declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, "but he got $10!"
"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!"
"That's true!!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!"
"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!"
The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.
The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!
And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.
So the people with $33.40 should share with everyone else, right? That's what you are getting at?
We just want them to give us some of the "prosperity" that their companies are enjoying - the money instead goes to overinflated salaries and profits. There is no "trickle-down".
What this shows is that we're way out of whack in this country. Remember - everyone has to buy the same loaf of bread.
What are your plans for when the U.S. becomes so fiscally unattractive to the $33.40ers that they take their $33.40 and leave the country? How will you replace the 40% of the total income tax revenue that will go with them?
We just want them to give us some of the "prosperity" that their companies are enjoying - the money instead goes to overinflated salaries and profits. There is no "trickle-down".
What this shows is that we're way out of whack in this country. Remember - everyone has to buy the same loaf of bread.
Why the hell should their money trickle down to you?
I'm glad you bring this up. Here's some info I got in an email a few weeks back. Let's compare that same hundred bucks this way:
____________________
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve.
"Since you are all such good customers", he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20". Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.
The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his "fair share?"
They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.
And so:
The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.
"I only got a dollar out of the $20," declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, "but he got $10!"
"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!"
"That's true!!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!"
"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!"
The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.
The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!
And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.
Interesting story, but the reality is the middle class is getting smaller all the time. The companies that leave the US are supposed to still pay taxes to the US and they don't. That needs to be changed.
When you vote Republican, you vote rich and live poor.
I'm glad you bring this up. Here's some info I got in an email a few weeks back. Let's compare that same hundred bucks this way:
That's a good point too ... so we have an extremely messed up system. Wealth is too mis-disributed to the extreme (this is not a statement on whether capitalism is "right" or not, by the way), and so is our taxing system.
1) I am not ok with 90 people struggling to get by while 10 people live lavishly.
2) I am not ok with that same 10 people carrying the other 90 on their backs.
Why the hell should their money trickle down to you?
What did YOU do to work for it?
I'm a WORKER. What I'm saying is that they pay their workers ****. And, that's not necessary. I'm saying that instead of getting the Reagan "trickle-down" idea, they take their money and pay for huge CEO salaries (which are ridiculous) and profits - not payment to workers. The idea, according to Reagan, is that workers would share in the prosperity.
i'm glad you bring this up. Here's some info i got in an email a few weeks back. Let's compare that same hundred bucks this way:
____________________
suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve.
"since you are all such good customers", he said, "i'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20". Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.
The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his "fair share?"
they realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.
And so:
The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.
"i only got a dollar out of the $20," declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, "but he got $10!"
"yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "i only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than i!"
"that's true!!" shouted the seventh man. "why should he get $10 back when i got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!"
"wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "we didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!"
the nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.
The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!
And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.
I'm a WORKER. What I'm saying is that they pay their workers ****.
Cool, then you need to get a job somewhere else. If you're that valuable, someone else will pay you more and employer #1 will eventually learn their lesson and start paying more.
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