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The top 1% were paying 28.7% of all taxes. They earned only 13.8% of all earned income. Oops! sounds like they are paying a bit more than their fair share, doesn't it? What about the top 10%? They were paying 58.5% of the income taxes but earning only 39% of the income. The top 50%? Paying 95.2% of the taxes, earning 85% of the income. The bottom 50%? Earning only 15% of the income but paying just 4.8% of the income taxes.
In 1996 the share of the income earned by the top 1% reached 16%. Remember: They're paying one third of all the taxes. So ... who is getting away with not paying their fair share? Looks like the bottom 50% to me ... not the evil, hated, mean, nasty, wicked rich (as everyone here likes to assume)
That's because they don't make much money to begin with.
Let's have 2 people. Person A and B. A earns $100K. B earns $10K. Let's say the tax is 25% for both of them, for the sake of argument. Person A would have $75K leftover, which is plenty of money to pay all his bills and have enough left over for investments, fun, and entertainment. But Person B would have only $7500 left, and he'd most likely spend ALL of it on only food, rent, and clothing - with nothing left to save - and have a heck of a difficult time trying to get by on so little money.
Sure, we have an inclined tax system, but my point is that it's all relative. You can tax the heck out of rich people, and they'll still have plenty of money anyway. That's certainly not the case with the middle class or lower. You have to look at the absolute dollars rather than percentages.
Sure, you can tell the poor guy to "just man up and get a job!" But do you realize how brutal the job market is these days?
Is it really fair that health care is only available to those (a small percent) who can shell out the money and pay for it?
What if you know somebody who lost a job and then got into a car accident?
It's the responsibility of the government to protect its citizens, and in my opinion, providing health care (with safeguards against abuse) to everyone falls under that category. Call me ignorant, that's your opinion and I'm not going to concern myself with what other people think.
A small percent?? What is the percentage? I am pretty sure it is WAY MORE than a small percentage. I just looked it up:
The number of people with health insurance coverage rose from 242.4 million in 2002 to 243.3 million in 2003. Nonetheless, the percentage with coverage dropped from 84.8 percent to 84.4 percent, mirroring a drop in the percentage of people covered by employment-based health insurance (61.3 percent in 2002 to 60.4 percent in 2003). This decline in employment-based health insurance coverage essentially explains the drop in total private health insurance coverage, from 69.6 percent in 2002 to 68.6 percent in 2003.
hmmm....looks like QUITE A FEW people in our wonderful country have health insurance.
As for the second question....COBRA. How to pay for it after job loss...RESERVE FUNDS. Then find a new job with health coverage.
A small percent?? What is the percentage? I am pretty sure it is WAY MORE than a small percentage. I just looked it up:
The number of people with health insurance coverage rose from 242.4 million in 2002 to 243.3 million in 2003. Nonetheless, the percentage with coverage dropped from 84.8 percent to 84.4 percent, mirroring a drop in the percentage of people covered by employment-based health insurance (61.3 percent in 2002 to 60.4 percent in 2003). This decline in employment-based health insurance coverage essentially explains the drop in total private health insurance coverage, from 69.6 percent in 2002 to 68.6 percent in 2003.
hmmm....looks like QUITE A FEW people in our wonderful country have health insurance.
As for the second question....COBRA. How to pay for it after job loss...RESERVE FUNDS. Then find a new job with health coverage.
But what about factors such as the deductibles, the details of the health coverage, what the insurance would cover and what they won't cover, and what the employer offers? To get a decent health plan, you'd have to think about those. And those with a good health care plan, I'm sure is a much smaller percentage and that percentage can afford the best plans.
And as for finding a job... have you ever went 2 years without one? Sent 3,000 resumes to over 1,500 companies and to another 1,500 government positions? Had 30 interviews for both full time and temp positions. Do you have any idea how brutal and punishing the market is? Now, I've had 3 paid internships over the past year, got into a PhD program to bolster my resume, and AM still looking for a permanent job, and I consider myself very, very lucky. But I still don't have my own health care plan... I'm using temporary insurance and they don't cover a whole lot.
Im a socialist and can tell you this simply is not true.
I dont know any socialist that thinks this way either.
We mostly stand for attainable education and healthcare.
IT works in civilized countries like Sweden and in a country as
rich as ours it can work with no issues other than a priority
shift. ie: American people before AMerican / International
corporations, wars, etc... There are two school tutions being
paid for in my household, one to a private collage and one to
a state system and some of the scenerios written about
here by some of these posters simply are not true or credible.
To say that one can just go out and gt a higher education by
living cheaply on grants and aid can only is ridiculous at best.
A whole sector of our population cant afford or attain an
education and its not because they are lazy, dont want to
change lifestyles etc.....Again, the that people 'got thiers' have
developed antipathy to those that havent or cant.
How much does it cost to excel in high school?
You CAN easily get secondary education on grants, loans and part time work. I did it at a very expensive private college. My whole education was paid for by grants, loans and some part time jobs. It was a grind to pay those loans back for 10 years, but it can be done.
I had to pay my entire college education (bachelors and masters) out of my own pocket with a little bit of loans. Out of 15-16 grant applications, I got only one awarded to me. And it was only 15% of my total educational cost... though every little bit does help. It's a whole lot more competitive and tougher than it was 10 years ago.
But what about factors such as the deductibles, the details of the health coverage, what the insurance would cover and what they won't cover, and what the employer offers? To get a decent health plan, you'd have to think about those. And those with a good health care plan, I'm sure is a much smaller percentage and that percentage can afford the best plans.
And as for finding a job... have you ever went 2 years without one? Sent 3,000 resumes to over 1,500 companies and to another 1,500 government positions? Had 30 interviews for both full time and temp positions. Do you have any idea how brutal and punishing the market is? Now, I've had 3 paid internships over the past year, got into a PhD program to bolster my resume, and AM still looking for a permanent job, and I consider myself very, very lucky. But I still don't have my own health care plan... I'm using temporary insurance and they don't cover a whole lot.
Brutal and punishing job market???? Isn't unemployment still around all time lows? Sometimes concessions must be made like taking a lesser job. I am not suggesting you do that unless health insurance becomes more important than getting the ideal job. IMO-if you want a job with insurance you can get one. It might not be the kind of job you want, but....
To all the socialists on this post what is the unemployment in those countries that have the guaranteed health care and once hired job for life policies??
One poster says Sweeden offers health care for all. They have 9 million people and a much lower poverty rate than we do. APPLES AND ORANGES.
I had to pay my entire college education (bachelors and masters) out of my own pocket with a little bit of loans. Out of 15-16 grant applications, I got only one awarded to me. And it was only 15% of my total educational cost... though every little bit does help. It's a whole lot more competitive and tougher than it was 10 years ago.
Did your family make too much for you to qualify for state and federal grants and loans?
This post is about people who can't afford health care. These people are automatically qualified for federal grants and loans for secondary education. I did not have to "get chosen" for any of the money I received.
Did your family make too much for you to qualify for state and federal grants and loans?
This post is about people who can't afford health care. These people are automatically qualified for federal grants and loans for secondary education. I did not have to "get chosen" for any of the money I received.
No, we're more of a middle america type of family. I DID qualify for loans, but I did not like the terms or the fine print for most of the loans, so I went with a smaller loan with a reasonable rate (4.5%). Not complaining about that. But in grad school, the school department was supposed to pay me, but they said they didn't have enough money due to budget cuts (how convenient an excuse these days) so they left me for roadkill. So I got a 2nd job to support my way through.
I guess you've been luckier than I was.
Oh wait... you are a mortgage loan officer. It's really easy to get that kind of job, no problem... but my field (environmental science) is a LOT more difficult to get hired in. I don't use the nationwide unemployment rate to gauge the job market in my particular field - doing so would be very foolish, IMHO.
To all the socialists on this post what is the unemployment in those countries that have the guaranteed health care and once hired job for life policies??
I'm all for socialist health care with safeguards against abuse (and this is coming from someone who is a political moderate), and if you don't like my opinion... tough!
That's because they don't make much money to begin with.
Let's have 2 people. Person A and B. A earns $100K. B earns $10K. Let's say the tax is 25% for both of them, for the sake of argument. Person A would have $75K leftover, which is plenty of money to pay all his bills and have enough left over for investments, fun, and entertainment. But Person B would have only $7500 left, and he'd most likely spend ALL of it on only food, rent, and clothing - with nothing left to save - and have a heck of a difficult time trying to get by on so little money.
Sure, we have an inclined tax system, but my point is that it's all relative. You can tax the heck out of rich people, and they'll still have plenty of money anyway. That's certainly not the case with the middle class or lower. You have to look at the absolute dollars rather than percentages.
Sure, you can tell the poor guy to "just man up and get a job!" But do you realize how brutal the job market is these days?
Congratulations. That's about the most ignorant arguement I've ever heard. Have you ever heard of the escalating tax brackets? A person making $100,000 (first of all isn't rich, but anyway) pays a higher percentage of their income than does the person making $10,000.
I'm so sick of hearing about the poooooor. If they're poor they should have made better choices and decisions in their lives.
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