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The government is eating our money
Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012 | 2 a.m.
In a recent letter to the editor, “Romney’s case shows inequities,” Joy Bellis said that because Mitt Romney makes a great amount of his money by investing and receiving capital gains as his income he should pay more in taxes. The money made on investments is taxed at the rate of 15 percent. That is the law. Ms. Bellis apparently feels this is unfair, as those who collect a paycheck are subject to a federal tax rate of up to 35 percent.
Citizens who invest in the stock market have already paid a federal tax on that original investment money when they first earned it. If we are lucky or smart enough to invest in a stock of a company and make a profit, we again have to pay Uncle Sam — a 15 percent tax. Is investing simply “moving money around” and not really working for your money? It is not easy, just try it. What is really unfortunate is that any of us think we should be taxed by the government more than once on any of the money we make. The federal government — and I worked for Uncle Sam for 24 years — is the last place our tax dollars get put to a good use.
However, the politicians are great at creating class warfare and getting us to fight each other. As Pogo Possum once said, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” The real enemy is the federal government and its appetite for all of our money.
Discussion: 31 comments so far…
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>>>>>>>
There is only one question to ask Obama - what does Obama want to accomplish over the next four years? - Over the next four years that Obama demands he needs; and that conservatives and independents should vote him in to do.
Obama's 2012 Taxin' Campaign
Cuz Obama demands we "Stop complainin'. Stop grumblin'. Stop cryin'." -- and Start Taxin'
And Biden says Start Taxin' -- "Its a big Fin' Deal"
As part of Obama's Vision for his next four years, Obama has only one idea and it is not growing the economy and not growing jobs. Obama's vision to accomplish for America is wealth redistribution by dividing the people.
>>>>>>>>>
Obama went to a prayer breakfast this week and demanded that Christian religious people that create jobs pay more taxes because they were christians and religious.
This of course means that muslims, atheist, Obama and George Soros will not have to pay more taxes
This at the same time Obama has demanded that contrary to their religious faith that all religious organization must pay for abortions, the after sex pill, rubbers and the pill as part of Obamacare.
So christian religious folk must pay more taxes and against their faith support abortion.
Excellent letter to the editor Mr. Kreps. You just highlighted why the predominance of followers for the Democratic party are comprised of mostly unintelligent and literally brain dazed individuals. However, these basic principles of investment and taxation that you brought forth will only fall on deaf ears from that of the far left-wingers. Just watch, they will be slithering out from underneath the baseboards any moment now, cutting you down personally, and your letter to the editor. You can't expect these people to learn in this forum when they were not even capable of comprehending simple American principles of investment and taxation that they should have learned in high school. All they know is what is in their best interests. "Punish success and reward failure".
Big government, truly the enemy. As well, far left-wing political supporters, the enemy, as well.
Letter writer is exactly right.
It's disengenuous to look at relative tax rates without the dollars paid to Uncle. Yes, Romney's tax rate for 2010, legal and proper, was 15 percent. BUT...and it's a big but, he paid $3 MILLION in taxes. Can't quote the percent in a meanigful way without the amount. A typical liberal left tactic, silly at best, to make their weak argument.
BTW, add charitable contributions by Romney and it's another $3 Million for a total of taxes and charity of $6 Million on $21 Million of income. That's 30 percent and I trust, like Warren Buffett, that Romney can direct his own money to charities, better than Uncle.
Carmine A. DiFazio
Good letter! And excellent post by Brad. The best thing that we can do is demolish the ignorant class warfare rhetoric emanating from the far left.
Thanks to the Sun for publishing material which reveals the substance of light on the subject of the importance and role which passive income plays in the economy, and the double taxation faced by investors who receive this income. When someone invests in a corporation as an owner in the corporation, the investor is first hit with taxes on the corporate income--tax number one! Then when the corporation distributes its earnings in the form of dividends, the investor pays taxes again--tax number two. That is enough!!Except for the greedy far lefters who desire to squeeze every penny out of the income stream to inflate government handouts, and without earning a dime of it!
Perfectly commentated "Houstonjac"!!!
Thanks for the warning.
1. You took a Federal paycheck -- and Federal benefits -- for 24 years. (And usually after 24 years you are still getting Federal benefits -- after you stopped "work").
2. You warn that the Federal government is the last place our tax dollars get put to a good use.
3. You warn us that the Federal government is going to take all our money.
Yet
4. The Federal government is still spending money on you -- after you stopped "work" and will continue to spend money on you.
So, when we cut the federal budget, we can do away with your benefits? Or is it the other guy's benefits that get cut because yours are essential? Or the other guy's services?
Could it be that "the voracious appetite" you claim the feds have for our money is the result of having to pay for contracted obligations and provide services and benefits to many folks like you -- people who insist that we do this or that? People like you who want and who take but who object to paying?
And THEY are the problem?
Comment removed by moderator. refers to removed comment.
As far as I'm concerned, income is income, but if the governments wish to encourage a particular type of income, such as capital gains or dividends, it can and does levy taxes at differing rates.
The key is for governments to set the tax rates sufficiently high in order to pay for ALL its spending. The American government has done a pathetic job in the last ten years of matching revenue to expenditure. The Canadian government has not done any better. Promising and delivering tax cuts buys votes. Reducing spending loses votes. You do the math.
A just and caring society probably requires tax levies siphoning off about half of everyone's income in order to function smoothly. This wouldn't create much of a problem if most of us didn't cringe at the dreadful amount of wasted government spending.
A nice little Value Added Tax of 10% would go a long way toward providing your government with much needed revenue. If Canada hadn't reduced its VAT from 15% to 13%, our governments wouldn't be running large deficits right now.
Taxation is a good thing. Stop whining about it.
I wonder who that was back some time ago here in the Las Vegas Sun discussion room who was crying big time crocodile tears about his tips being pooled and taxed. He complained about all this stress and anxiety he went through in shining up the quarters he made in tips, only to have one of them taken away in taxes. It was such a heart-breaking, sympathetic story that there wasn't a dry eye in the entire discussion room. (LOL) I know I was sobbing!!! Yeah, right.
If all you left-wing extremists truly wanted an egalitarian form of government, then why not support an equal yearly individual tax amount? One total amount that each and every American would have to pay in equal amounts into the federal government that would fund government annual expenditures, such as, basic government operations and services, entitlements, welfare, military, etc..
Oh!!! I could hear all you left-wing extremists crying foul to this proposal. What!!! You'd all have to get a real job!!! Or, maybe even sell your flowered hippie wagons, your zirconium jewels, and worst of all, maybe having to give up your personal stockpiles of marijuana. Oh no!!! Could not do that to the left-wing extremists. That would be a violation of their constitutional rights.
So, then quit crying about taxes. Although I do believe the wealthy should pay a bit more in personal income taxes, the capital gains tax, if anything, should be lowered. And, by the way, the irresponsible element of the poor needs to pay their fair share in taxes, as well. Why should they get a free ride? They aren't adding anything positive to our economy such as capital gains. They are just a burden on our government and the tax payers. Or, are we back to square one of the Democratic motto of, "punish success and reward" failure again"?
Bottom line, you left-wing extremists want everyone to pay their fair share in taxes? Okay. We'll agree to that of everyone paying the exact same amount. How's that!!!
Chappy...
Are you okay???
You seem a little uptight...
ranting and raving, calling people names, attacking reporters, ripping anyone with an opinion; like this tirade...
"You just highlighted why the predominance of followers for the Democratic party are comprised of mostly unintelligent and literally brain dazed individuals."
Huh.
I could have sworn I read you were 'torn' betwixt the Mittens Man and President Obama...
Are you having 'wild mood swings' lately?
There are other inequities involved besides the ones mentioned. If a person looses $10,000 then he can only deduct $3000 that year off other taxable income if he does not have any gains. The loss is carried forward every year. If a person makes $10,000 he must pay the tax that year on the whole $10,000, not just on $3000 of it. The money invested is at risk to the investor, but the money is used by corporations to operate and expand creating jobs, commerce. There is no goverement money or taxpayer risk involved. When a corporation makes money they pay a tax of up to 35% and give some back to the shareholders as a dividend, which the shareholder pays another 15% tax. So an investor can risk thier hard earned money to effectly pay a 50% tax, then when they sell if they have a gain pay another 15% tax.
"However, the politicians are great at creating class warfare and getting us to fight each other."
That statement is the biggest amount of deflection hooey I've ever heard.
The only ones who seem to want this belief thrown out there are the filthy rich. And the politicians who run interference for them all the time.
I'm sick and tired of the filthy rich playing like they are the victim all the time recently.
THEY and THEY alone are the ones who originated this.
THEY and THEY alone have thrown out the term "class warfare."
THEY and THEY alone always use that, as if to say that the poor/very poor are all ganging up on them and their God given right to have, have more and have most.
I'm so tired of their transparent rhetoric that only serves themselves.
All indications show that with rhetoric like this, they fully intend to follow a course that will lead us inevitably down a path where the economic financial meltdown of 2007/2008 caused by greed, mismanagement and relaxation of fiscal regulations WILL HAPPEN AGAIN. And it will be worse.
Class warfare? YOU GOT IT. Bring it on.
If we have to fight to make sure that the rich pay their fair share of taxes, so be it. I'm talking fair share. I don't want them to pay more. I don't want them to pay less. I WANT THEM TO PAY THE SAME AMOUNT OF TAXES PER CAPITA THAT I DO. Enough of the stupid loopholes and the privileged class of people.
All indications show the entire Tea/Republican Party stands in the way.
I intend to vote all of them out. They're all bums.
Then we get the taxes the same for everyone. No. It's not a tax increase for the rich. EQUAL MEANS EQUAL.
My weapon is my vote. I'm voting all the bums out of power that run interference for the filthy rich.
Comin' after you, Koch Brothers and others. Tired of your belief you can control politics. You can't. We outnumber you.
lets start this discussion by eliminating the bush tax cuts. raise the social security tax. abolish most of the deductions on our federal income tax, including the mortgage deduction and ALL off shore investments. raise the federal tax on gasoline. apply all the new found billions to our national debt. lets hear the greedy pigs squeal!
Comment removed by moderator. Personal Attack
Again, you come out with this envy excuse that was concocted in some back editing room of Fox PORNO (Political Organization-Republican News Only) News, lvfacts101.
I am in no way shape or form envious of the filthy rich.
I am not jealous of the rich. And I'm definitely not spiteful. If you call the truth being jealous and spiteful, then that just tells me you are more interested in an agenda; more so than facts.
I am very happy with my lot in life.
I am not rich.
I am not very poor.
Like the majority of Americans, I am in the middle.
The simple fact cannot be overlooked.
Ever since I came into this Earth, I was told to work hard, to seek the American dream and rewards will come to you.
So far, they have.
As far as the next generation of Americans, it's not going to happen.
Our generation screwed it up by selfishness, greed and corruption. By basically stacking the deck and telling people this constantly, but it's only a smokescreen for the rich to amass more and more and more and most and most and most wealth they can. And to do it in such a way that they make everyone else look like they are to blame for them not achieving more.
All I am saying is fair share. We all pay equal taxes. No more. No less.
Thinking like that is not envy. It's not jealousy. It's not "class warfare."
It's called being an American.
We ALL participate in it.
It's way past time to jerk the rich back into this reality.
Comment removed by moderator. refers to removed comment.
Dippy says let's eliminate the Bush tax cut that Obama, Reid, and Pelosi extended Xmas of 2010 - this is now the Obama tax cut
lest Dippy forget the Bush tax cut took millions of poor and middle class people off of paying taxes
Apparently Dippy want to raise taxes on the poor and middle class
-----------------
To accomplish this Obama demands increased tax rates on job creators.
Obama's 2012 Taxin' Campaign
Cuz Obama demands we "Stop complainin'. Stop grumblin'. Stop cryin'." -- and Start Taxin'
Federal income tax rates will be raised to 40% of your income with a minimum tax payout of 30% after you wade through your deductions from the 76,000 page tax code. Obama increases Investment income from 45% to 55%. Obama increases Capital Gains from 15% to 30%.
Obama Increasing tax rates will not increase the federal revenues - what they will do is decrease the risk taking entrepreneurs will take to invest in capital formation. With reduced potential for reward there will be reduced eunpentuer risk taking.
---------
- Increasing tax rates will not grow the economy
- Increasing tax rates will not increase jobs.
- Increasing tax rates will not fix the debt and deficit.
-----------
Democrats like to pick winners and make losers. Increasing tax rates will bring some people down but is will not raise anyone up. It will not make any winners -the country loses.
Michael, an excellent letter. The dimbotard posters here are clueless on why capital gains is taxed at a lower rate. And why should we send Wash DC even more money when it already is the wealthiest area of the country, with federal employees receiving higher pay for comparable skills and also exhibiting the greatest income inequality. The place is nothing but a carbunkle on the a** of the country, where an unemployment rate of 8.3% (!) for the masses is celebrated.
I'm so glad dip is not in charge of anything.
Obama can kill off every terrorist or pirate holding an American hostage. He can get the unemployment rate down to 4%. He can end the rule of a hundred Gaddafi's and Mubarak's, or stop Iran seeking to build a nuclear weapon. Will Republicans ever give him credit? NO! They will show up on television, boldface lying into the camera, trying to convince Americans that Obama hasn't done a damn thing to better this country. Just as they did yesterday with the news of employment rising or when it was announced Bin Laden was killed.
What will happen if Romney doesn't win in November? What will the Republican Tea Party do then? Will they continue to hurt Americans with their crazed radicals attacks on imagined Sharia Laws, the poor, the elderly, voters rights and women's health issues? Which party is really waging class warfare?
"Psychological projection or projection bias is a psychological defense mechanism where a person subconsciously denies his or her own attributes, thoughts, and emotions, which are then ascribed to the outside world, usually to other people. Thus, projection involves imagining or projecting the belief that others originate those feelings."
National attention will be on Nevada's partisan caucuses this weekend.
Meanwhile, quite a few Amercians will notice Nevada officials failures at protecting public safety from their poor, wasteful environmental quality efforts.
Nevada's a bottom- five "worst" state for government conduct to clean, protect public spaces in the 2011 American State Litter Scorecard.
Las Vegas remains the 7th most "Dirtiest American City" by TRAVEL+LEISURE.
The Silver State's a "high chance death" government for vehicle collisions with debris not removed from public roads.
Furthermore, NV one of America's few without an anti-litter campaign covering all cities and 16 counties.
It's questionable Nevada DOT and public servants in Las Vegas, Clark and the 15 other counties are timely picking up litter and debris.
Citizens and taxpayers need to hold accountable those allowing clumsy, deadly cleanups by the use of stronger oversight and transparency--locally and at Carson City
The suggestion to raise tax rates on capital gains is a dem election-year trick designed to attack those who invest in order to rally its OWS base. This is what a liberal President must do when he loses a majority of independent voters.
Vernos,
President Obama hasn't done the things you mentioned, but I suspect that if he did, many R's would not give him credit. Former President Bush also could not get any credit from many D's, no matter what he did.
Why is that? It's partly because each party wants the power that comes with the Presidency. The other reason is because people fundamentally disagree with the philosophy of one party or the other. To try to make it more than that or to try to claim that only one party does this or that when it is done, it is justified because the 'target' (Bush or Obama) just doesn't have a clue... is stupid.
The election will decide, as it should. Both our parties are corrupted by money and lobbying. Both are most interested in controlling the levers of government. I say this to you and everyone that attempts to make the case that one party is 'so much worse' in this area than the other: Stop! Support the party and candidate that best reflects the philosophy you hold and let that be good enough.
Anything else is like taking two red cars and trying to claim that one is 'more red' than the other one.
Michael
Michael O. Kreps,
Very nice letter. I understand why the Sun published it. Capital gains is a secondary tax as you point out. It taxes any 'gains' a person makes risking money that has already been taxed once when it was earned. If no gains are made or losses incurred, no taxes are paid. Pretty simple system that a majority of Americans could not explain if they were asked to. And therein lies part of the secret to the success of the class warfare argument used by President Obama, many D's and many Sun letter writers.
I worked at Hughes aircraft in the 80's and we got a 25 % company match on every dollar we put toward a 401 K. Many of my fellow employees were not contibuting. I tried to explain the advantages but many were not financially savvy enough to understand the concept.
When I worked in small startups in the 90's, many of my fellow employees just could not understand the value of stock options versus a higher salary. Again, lack of financial savvy.
There are inequities that need to be addressed, but this lack of understanding finances by so many Americans leaves us all open to siren call of class warfare and the politics of envy. I understand that the President sees this as his path to re-election and have little doubt many R incumbents would use it too if it might mean re-election as President, but that said, it is wrong and very dangerous for our country.
Michael
"Dr. GMag39", thank you for that incongruous psychological profile.
A person of your intelligence remembers from my prior posts that there are aspects that I do like about President Obama. I like the fact of his gutsy decision making in the raid that he approved in finishing off Osama bin laden, etc. I do support a few of his social programs, but to a much lesser degree. I think the President is a well meaning man, but just nowhere near my loyalties of capitalism and the free enterprise system. My main support of President Obama comes from his opposition to Yucca Mountain.
Now, where I deeply disagree with Democrats and President Obama. His raising the debt ceiling, twice!!! To me, that is a huge blunder. To put it in elementary terms for you, "Gmag39", that is like opening up new credit card accounts to pay off existing credit card accounts. That has financial doom lurking in the hallways. I agree to a small extent on the wealthy paying a higher level of personal income tax. However, I deplore the fact that the capital gains tax has not been lowered when most Democrats even want this capital gains tax raised. But, at the same time, you Democrats complain that Republicans are not creating jobs fast enough, and are stealing from the poor. That's all political "BS"!!! The reasons for me being fed up, and I reiterate, fed up with you Democrats is that your hands are outstretched for the handouts you all want, and unwilling to work for what you all receive. Yes, I've just described the majority of labor unions. I've just described the chronic unemployed who most refuse to take a job that they personally feel is beneath them. Welcome to life!!! The realities of life. Every person who is capable of, is responsible for themselves. Responsible for supporting their families. I'm sick and tired of paying taxes to support those who are lazy, inept, and not motivated towards being innovative and productive in the workforce. I do not have "THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES" tattooed on my forehead.
So, you, "Dr. Gmag", can say what you want about me. I don't really care. I'm not taking the Democrats psychotropic pill of, "gimmie, gimmie, gimmie".
As for commentators such as Bob Jack, Jerry Fink, etc.. When they disagree with me they do not post little "fairy tale allegations". They come straight to my face. That's a man! Whether I agree with them, or not. I respect that about them. That's a heck of a lot more than I could ever expect out of the lame pompous Democrats who seek refuge behind garbage cans in the alleyway with their hands outstretched for more handouts and then have the audacity to believe they have some kind of rights in making financial decisions that would effect those who have truly earned their way.
It is apparent their digestive system is working for they are crapping out more than they take in. Any wonder why the country's growth has been enemic?
Gmag is one of the few people on these posts who knows what hes talking about. fink and texasjack are mental lightweights in comparison.
Oh! Come on! Are we really expected to feel sorry that the rich boy made good Romney is expected to pay 15% of his income in tax. The argument that he has to pay taxes on money he already paid tax on is a joke. When a small business man saves $150 thousand dollars that he paid taxes on to start a small business does he only have to pay a 15% effective tax rate? The answer is no. We have to pay at a much higher rate. And to top it off Romney was not even big enough to pay his taxpayer subsidized tax rate of 15% he only paid 14%.
Y'all are missing the point. These released tax returns are not far back enough to show the problem with carried interest, or if the offshore accounts were used to evade taxes. The biggest part of Romney's income was taxed at the capital gains rate not because he invested and risked his own money and made money on that. Rather, "carried interest" took money he got from his labor (if being a venture capitalist is labor) and taxed it at the much lower capital It got was taxed at capital gains rate. A regular working stiff right up to and including executives and professionals would have been taxed full boat on earnings from work. But Romney got his work taxed as "carried interest". Ya gotta love a man of the people like that.
How is a guy who can't even see the problem going to solve our fiscal issues. Or, worse, maybe the reason he has resisted showing the returns that would reveal just how much advantage he gained from the "carried interest" break is that Romney does understand the problem, but so wants to be President that he will do and say anything.
The Republican Party ought to ditch the whole field of current candidates and draft Jeb Bush.
Bradley, old Chap...
I respect much of your commentary.
Matter of fact, I've enjoyed some of your 'story-telling'; you've got some great stuff to share.
That said; You have some anger issues, IMO, and it doesn't take a PHD to figgur that out.
Lighten up, Francis!
(thank you, Dennis).
Michael Kreps......
When are you republican cry-babies going to stop
crying about paying taxes?
YOU'RE NOT BEING OVER TAXED.
Romney only payed 14%.
Rich republicans make so much money they have
to hide it in Swiss banks.
THE REAL PROBLEM IN AMERICA IS LACK OF GOOD
PAYING JOBS!!!
GREEDY republicans sent all of our good paying
jobs to COMMUNIST CHINA.
THAT'S THE REAL PROBLEM!!
STOP THE TAX TALK.
AMERICANS NEED JOBS!!!
BChap.....
Stop your lies about union workers.
My union buddies are the hardest workers that I
know.
We work hard, we don't look for hand outs.
We do the REAL WORK, THE HEAVY LIFTING.
AND WE'RE DEMOCRATS.
LIVE BETTER/WORK UNION!!!
"GMag39" I didn't have a problem with you at all until you decided to publicly make "fairy tale accusations" against me and team up with your spineless friends of the extreme left-wing. You claim that I have anger issues? Why is that? Is it because I'm not submissive to your verbal discussion room gang warfare? Can't take what you all dish out? You all talk a lot of trash until you feel you're losing the debate and then you all resort to attempted character assassinations. Well, if you are going to try those type of tactics with me, bring a much larger load of reinforcements than you apparently have. You'll need them. All of them.
"Teamster" from "All Comments". I won't dispute your claims of how your coworkers are. By the same token, don't dispute my claims from where I come from, as my words are developed from facts that have been abundantly clear to me.
"Oh! Come on! Are we really expected to feel sorry that the rich boy made good Romney is expected to pay 15% of his income in tax."
When that 15 percent equals $3 MILLION to Uncle, H-E- double hockey sticks YES!
You're using the percentage without providing the dollar amount. WRONG! It's a useless ploy to make a silly argument that enough is never enough. Impugning the business success of those who earn it legally and proper, with cries of condemnation, are huge red flags for human covetousness. You're so blind you can't see it.
Carmine A. DiFazio
"And to top it off Romney was not even big enough to pay his taxpayer subsidized tax rate of 15% he only paid 14%."
You forgot to add into the taxes paid, Romney's charitable donations: Another $3 Million for a grand total of taxes to Uncle and Charity of $6 MILLION. On the $21 MILLION earned, $6 Million is almost 30 percent. I trust Romney, like Buffett, knows best how to direct his hard earned income to charities rather than have Uncle do it.
Carmine A. DiFazio
BChap - You think talking like a thug, ex-LEO that you are is going to garner you any respect? If you don't like the leftward bent of the Sun forum, go back to the RJ and trash talk there. Take your other trash talking buddies with you, none of you are adding anything beneficial to the discussions here. You do have an anger problem, along with several others on your side of the aisle. Why is that? We "lefties" are not forcing you to be here.
MOK, living proof, there is intelligent life out there.
Keep up the good work, BChap. I love how you've twisted those lefty's BVDs into a bunch!
OMG...the socialist crybabies are out in force on this letter. Jeez...the guy who is crying for all the different taxes to be raised....he must say a prayer to the government each night. Colin...is the biggest whining crybaby I have ever witnessed as he demonizes anyone with more than he has. What an unhappy guy.
Then there is the guy who believes no one can ever have an epiphany about anything and actually come to a different conclusion on something later in life.
The liberals all hate their lives, hate a country that provides for ANYONE who is willing to work hard...to get ahead of anyone else and are so jealous of anyone who does, they are willing to pay more taxes themselves just to screw someone else.
Pathetic behavior. Pathetic philosophy. Cuba cries out for them all.
For those who don't work to earn their money, they feel a 15% tax rate is fair and even too much. Many want the capital gains tax to be zeroed out.
The person who takes one action on special information not available to most, and gets a check year after year without working considers themselves 'more worthy' to America and looks down at the employee who is paid by the hour. This is the old European aristocratic class trying to re-establish itself in America.
They will also use religion to justify their greed, exactly like it was done in old Europe. For instance, a current headline states:
"Alabama State Senator Says Low Teacher Pay Is A Biblical Principle"
"Alabama State Sen. Shadrack McGill was quoted as saying that if the average teacher salary were to increase, more unqualified persons would be attracted to the vocation."
" 'It's a Biblical principle,' she said, according to the Times-Journal. "If you double a teacher's pay scale, you'll attract people who aren't called to teach."
According to Shaddie and the Bible, which verse she doesn't say, we would also get more qualified business executives if we paid them less. Why doesn't this philosophy work both ways?
For the same reason the teacher pays 25% on her labor and the investor-entitlement class pays 15% on money they never labored to produce. The wealthy believe they are entitled to little or no taxes because they are more important then those that labor for a living. There is always another teacher, always another engineer, another brick layer - just kick one out and hire another for less, then shift the profits to the top and justify that by self-glory.
The 15% tax rate is based on duplicity and we are told, it comes from the Bible. Matthew 19:23-24 also says "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
That doesn't seem to bother any of the Republican Presidential candidates, and why not? Kick them all out and get someone else who will work for less. The country will be better off.
It is claimed that Corporations are People, but if so, why don't they pay the same tax rates as people do? Their effective tax rate today is only about 1/2 of people. From the Congressional Budget Office via ThinkProgress come those statistics:
"In recent decades, corporate tax revenue has plunged, falling from about 6 percent of gross domestic product in the 1950s to less than 2 percent today, due to a proliferation of corporate tax breaks and the use of offshore tax havens."
"Total corporate federal taxes paid fell to 12.1% of profits earned from activities within the U.S. in fiscal 2011, which ended Sept. 30, according to the Congressional Budget Office. That's the lowest level since at least 1972. And well below the 25.6% companies paid on average from 1987 to 2008."
This is because companies lobby for themselves. The lower corporate tax rate means higher bonuses, payments and dividends to their executives and owners. The owners in turn lobby for themselves and pay 15% rate instead of the 25% of their employees.
The 15% rate is law because of lobbying the US Representatives who amass huge campaign contributions in turn.
As a result, the biggest recession in 70 years occurred along with the largest debt. Special interests lobby for special tax rates. It's the Lobbying, stupid.
The government isn't eating our money, they're throwing it away is more like it.
Crap, they can't even manage a brothel that used to make millions year after year after year. It took less than 1 year for the government and they're broke. Yet, their mindless trolls expect us to continue to give to a system that can't even run a brother and they expect us to give freely where it's thrown away, simply foolish. This just further proves how stupid liberal are, keep doing the same old thing when it's proven it's broken. No wonder why they're broke.
Keep it up dummies, eventually you'll get exactly what you crave so much, nothing.
A website called "thingprogress" says it all.
Econ101: The VAST majority of the corporations are owned by "the people" who hold "stocks" in them. Whether they be directly or through the trillions of $$$'s that are in mutual funds and 401k's. BTW...this includes oil corps.
Unless you're an ignoramous or a graduate of one of Obama's past econ-teammembers classes, you should know that these people want their holdings to increase. If the CEO, CFO, company president isn't doing all he can to ensure this, including things political, the people will fire him.
Corporations are people.