Lumpy,
Tax relief for the middle class only is patently unfair! If you ran a company and gave only the middle of the road producers a bonus how many high producers would be discouraged? This is just more class warfare politics by liberals. Since there are more in the middle class than the “rich” you pit one against the other in order to get elected. It won’t work, and has not worked for quite a while. Heres why.
If you look closely you will see that Kerry and his ultra liberal trial lawyer running mate are claiming that anyone who makes $70,000 per year is rich. Now I am not denying that 70-k is a decent income, but does that qualify you as rich? I don’t think so. Also, almost 7 out of 10 Americans now own stock and have felt the nasty capital gains tax every time they have sold an investment. No, class warfare will not get Kerry elected! (actually nothing will)
We need a flat tax in this country! That is one reason that I supported Forbes for President a few years back. However, President Bush, with much urging from certain circles, may very well propose such a plan after he is reelected.
When more people are allowed to keep more of their hard earned money the economy will expand at a more rapid rate. That is basic economics, but the liberals just don’t get it, and I doubt they ever will.
Currently, the wealthy 2% pay more than 50% of the total taxes collected.
If an individual makes $1,000,000.00 a year he’s going to pay roughly $400,000+ in income tax - state and federal.
An individual making $40,000 is going to pay less than $10,000.
Now tell me, are the rich not paying their fair share?
For a tax to be fairer, it must flatter, more diversified, and less complicated. That benefits everyone who pays taxes.
First and foremost, it is not criminal to be rich.
Secondly, it is never a good idea to overweight the tax take in any one particular area - we should diversify our revenue base.
Case in point - our amazing surplus n the late 90’s was the result of projections of capital gains takes based on market performance in the (unsustainable) go-go years. The surplus was never as big as it seemed. That created inflated expectations of extra money.
Since rich people pay the most in taxes (through income and capital gains, etc.), when the economy is jumping, they flood the Treasury with money. When the economy slows, this same class of people experience big losses - perhaps not big from their perspective, since they have plenty of money - but in the aggregate a huge swath gets taken away from the Treasury. Just look at the number of wealthy folks who could chalk up capital losses between 1999-2002.
I’m not suggesting that the rich people don’t pay their share - they should, they have more to protect. But trying to levy an exceptionally top-heavy tax system creates many unintended consequences - the aforementioned revenue overweight, the disincentive for people to create wealth knowing there will be a sharp tax increase, and it ultimately punishes the middle class, much like the Alternative Mininum Tax is doing now, since the middle class, over time, always becomes the upper class.
Again, my priority is to cut spending. And I’m not a slash-and-burn, “get rid of government” type - I just know we waste incalculable amounts of money on pork in every budget.
For example, the Energy Bill recently presented is an absolute disgrace.
Citizens Against Government Waste is a good place to look, though they are many good watchdogs. But if we do a third of what they recommend, we’d be cooking with grease.
Tax policy is easier to figure out when the government is spending with discipline and restraint.
And, to finish - tax policy should never, ever be a tool for income redistribution:
“You don’t make the poor richer by making the rich poorer.”
-Winston Churchill
[quote]codiejenkins wrote:
Currently, the wealthy 2% pay more than 50% of the total taxes collected.[/quote]
I thought you guys would enjoy this article that deflates Rush Limbaugh’s article called Only The Rich Pay Taxes. Rush said he’s going to keep the article on his website indefinitely. According to my link, Rush skews the figures to favor his argument.
I would paste it below but it includes a couple of tables that I know will not probably not reproduce correctly if I try to copy them, plus links to other tables. I have to confess that I am not good with statistics…
Here’s a couple of out-of-context little snippets to whet your appetite:
“The above statistics could well have the effect of angering anyone who makes more than $26,000 since it implies that they are helping to pay for the lower 50 percent of wage-earners. In fact, this is an example of the misleading use of averages.”
and
“…(Rush) goes on to state: ‘Remember this the next time you hear the “tax cuts for the rich” business. Understand that the so-called rich are about the only ones paying taxes anymore.’ The fact is, there is a valid argument that the Bush tax cuts were somewhat tilted toward the rich.”
Let me know what you think of this:
http://home.att.net/~rdavis2/richpay.html
Articles are fun and sometimes informative. However, I know what I pay in taxes and it’s to much! We need a President who will lower the tax burden for all Americans just as President Bush has done!
The next step should be a fair flat tax!