The random political thoughts thread (Part Deux)

Ghoulish Delight · 10-17-2006, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nephythys

Taxes should be lowered all over- but it is disingenuous to gripe about giving tax cuts to people who pay more in taxes. I seriously question the motivation of anyone who makes those complaints- is it really tax related, or just class envy and a desire to stick it to people with more money and force them to redistribute their wealth to people who have not earned it.

Disingenuous? That I want everyone to pay an equal share of taxes? That doesn't mean everyone pays 1/300,000,000 of the taxes. That means if I pay 30% of my income, then you pay 30% of your income. As the numbers show, at the moment, the wealthiest Americans are already paying taxes at a lower percentage rate than the rest of the country, and people are trying to get it even lower. Tax cuts for the highest brackets continue to shift a proportinally greater burdon onto the middle and lower classes.

And, oops, I forgot my source (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wealth_distribution)

And the income figures you quote ignore capital gains, rent revenue, gifts, etc. It only accounts for W2 wages.

Alex · 10-17-2006, 01:41 PM

The problem with the tax system is that we use it as not just a source of revenue but also as a means of social engineering.

We create a billion loopholes to encourage certain behaviors and then get upset when a rich person uses all of them to end up paying little in taxes.

Lose the loopholes and actually make people pay percentages and make a two tiered flat tax system. I think even the poorest should pay some small percentage of their income into taxes rather than a blanket exemption. A society in which 30% of the people pay no taxes is a society that only has an interest in seeing taxes rise.

Nephythys · 10-17-2006, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex Stroup

The problem with the tax system is that we use it as not just a source of revenue but also as a means of social engineering.

We create a billion loopholes to encourage certain behaviors and then get upset when a rich person uses all of them to end up paying little in taxes.

Lose the loopholes and actually make people pay percentages and make a two tiered flat tax system. I think even the poorest should pay some small percentage of their income into taxes rather than a blanket exemption. A society in which 30% of the people pay no taxes is a society that only has an interest in seeing taxes rise.

Great post.

Ghoulish Delight · 10-17-2006, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex Stroup

Lose the loopholes and actually make people pay percentages and make a two tiered flat tax system.

w00t.

Quote:

um, no.

You seem to be conflating 2 (or 3) different issues. I may or may not agree that across-the-board tax cuts are needed and I may or may not agree with what tax money should be spent on, but that's an entirely different discussion than whether tax cuts that only lower taxes for a segment of the country that's already paying less than their proportionate share make sense.

Quote:

I am insulted that the gov't thinks they can spend my money better than I can.

Aggregated money is far more efficient than an equal amount of money distributed. A single entity offering 2 Million dollars for road work will get more roads built than 50,000 individuals offering $40 each for road work. I'm not going to argue that everything our government is spending its money on is being done efficiently, but having a combined resource pool benefits me more than having that $40 in my pocket. The difficult bit is finding the balance point.

Nephythys · 10-17-2006, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

Aggregated money is far more efficient than an equal amount of money distributed. A single entity offering 2 Million dollars for road work will get more roads built than 50,000 individuals offering $40 each for road work. I'm not going to argue that everything our government is spending its money on is being done efficiently, but having a combined resource pool benefits me more than having that $40 in my pocket. The difficult bit is finding the balance point.

Yes-

I hate the way the gov't spends our money.

Not Afraid · 10-17-2006, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nephythys

I hate the way the gov't spends our money.

Me too. Idiotic waste of money war.

Nephythys · 10-17-2006, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Not Afraid

Me too. Idiotic waste of money war.

oh ha-

The list of things the gov't wastes money on seems endless. And since the POTUS sees no reason to limit spending- there it goes!

bah

10-17-2006, 01:41 PM	#2
Alex . Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 13,354	The problem with the tax system is that we use it as not just a source of revenue but also as a means of social engineering. We create a billion loopholes to encourage certain behaviors and then get upset when a rich person uses all of them to end up paying little in taxes. Lose the loopholes and actually make people pay percentages and make a two tiered flat tax system. I think even the poorest should pay some small percentage of their income into taxes rather than a blanket exemption. A society in which 30% of the people pay no taxes is a society that only has an interest in seeing taxes rise.
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