Mostly...yes.

Now if we could just get the "other" 50% to stop voting in direct countervention to their own...not to mention their country's...best interests, we could all do this together.

The Problem with the Economy in 2 Minutes

Fish on...

Todd

You're right...a genius like Paul Ryan has already solved the problem.

Fish on...

Todd

You don't have to "give it" to anyone...just stop "not taking it" from all of those who have worked the system so badly that they are soaking all of us, even those dipshit TeaBaggers who think they're getting soaked by a Kenyan Socialist...they're really getting soaked by those who are financing their pathetic attempt at being an actual political party.

Fish on...

Todd

Except that the middle class's borrowing and spending has put a whole bunch of people out on the street. We need to be earning and saving more, not borrowing and spending more. Robert Reich thinks you can spend yourself to prosperity. Try it with your credit cards and see how well it works. Better yet, refinance your home and take some money out and spend it. I could use the work.

What incentive is there to save money in this country? What percent is your bank giving you? Does raising the interest rates help at a time like this? I don't know, does it? Tell you one thing, if rates go significantly up, your house will be worth significantly less.

I don't think you can possibly squeeze any more taxes out of the middle class. I think any business that outsources jobs should not receive tax breaks. I think capital gains tax should increase to 20% for those who earn over say $250k....maybe push that up to $300k.

The middle and lower classes are taxed heavier, per dollar earned, than the rich. If you do not save any money, you are being taxed on virtually every cent you make, multiple times. Something has to give, and its the top euchelon that has the excess.

Yeah, Reich has it about right. Conservative philosophy since the onset of Reaganomics has been an all out war on the American middle class. This is unfortunate as it's the middle class that created and maintained American affluence, influence, and power. Undermining that, as the conservatives have been doing, is heading the US toward third world status, a nation of have mores and have nots and a severely shrinking middle class. The ability to maintain national infrastructure is rapidly being eroded.

A recent thought about the super-rich who profit from off-shore outsourcing is that they ought not be receiving the benefits of US citizenship or the protections associated with being here. They incorporate their companies off shore to avoid US taxes, store their money in off shore banks. Maybe it's time to send their f'ing carcasses off shore as well and let them live where their money works.

This is all because of NAFTA.

I don't know if 9.8% is correct.

Think about the many folks who support a family on $30-50,000. They rent, they spend every cent they own, pay sales tax on most of it, have to drive to and from work, pay into the gas tax, license their vehicle. Pay sin taxes, pay uber high taxes on their utility bill, etc.

I don't know your situation, but for those who can afford to save, I think the govt gets far less, at least proportionately.

"Just don't make that tax code such that businesses are unable to compete internationally."


Yeah, it's killing GE and dozens of other like them that pay zero or nearly zero income tax.

The rapid rise of corporate influense is killing this country. I believe it was a Republican president that warned this could happen. Several recent supreme court decisions with conservatives in the majority have served to strengthen coprorat power and influence. Damn acrtivist judges.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/08/12/us-usa-taxes-corporations-idUSN1249465620080812

Loop holes are simply deductions to be utilized and what a mess as they shape our economic behavior. Now that said the folks in the middle class that get nailed are those that own their home ( or rent ) do not have a bunch of kids, and the prime target, single. These people get taken to the cleaners, big time. With a average home interest deduction and a 50k income a single person will get nailed for 10% income tax after deductions. Married less.

The thing about corporations is they do follow the law mostly ( well sometimes ) but the fact is corporations have never paid any tax anyplace. You tax a company it simply adds that to the price of manufacturing, distributing, and selling a product. So really in the end it is the consumers ( us again ) that pays the tax. Lovely little system our elected officials ( both parties ) have used to fleece us for many years and then point at the other as the cause.

At times I really do think I know what a sheep feels when it is fleeced.

Yeah, it's killing GE and dozens of other like them that pay zero or nearly zero income tax.

So, who owns GE?

It still seems like whoever can save the most, pays the least, proportionately. I guess it would all boil down to how much the "prebate" was. But even if someone who made $25,000 were given 6.2% of their income as a prebate, wouldn't that person still likely spend every cent they had and give it back in sale/gas/utilities/sin/whatever tax?

I'm probably missing something.

Business 101. Every business must add its fixed costs, to its variable costs to determine what its break even point is. That includes everything, including taxes that are assessed by government (like health care taxes on employees) If your break even point is 1000 dollars per day and you only take in 999 dollars you are losing money. Raising prices is not just a no brainer. My father was in the plywood resin business. The bids were often won or lost by a HALF PENNY per pound. Keep in mind, they would sell three for four tanker trucks per week to some plywood mills, so they bought 40,000 # of resin per week, that comes out 200 dollars per week the plywood mill may not be able to pass on to his customers. There are literally thousands of products in the competitive market where price determines who gets the business and who goes out of business. When you see business move from the city to the valley which is common, they are offsetting the costs in real estate taxes and rent and weigh that against the increased variable costs of transportation costs.

The simple cost of fuel on semi trucks can break a owner operator of a 18 wheeler, if the owner cannot add a surcharge to the cost of his freight charges. Most businesses are dependent on trucking and maybe rail to transport raw materials or finished product to either the mfg plant or to a distribution center. The freight costs are in addtion to the cost of the product.
That 50 cents a gallon state and federal fuel tax affects the cost of transportation much more than it affects you and I going to work. If a semi gets 7 miles to the gallon and travels 560 miles per day, the boss paid the state and federal government
40.00 in fuel tax for one day, for one truck. The driver may make 40 cents per mile, so that cost the company 224.00 in wages, plus social security taxes, medicare, labor and industrys, plus the prorated costs of any vacation benefits, sick leave, 401k and medical insurance. Every employee is responsible for part of those listed federal programs, so he doesnt take home 224 dollars.

If we buy each others products or services, we pay for a small part of the fees and taxes imposed by the government, plus all other variable costs and fixed costs. We also pay for inflation created by deficit spending. Social security payments do not reflect the increased costs of inflation in every category. The government chose to leave some of those out, so they dont have to increase the COLA for seniors on Social security. We pay more for the comodities such as oil, (priced in dollars) and grain and other foods. Corn has gone up due to its demand in ethanol. Its also used to feed livestock and its put into a lot of food products, even dog food.

All the policies that government makes affects every single business and its passed along to every single customer. When the Fed raises interest rates, it just cut into the profits of every business that has a line of credit for flooring costs for cars or boats, variable loan rates on the land or building or equipment.

During the Eisenhower administration the top tax rate was 90 percent. The reason few paid anywhere near that was, the government allowed very liberal deductions. The boss didnt own the truck or corvette, he drove to work. The company did.
Kennedy brought it down to 70 percent. Reagan brought it down to about 28%. In the mean time, the tax deductions for the vette went away along with a lot of other deductible expenses. The company could own the vehicle, but the IRS now taxed that benefit back to the employee of the company. The basic reason more money comes in at lower tax rates, is because, the company or rich individual doesn't have to shelter it or piss away money on a new vette every single year.

The size of the tax code is larger than a bible. It contains all the deductions and credits, depreciation schedules that keep tax attorneys and accountants very busy earning money, that could be saved by eliminating the majority of language in the tax code. We would also save money at the federal level, like the IRS whos job it is to enforce all the codes.

Last week one radio program announced that GE paid no income tax. They obviously made a profit, but the tax code allowed them to deduct expenses, take credits and depreciate equipment at a rate that offset the profits for the year. It doesnt mean that GE paid no taxes. Business pay lots of taxes.

Nothing gets in the tax code without the help of an expensive lobbyist, a vote from congress and a signature from the president.
While your democratic representative says tax the rich, his chief of staff is looking over the new proposal for deductible expenses, credits and depreciation schedules from the company or industry lobbyist. The lobbyist gets paid. The politician gets a donation for his campaign and the big business gets an edge over the little business. MacDonalds and other companies already got waivers from Obamacare. The waivers supposedly go away in 2013 or 2014 but, nothing prevents the company from sending the lobbyist out to extend the waiver.

They are not going to take in enough money to cover the spending of people who cannot say no. I think the name is Nassau county in NY, or some county in Connecticut that has the highest property taxes in the nation and it still has a deficit to cover. It was on the news a couple months ago.

Borrowing 40 cents on top of every dollar collected is your representatives way of saying, you are not paying enough. He wont get your vote if he targets you. So he targets the guy you work for. It will never be enough. When the guy you work for feels the pinch, what do you expect he will do?

After five years in congress, they actually think they deserve a pension for the rest of their lives. The same people and attitude ran the house bank, that was exposed in the early 90's. Lots of congressmen bounced checks, that you would be in trouble for. Congressmen have to live in their districts. Rich folks can move and many of them do and so do the big companies that are overtaxed.

You can tax the rich, but dont expect much when your little nonprofit wants a donation. There wont be enough money, so youll ask government to do more. And around it goes.