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Do The Rich Pay Too Much Federal Income Taxes

Do The Rich Pay Too Much Income Taxes

  • Total voters
    90
RiverDad said:
When I see KKK dudes riling up a riot against people they don't like, I want to tell them to STFU and disperse. When I see class warriors burning up with envy and trying to harm people, I want to tell them to mind their own business. What other people earn doesn't affect you. Your envy is something better discussed with your therapist than with a political mob.
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Thank you, but I already have healthcare so I don't need you. Got it? I have no envy for their money, but I sure would like the way they "earn" it made illegal. They use super computers to make stock trades, they can't lose.
 
Bodhisattva said:
Didn't I just say that my life is fine and dandy? I golf and surf in the sunny South Pacific daily and but my posts sound scared and alarmist to you? I am quite confident that my childhood was the life styles of the rich and famous compared to probably everybody on this site... but go ahead and sound like a douche bag if you want. If you don't have anything better to offer then I will spend my time discussing things with those that can positively contribute and not make veiled ad homs...

:2wave:
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I never indicated you were scared. You intimated that others might have been scared by wealth as you were growing up. Would you like me to find your post, or do you remember it?
 
Morality Games said:
Don't see why that follow. Wealth is power, and wealthy people tend to be the biggest and greediest troublemakers. Wouldn't want them to have more power.
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so your solution to the wealthy having too much power is to give even more power to an even more powerful entity -government?

yeah that makes LOTS OF SENSE given the wealthy are hardly a monolithic interest group.
 
RiverDad said:
You make a nice case for the rich being granted more voting power than the poor.
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Who needs more voting power? They have greater access and influence anyway.

The act of voting has become so meaningless that "voting power" has become an oxymoron. Voting isn't empowering.

TurtleDude said:
so your solution to the wealthy having too much power is to give even more power to an even more powerful entity -government?

yeah that makes LOTS OF SENSE given the wealthy are hardly a monolithic interest group.
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They are in the ways that matter.

Lobbyists are a professional class of people who basically network for a living, same as a businessman or a movie provider who is charged with sourcing funding for a company's operations. Difference is, they source political influence.

The NRA is basically a business. They don't have shareholders, but personnel (particularly the leadership) get pay raises the more donations they get. Where threats to gun ownership don't really exist, they invent them to continue justifying (and expanding) their existence.

Rich people may not be of uniform opinion, but when a lobbying group with a proven track record knocks on the door and says they can lower the effective tax rate on corporations and wealthy individuals, the diversity of their opinions drops down to just one: Yes please
 
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RiverDad said:
You make a nice case for the rich being granted more voting power than the poor.
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That is actually a good idea as long as the rich didn't punish the poor... or better yet, more productive members of society should get more vote.
 
Jack Hays said:
National Taxpayers Union - Who Pays Income Taxes?

National Taxpayers Union › Tax Basics‎National Taxpayers Union


... Who Pays Income Taxes? Are You Paying Too Much in Taxes? Taxes ... Percentage of Federal Personal Income Tax Paid. Top 1%. $343,927. 36.73. Top 5%.

The wealthy pay at least their fair share.:peace

Tax Year 2009​
Percentiles Ranked by AGI​
AGI Threshold on Percentiles​
Percentage of Federal Personal Income Tax Paid​
Top 1%​
$343,927​
36.73​
Top 5%​
$154,643​
58.66​
Top 10%​
$112,124​
70.47​
Top 25%​
$66,193​
87.30​
Top 50%​
$32,396​
97.75​
Bottom 50%​
<$32,396​
2.25​
Note: AGI is Adjusted Gross Income
Source: Internal Revenue Service
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Great post! :thumbs: It was interesting to see actual numbers and percentages for a change, instead of always reading about why the wealthy should pay more! :thumbdown:

Greetings, Jack. :2wave:
 
AlabamaPaul said:
I never indicated you were scared. You intimated that others might have been scared by wealth as you were growing up. Would you like me to find your post, or do you remember it?
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I never had the intention to imply that people might have been scared by wealth as I was growing up. I am not even sure what that means.
 
Morality Games said:
Don't see why that follow. Wealth is power, and wealthy people tend to be the biggest and greediest troublemakers. Wouldn't want them to have more power.
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Now we're talking corruption. That's a different kettle of fish. What's a parallel scenario we could apply the same principles too? How about blacks and crime. You want to attack the problem of corruption by attacking an entire class of people in which some use their wealth to corrupt public officials and thereby harm society. Some blacks commit crime and thereby harm society, so what would you propose be done about ALL blacks in order to reduce crime in society.

I'm curious to see how this group-based punishment idea works.
 
AlabamaPaul said:
Yes, I have a problem when posters try to become flippant...
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Then stop trying to label others and they will take you a little more seriously... bud.
 
polgara said:
Great post! :thumbs: It was interesting to see actual numbers and percentages for a change, instead of always reading about why the wealthy should pay more! :thumbdown:

Greetings, Jack. :2wave:
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Thanks.:cool:

Good evening, Polgara.:2wave:
 
Morality Games said:
They have greater access and influence anyway.

The act of voting has become so meaningless that "voting power" has become an oxymoron.
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Two good points...
 
Bodhisattva said:
I never had the intention to imply that people might have been scared by wealth as I was growing up. I am not even sure what that means.
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Please read your post #214 and get back to me...
 
RiverDad said:
Now we're talking corruption. That's a different kettle of fish. What's a parallel scenario we could apply the same principles too? How about blacks and crime. You want to attack the problem of corruption by attacking an entire class of people in which some use their wealth to corrupt public officials and thereby harm society. Some blacks commit crime and thereby harm society, so what would you propose be done about ALL blacks in order to reduce crime in society.

I'm curious to see how this group-based punishment idea works.
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I feel like you've said this before.

I'm not sure our perceptions of corruption agree with each other. Legally, an act of corruption would be paying a politician money to vote for legislation they otherwise wouldn't. But if a guy votes in patterns favorable to a specific industry, there's no effective barrier to him landing a cushy job in that industry later simply because he is admired and respected. If he puts it around he is interested in such a position, the big social circles in D.C. will introduce him to the right people.

For me, anything that isn't fanatical devotion to the ideals of public service is corruption. The only future for an ex-politician is the monastery. They can't be allowed any private gain from their political career because even the opportunities of that come with being an ex-public servant will have a corrupting influence on their ability as lawmakers.
 
AlabamaPaul said:
Dick, I don't care if you take me seriously or not...
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Mislabelling a poster deliberately like that is against the forum rules... and it also makes you look like a whining child.

...and BTW, internet tough guys are generally the biggest ******s on the planet. Care to reinforce the point? :lol:
 
Bodhisattva said:
Mislabelling a poster deliberately like that is against the forum rules... and it also makes you look like a whining child.

...and BTW, internet tough guys are generally the biggest ******s on the planet. Care to reinforce the point? :lol:
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If my opinion offends you, sorry. BTW, I love ******s...
 
AlabamaPaul said:
Please read your post #214 and get back to me...
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This doesn't state nor indicate that people are scared of wealth... try reading for comprehension this time!

Bodi
I haven't said what I want... I am merely pointing out that rich people make too much money and that poor people, in many instances, don't make enough. That scares people and I understand that better than most as I was raised in a wealthy family.
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AlabamaPaul said:
If my opinion offends you, sorry. BTW, I love ******s...
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Calling me "Dick" is an opinion? That is simply retarded ... or that I am a dick and you are calling me such... which is against the rules.
 
Morality Games said:
But if a guy votes in patterns favorable to a specific industry, there's no effective barrier to him landing a cushy job in that industry later simply because he is admired and respected.
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Tax policy. When someone leaves government bureaucracy or leaves public office and takes a job in the public sector, they face a 15 year period of a 90% surtax on the marginal gain of their inflation-adjusted income from what they earned before they entered government/public service or from what they earned during public service. An SEC or FDA regulator working for an agency which has been captured by the industry it is regulating cannot personally benefit by taking a new job as a lobbyist or as an employee of one of the firm's he was charged with regulating.

Guys like Geithner and Orzag, jumping from academia/FRB to Executive posts and then to Citibank vice-chairman would be **** out of luck. Same with politicians who go on to become lobbyists.

For me, anything that isn't fanatical devotion to the ideals of public service is corruption.
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I admire that but for that to happen the public service can't be both a dumping ground for patronage appointments and a receptacle bin for affirmative action appointments (we eliminated the Civil Service Exams due to racial disparate impact.) We actually need a professional civil service of competent people. The IRS scandal shows the problems of a weaponized civil service. It's not just money which corrupts, ideology is just as potent.

The only future for an ex-politician is the monastery.
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The problem really isn't so much civil service, it's the size of government. When government is small, then its decisions affect fewer people and the size of the effect is also often smaller. When government is big, then its decisions affect a lot of people and in substantive ways. This means that when we have Big Government we also create large incentives to bend the government to our own goals.
 
vesper said:
It appears crystal clear to me those who believe in distribution of wealth do so because they don't have to pay hardly a penny to fund all that they deem "fair". They also are most likely recipients of such entitlements. By introducing tax reform that made EVERYONE pay their fair share to cover the cost of all entitlement spending as well as funding the highways they use often and enjoy the idea of safe borders, then and only then will people realize that there is no such thing as a Rock Candy Mountain where money grows on trees and nothing is ever really free. Someone has to pay for it and that someone should include them. It would stop the feckless spending and this constant search of a new victim in need of entitlements. Instead personal responsibility may well be restored. Imagine that!
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I've asked more than once on here why the people receiving food stamps, rent assistance, and other financial assistance from the government should not be expected to work off some of the benefits that they receive. I was told that it would be unfair and discriminatory to expect them to do that! Huh? President Roosevelt did it during the Great Depression, and the people not only loved him for it, but we are still enjoying the national parks and other work they did. Since Roosevelt was apparently wrong, in their opinion, I've stopped asking. I still think it was a great idea he had, though, since self esteem is so important when you are considered an asset to society, and not a drag on same, but what do I know? :lol:

Greetings, Vesper. :2wave:.
 
Bodhisattva said:
Calling me "Dick" is an opinion? That is simply retarded ... or that I am a dick and you are calling me such... which is against the rules.
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Listen, I don't care if you wish to deny what you posted. I also don't care if you're incapable of understanding my responses, but if resorting to insinuating a rules violation is all you've got for this...

Bodhisattva said:
I haven't said what I want... I am merely pointing out that rich people make too much money and that poor people, in many instances, don't make enough. That scares people and I understand that better than most as I was raised in a wealthy family.
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then you can understand why I have stopped posting here as often as I used to do so...
 
AlabamaPaul said:
Listen, I don't care if you wish to deny what you posted. I also don't care if you're incapable of understanding my responses, but if resorting to insinuating a rules violation is all you've got for this...



then you can understand why I have stopped posting here as often as I used to do so...
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Originally Posted by Bodhisattva
I haven't said what I want... I am merely pointing out that rich people make too much money and that poor people , in many instances, don't make enough.

That scares people

and I understand that better than most as I was raised in a wealthy family.
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"Incapable of understanding your responses"? :lol:

Dude, you are pretty ****ing funny! :lol:

Did my break down help this time or do you need me to sound out the words for you now?
 
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