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Are you part of the majority of Americans who feel the rich should pay higher taxes?

Should the rich pay higher taxes?

  • Total voters
    69
Re: Are you part of the majority of Americans who feel the rich should pay higher tax

jackalope said:
Federal taxes, Guerilla. That means all federal taxes. Since it's the Buffet rule, and his article referenced his secretary, earning $60K, who paid just under 30%, that's the general ballpark we're talking about.

And if those millionaires are already paying that percentage, than this will not affect them at all. If they ain't, then it will. And it should.
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According to the Congressional Budget Office, middle-class families in 2007 (earning between $34,000 and $50,000) paid an effective 14.3% of their income in all federal taxes. The top 5% of income earners paid 27.9% and the top 1% paid 29.5%. And what about the highest earners? Americans with annual incomes above $2 million paid an average 32% of their income in federal taxes in 2005 (the most recent year for which data are available)....


looks like if Buffet isn't paying taxes, it's probably because he stashed his money into a Trust, pays himself 100K income, and keeps the rest in unrealized gains. If he is upset that he isn't paying taxes... it's probably because he hasn't been paying the taxes he already owes since 2002.


when Obama stops taking all the deductions he derides in others, and when Buffet starts poneying up the money he already owes, i'll at least assume that their caterwauling is honestly intentioned. Until then, I note that Buffet makes alot of money selling insurance to Berkshire Hathaway, and that the profit on that goes up when tax rates go up.


I thought at least rhetorically Democrats were supposed to be against crony capitalism? Enron and all that?
 
Re: Are you part of the majority of Americans who feel the rich should pay higher tax

sawyerloggingon said:
Majority of Americans voted for obama, now here we are, your point is?
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Americans like cotton candy?
 
Re: Are you part of the majority of Americans who feel the rich should pay higher tax

jackalope said:
Look it up.
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Right, I'll do that right away. LOL!
 
Re: Are you part of the majority of Americans who feel the rich should pay higher tax

sawyerloggingon said:
Majority of Americans voted for obama, now here we are, your point is?
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Yes, but Obama put up a false guise in order to attain more votes from the youth.
 
Re: Are you part of the majority of Americans who feel the rich should pay higher tax

cpwill said:
1 even as a strawman?
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Not really a "strawman"
Lets think about this.

that stunk. however, I would love to go back to the Constitutional bounds of government.
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Where in the constitution does it say "no income tax" or something on the lines of that?


2. the 18th and 19th century....
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Lets see at all the things taxes pay for
1.) we had a bright idea to have roads, a highway system, stop lights, speed limits, a police force for our growing population, free healthcare for veterans/soldiers, the national guard, 911 services, public restrooms, public schools, clean air/water regulations, food stamps, pell grants, regulate airplanes, we decided to go to the moon and explore space, inspect meat and produce, the GI Bill, US postal service, national parks, state universities... Point is the list goes on and on...


this would be the era in history when we also had the largest explosion in population, wealth, and development, moving from 13 small huddled communities on the eastern seaboard to spanning a continent and then some, yes?
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Yes im not saying your wrong. Im saying at some point and time we had to pay for expanding population, and community...
 
Re: Are you part of the majority of Americans who feel the rich should pay higher tax

Harry Guerrilla said:
Just to further support my point.

Quote Originally Posted by IRS
Preview of 2011 Tax Year

Earned Income and adjusted gross income (AGI) must each be less than:

$43,998 ($49,078 married filing jointly) with three or more qualifying children
$40,964 ($46,044 married filing jointly) with two qualifying children
$36,052 ($41,132 married filing jointly) with one qualifying child
$13,660 ($18,740 married filing jointly) with no qualifying children
Tax Year 2011 maximum credit:

$5,751 with three or more qualifying children
$5,112 with two qualifying children
$3,094 with one qualifying child
$464 with no qualifying children
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Preview of 2011 EITC Income Limits, Maximum Credit Amounts and Tax Law Updates

The highlighted portion is the refundable tax credit rate for tax year 2011.
Meaning that, if you fall into the child/income guidelines you can get a check mailed to you from the IRS for the amount listed.
In actuality, it can be much more with the other refundable credits available.
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These are credits to be applied to what you owe to offset these costs to the working poor. If you owe less than those amounts, you don't get a check mailed to you, so what is your beef?

Would you prefer they were receiving welfare?
 
Re: Are you part of the majority of Americans who feel the rich should pay higher tax

TurtleDude said:
they never do-not on like income
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Key words highlighted.
 
Re: Are you part of the majority of Americans who feel the rich should pay higher tax

HELL NO this is Obama's divide and conquer class warfare ploy.


I have said it time and again the rich create the jobs not Obama's failed programs and policies.


1 percent of the population earn 19 per*cent of the income but pay 37 percent of the income tax. The top 10 percent pay 68 percent of the tab.



Obama is a one trick pony, and all he can do is make phony claims that don't hold up in the light of day except for radical leftists that can't thing for themselves.
 
Re: Are you part of the majority of Americans who feel the rich should pay higher tax

Councilman said:
I have said it time and again the rich create the jobs.
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Well they were given their tax cuts again that they were perfectly comfortable without before, and where's the jobs?
 
Re: Are you part of the majority of Americans who feel the rich should pay higher tax

Jetboogieman said:
Well they were given their tax cuts again that they were perfectly comfortable without before, and where's the jobs?
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as im not a expert, the only thing I can think of is the recession (inflation/weak dollar), over regulation (scc?), and cheaper to operate overseas.
 
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Re: Are you part of the majority of Americans who feel the rich should pay higher tax

If everyone bought a hybrid/electric car and installed solar panels, their effective tax rate could be up there with GE too.

Sounds like the problem isn't loopholes Big Corp takes - it's the ones average Americans don't.
 
Re: Are you part of the majority of Americans who feel the rich should pay higher tax

Aunt Spiker said:
I wonder why so many people believe that the government deserves more of anyone's money right now seeing as how they can't manage all the trillions they get from everyone each year.
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Why dose the rich deserve more money? That less than a percentage point aleady have more money than they can spend in 3 life times if they spent as hard as they could. They should want to help the country and the people that got them there.
 
Re: Are you part of the majority of Americans who feel the rich should pay higher tax

jamesrage said:
I picked other. The rich should pay the same percentage of income tax as everybody else does and preferable that should be a flat rate with no deductions.
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I think this flat tax idea is a good one, but I think we need to do a bit more and have a flat pay rate for every one.
 
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Re: Are you part of the majority of Americans who feel the rich should pay higher tax

I don't think it's right to make the rich pay higher taxes to fund a wasteful government. Especially considering the fact that many people pay no taxes and receive money from the government. It's not right to financially an unfairly punish rich people for having larger incomes.
 
Re: Are you part of the majority of Americans who feel the rich should pay higher tax

TurtleDude said:
you think most plumbers are making 350K or more a year?
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Do you think most people have to choose between getting their medacation, or paying their light bill.
 
Re: Are you part of the majority of Americans who feel the rich should pay higher tax

Please don't turn this into a morality tale, dumb. It's not a matter of deserve. It's a matter of earn. Assuming they are not stealing or embezzling, they can choose what to spend their money on, just as you can. I won't get on an ethical soapbox and say that the computer you use now could be better spent feeding homeless.
 
Re: Are you part of the majority of Americans who feel the rich should pay higher tax

Eh... I voted YES, but it's conditional.

Under the current tax code, with all the loopholes created specifically for the wealthy, I don't think they're really paying their "fair share". In a perfect world we'd all pay the same tax rate and legitimate deductions from taxable income would be few and far between. 15% of a million dollars is still 10 times more than 15% of a hundred thousand, ya know?

When one takes the time to figure out how all those loopholes were created it quickly becomes apparent that the problem lies within the election process itself... ie-campaign contributions. In fact most of the problems we have in American politics seem to trace back to that very issue, don't they?

Until we figure out a way to fix that issue, we're just beating our collective heads against the wall...
 
Re: Are you part of the majority of Americans who feel the rich should pay higher tax

digsbe said:
I don't think it's right to make the rich pay higher taxes to fund a wasteful government. Especially considering the fact that many people pay no taxes and receive money from the government. It's not right to financially an unfairly punish rich people for having larger incomes.
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I agree the Goverment is broken, so you think that after 32 years, 24 years Republican in the white house and 8 years of demacarts in the white house we really need to give the power back to the republican party to drive this country right into the hands of the Chinise. The rich are the ones that have let us down. They could have kept the jobs in the USA, but they wanted to work people for nothing; so they could make all the money, and the American people are not stupid and don't want to work for a blow of rice and a dirt floor shack to lay down in. To me it is just greed, plain and smiple.
 
Re: Are you part of the majority of Americans who feel the rich should pay higher tax

Gipper said:
Please don't turn this into a morality tale, dumb. It's not a matter of deserve. It's a matter of earn. Assuming they are not stealing or embezzling, they can choose what to spend their money on, just as you can. I won't get on an ethical soapbox and say that the computer you use now could be better spent feeding homeless.
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I'm sorry but that is what it is, greed ruling without morality.
 
Re: Are you part of the majority of Americans who feel the rich should pay higher tax

Problem is that morality is subjective. I personally don't consider it "moral" to make the rich float along the dead wood of society at the point of a gun. If they choose to donate profits to those less fortunate under their own volition, great. If not, sorry.
 
Re: Are you part of the majority of Americans who feel the rich should pay higher tax

Interesting how the poll results are quite tilted against taxing the rich, but the links in the OP clearly indicate that the majority of Americans do want it. Seems to me that DP has experienced a microcosm of what is going on in America right now: The loud minority has a disproportionately strong voice.

Some things I would like to ask those who oppose raising taxes on the rich:

1. You say that "everyone should pay their fair share." This is a line I have heard repeatedly from you. Does this mean you would like to raise taxes on the poor and middle class?

2. Right now, many corporations have decided that their best investment is cash. So as the economy sputters, they are sitting on increasingly large stockpiles of cash. How will lowering taxes on them solve this problem?

3. Did you factor in costs of living when you came to your conclusion?

4. What happens if your conclusion is wrong, if it is indeed a good idea to raise taxes on the rich?
 
Re: Are you part of the majority of Americans who feel the rich should pay higher tax

digsbe said:
I don't think it's right to make the rich pay higher taxes to fund a wasteful government. Especially considering the fact that many people pay no taxes and receive money from the government. It's not right to financially an unfairly punish rich people for having larger incomes.
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No one. At all. Pays NO taxes. Stop throwing that around. It's not true. Some people make too little money to qualify for ONE tax that is based on income. Even those people pay many non-progressive taxes, and plenty at the city and state level. Stop with this drivel. It is a lie and it does not help the discussion.
 
Re: Are you part of the majority of Americans who feel the rich should pay higher tax

Why should Warren Buffet's secretary payer a higher tax rate than Warren Buffet. This isn't about taking money from the rich and giving it to the poor. Its about the rich paying a fair tax rate.
 
Re: Are you part of the majority of Americans who feel the rich should pay higher tax

Jucon said:
Should taxes be raised on the rich?If you only watched Fox News or listened to / read any conservative talking points, you'd probably think 75 percent of Americans are Tea Party activists who oppose all tax increases.Now if you lived in the real world you'd know that for a long time now the majority of Americans have been in favor of raising taxes on the rich. Poll after poll after poll has been showing this, yet the Republicans continue to try to put this "class warfare" idea on the backs of Obama and the Democrats. All while claiming they have the majority on their side.The Republicans may have some fooled, but not me...January, 2011: Most Americans say tax rich to balance budget: poll | ReutersApril, 2011: Poll: Raise taxes on wealthy, leave Medicare, Medicaid alone - The Hill's On The MoneySept, 2011 (Poll done in July, 2011): Obama deficit cuts popular in polls - Behind the Numbers - The Washington PostSept, 2011: Should taxes on millionaires be boosted? – CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com BlogsOf course you can disagree with the idea that we should raise taxes on the rich... but you cannot claim that you have the majority on your side.
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That's swell, you know, but that doesn't make raising taxes the right thing to do, nor agreeable with the founding principles of this republic. I can feel greedy and angry at the rich all day long, but that doesn't justify stealing their money.
 
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