How This Democrat Views Taxation

[M1 carbine dad]

ATOMonkey makes a good point. We do have a progressive tax in this country and it is exactly that which needs to go away.

Although there is no political will to do it, repealling the 16th Amendment and instituting the Fair Tax will go a long way towards helping our economy recover.

I urge one and all to read the Fair Tax book. No, I don't get any royalties by saying that, I just think it's a fascinating look at the history of our Progressive tax and a feasible and potentially successful alternative.

If you stop giving people fish and instead teach them to fish, then they succeed (or fail) on the basis of their own motivation and skill. Understanding, of course, that there are some who need care since they cannot care for themselves...that should go without saying.

 

[Ramen]

Hmm you make a good point, but I was just trying to make a quick one. This is an hyper-conservative forum and I'm afraid if I leak a little liberalism I may get shot or something because liberals are evil and dumb and want to eat your babies. o.o

In all seriousness, I was assuming that most people think we have a capitalistic society and I was just pointing out flaws that people would make sense if people did buy in to that notion. Such as, corporations screw people over and dont get punished for it because they have enough money to get away with it. If the free market worked the way people assumes it works assuming we're capitalistic then I think my point is pretty valid. However, you guys didnt take the bait. Drats. =p

A large number of the active members in the General Political Discussions forum agree that corporations, big or small, should not be getting any kind of handout or hand-up by the government. Most people here are also much more informed than the average citizen, who lives in the fantasy that it is "evil capitalism", or even "evil socialism", that causes all of the problems.

It is simply allowing federal government the power to do things outside of its lawful bounds. It was only a matter of time before that power was misused.

 

[clgustaveson]

This was sent to me and I find that I agree, mostly.

TAXATION EXPLAINED TO THE MASSES
Suppose that every evening, 10 men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that's what they decided to do. The 10 men drank in the bar every evening and were quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner said "Since you are all such good customers, I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20". Drinks for the 10 men would now cost just $80.
The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes. So the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men? The paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his fair share? They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.
So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by a higher percentage the poorer he was, to follow the principle of the tax system they had been using, and he proceeded to work out the amounts he suggested that each should now pay.
Therefore, the fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing.
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% saving).
The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28% saving).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% saving).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% saving).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% saving).
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But, once outside the bar, the men began to compare their savings.
"I only got a dollar out of the $20 saving," declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, "But he got $10!"
"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a buck too. It's unfair - he got 10 times more benefit than me!"
"That's true!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back, when I got only $2? The wealthy always win!"
"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison, "we didn't get anything at all. This new tax system exploits the poor!"
The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.
The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had their beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!
And that, boys and girls, journalists, labor unions and fellow Democrats, is how the tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes will naturally get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas, where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

As a caveat, I don't personally believe that able-bodied and unproductive members of society should receive any long term benefit.

Flame on brothers.

 

[Manan]

Soo true. Arg.

Well organized Tea Party meetings on the second Monday of each month 6:30 p.m. at the Greencastle Indiana Airport (Dixie Chopper Airport). Very nice, excellent knowledgeable and professional speakers. All are invited!