Tax breaks for top 1% stimulates economy??? Pffffft.

So its not okay for a 60 year old American whose worked hard his whole life to have a nice Truck and computer,thats the problem here you want to take from people who are responsible for thier own destiny and have worked hard to get there and take from them to pay for Bums that shouldnt be in this country,irrespondsible parents who had kids and now wants the community to pay for them,career leeches on Welfare and the Unemployment insurance/Disability insurance scammers we have to make sure thier OK too from our paychecks.

 

Yes, all the time. And I'm not trying to give you a hard time cinch, you seem like a good guy. It's just that this whole "let the guy above me give up his stuff, not me" argument is soooooo tired. My parents are BROKE, and I'm sure we will be supporting one or both of them in the near future. I would like to get them a more reliable car and some other things but we don't know yet how these tax increases and medicare cuts are going to affect us totally. I have to look out for my family first and foremost. If I see someone in need and I can help, I will do it 100% of the time. I don't want our gov't deciding who I can help, I can see who needs help around me every day.

 

Have you read my other posts? I think you missed the point, I was being sarcastic (which translates horribly in text). I think those of us that pay taxes already pay TOO MUCH taxes.........all of us. The problem is overspending, not undertaxing (just made that word up).

 

Your exactly right. When some people, not necessarly anyone on here, say that we need to get rid of social security and medicaid, I think they sometimes forget not everyone on these programs are moochers. Some are disabled by an accident, medical conditon, etc. What is a civilized society to do, it is a societies, I feel, responsibility to care for those individuals because if we don't then we are truley not civilized. With increased rules, restrictions hopefully waste, fraud and abuse of these areas will be reduced greatly.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHIuXnNKKGo?fs=1Some of the less fortunate folks I should sell my truck for and disconnect my computer for,Id rather give to charity on my own terms than have a quarter of my check taken by the Government to give to scammers

 

Had me fooled

 

More sense of community?

Is this satisfied by paying more taxes and having a larger government?

I don't think so. Think of it and bear with me to make a point.

Every child gets the exact same tennis shoes. I have worked with the Chinese before it's recent boon. Every guy has the same shoes, the same jacket, the same shirt, the same underwear! That is a very good illustration of how the government works - same thing for millions. When you have so many people you have to standardize or you will never get it done or it will cost you much more to implement.

When received from churches/friends/neighbors it is very different. When my parents were going through a devastating time in their life, all of my clothing came from a church or neighbors - when everyone else had toys, my favorite 'toy' was a tee shirt with a saddle, a revolver, a marlin rifle and some chaps - not real ones, just printed on the tee shirt. I can not tell you how fun that was. I think if we had a government issued grey or blue tee shirt would have not been the same.

Although I donate to causes, I think the sense of community comes from actively engaging. When the government has the responsibility to do this, you do not personally get the benefit and worse yet, you withdraw from your civic duty.

I grew up in a small town that at first did not have police. In order to get police help, it was a minimum of 45 minutes response time for the State Police to arrive, then we moved to volunteer then we got to a two police car force in a 52 sq mile area. Then they qualified for federal funds. Then they would enforce anything they possibly could in order to qualify for more funds. - One of the last times I visited they had Turbo Volvos - when I asked a cop about it, they said that they had too much money and the bureaucrats thought it was more appropriate for the people; the town used to be a farm town and now it's a bedroom community for NYC and Princeton NJ. Oh yeah, the cop said they hate it since you can't get in the car with a fully equipped belt.

In that town, when we lived there, criminals didn't have to worry about the police, they had to worry about the neighbors.

No one would lock their doors for 2 reasons. 1) If the neighbor needed something and 2) if the home was to burn down, the neighbors would try to get the pets out and anything they may be able to save - 'cause we had a volunteer force and if you didn't have a pond or a stream - your home was going to be toast.

As a mentor once taught me... Once a year, go to a funeral, go to the birth of a child, go to a wedding. Know what it feels like to be connected... TO STRANGERS!

When we have larger government and more services, we typically become less engaged. One example that kills me these days are the number of people that litter. These are not dumb people that I am talking about. I call people on it at least 5 times a month. I am about to go off on a 9 mile run in the mountains and the guys that I do it with used to think that throwing an orange peel on to the trail was okay. Maybe in the jungle but in our desert they can last 15 to 50 years - plus who wants to see it. Sure, my friends though I was a bit off at first but now they carry bags to pick up other trash.

Others feel that they pay taxes and if it doesn't give them the right to litter at least it shield them of having to care. I think this is indicative of many that feel government programs are the savior of our society- I do not.

... and I don't care to spend my neighbor's money.

 

I'm not trying to give you a hard time either. I was merely saying look what other people have to go through also. I do believe that the uber rich (not the upper middle class) should contribute more only because they don't need the extra money that they made off of the backs of working people. It just goes into their pocket as a sort of "look what i'm worth" mentality.

 

It's a good thing guys that made their money off their own backs aren't included in that group!

 

And where does tithing get mixed up in this?

 

I live near one of the most affluent counties in the country. There is a whole mix of social classes out here from very wealthy to piss poor. The town I live in however is tiny. We don't even have a streetlight. There are again wealthy and poor in this small town.

But every week we all pull together. The local food pantry in my town distributes needed food to those who can't afford it or by disability get food. We mainly purchase it thorugh the small grocery store so they get the business and our little town gets the tax revenue. We donate our time, money, fuel and vehicles to accomplish this task. The local church donates it's building for a distribution and warehousing point.

We do this much more efficiently and cost effectively than the government could or would. In doing so we connect with our community to build relationships. In doing so there is a sense of accomplishment and service to others that no goverment program could ever foster.

In short it's neighbors helping neighbors. It's what used to be done regularly in the country before govement largesse and the war on poverty was declared by our goverment.

 

Political threads are always fun before they get shut down.

Tax breaks for the rich do not stimulate the economy - every time it's been implemented (Reagan, Bush II) there's been a massive redistribution of wealth away from the poor and middle class to the wealthy. Especially over the past ten years, the rich have gotten much richer, the poor have gotten poorer, and the middle class have stayed the same, or slightly lost ground.

The fallacy that giving rich people money stimulates the economy by creating jobs and investment is just that, a fallacy. Extra money for large business owners doesn't create extra jobs, it creates extra profit. Extra market demand creates extra jobs. That's why the economy is in the dumper right now - the majority of people aren't spending because they either can't or won't. Tax breaks for small business owners *might* stimulate the economy, but it would be a better idea to give the tax breaks to the small businesses themselves rather than the people profiting from them. Let them grow their business with the tax break it received and have their personal wealth increase that way. There you get the wealthy getting wealthier honestly and employment increases.

The rich are richer than ever, yet the economy is stagnating....hmmm....it would seem economic prosperity does not correlate with money to the top 1%. The economy has always revolved around the production and spending habits of the middle class, not the investment habits of the wealthy.

People you hear arguing that rich people need lenient tax laws are usually in the top 5% themselves. Though income tax brackets are (very very very slightly) higher for the wealthiest 1%, it hardly matters. The wealthy don't get their money from occupational income, they get it from capital gains (i.e. returns on investment) which are taxed at a much lower rate. Or they inherit it, which is similarly low-hit at the moment.

The reason you hear senators and media talking heads espousing the importance of keeping the rich rich is because the rich own them. Who do you think owns media conglomerates like News Corp and Time Warner? Rupert Murdoch and Ted Turner? I hear they're rich. Who do you think writes BIG campaign checks to politicians who write tax laws? Why, the very same top 1%.

After all, they have money to spend. The rest of us have to make payments.

 

The big talk on the tax breaks are because if you make over 250,000 a year the "bush tax cuts" won't be extended into 2011, meaning you'll get taxed a shitload more. If you make 250,000 they are still taxing you a lot, you'll just get taxed more if the "bush tax cuts" are not extended, bottom line.

Anyone i know who makes 250,000 or more works their ass off, they all own a business and they all have multiple people working for them. If they get taxed (penalized) more for making 250,000 or more they will simply take on less work. Why would anyone work their ass off to make less?

Lastly, i don't know why anyone thinks it's the millionaires getting tax breaks. People who are millionaire (most of them anyways) are filthy rich because of accumulated wealth, they are not taxed on accumulated wealth. The people ut there working their asses off are stimulating the economy, they are hiring people and they are working hard. They should reap what they sow, they should not be penalized for working hard and making money so that their taxes can go to people without jobs.

To the OP, be happy you have a job.

 

2-4% is a shitload?

 

They are not taxed? How 'bout 55% death tax. Nice when you think about the family farm that's sold at a firesale price... if not by the owners, by the IRS for not paying the death tax.

Regarding less work... You are absolutely right. And these are the guys that hire people but...

the class war continues...

 

X2

 

I think what we are hearing here is that alot of people in the USA are doing without the money,jobs,dreams that they once had and are wondering WTF happened to our once pro$perou$ country and where did our dreams of inbetterment for ourselves go to? The people that worked hard played by the rules are having to finance a bank/mortgage crisis,buyout GM motors,2 Wars that have cost us Billions without any clearcut idea if we are winning or are going to win(i want to win)one side says yes the other no,people are in limbo about thier financial,health,retirement future and are pissed not knowing what those outcomes will be and very nervous about them,hence people and companies sitting on thier money not spending it till we find out=economy-jobs in the shitter.

 

X2

 

This is a good read...

http://factcheck.org/2010/09/2011-tax-increases/

 

Its simple...

cut taxes for job creators = Businesses

cut taxes for spenders = Middle Class

= economic recovery

btw, 10% unemployment still means that 90% are employed... 10% does not equal EVERYONE

this economy has only significantly effected me in one way

1. my house has lost a TON of value ~20-25%... which sucks because now I can't sell it (but I have renters, Navy renters)

everything else is fine... thanks to the NAVY