[CNBC] S&P contacts White House to notify about a downgrade coming

~30,000 kids have starved to death during the last 90 days in Africa. Enjoy.

 

Here is where I stopped reading because it is such obvious bull$hit. If y'all make that much money and pay 40% of your income in taxes (which I don't believe you do, I think you are lying through your teeth), then you need a better accountant and tax attorney.

I could get you a lower tax rate and I am neither a CPA nor an attorney.

 

No, they don't. The richest 1% spend 18% of their time (established earlier in this thread) paying off the government where the middle class spends more like 30%.

Please stop lying and spreading such obvious crap.

 

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If you look at the actual numbers, the top 1% has an average tax rate of 23% (in 2008). If most of his income is w-2 which is taxed at a higher rate than if his income were cap gains. You add medicare, ss, state/local income tax, property tax, its very much possible to be paying 40% of his total income in taxes. You can't compare a married couple who gets most of their income from w-2 with some rich retiree living on dividends.

 

Actually for income taxes, top 1% pays 23%, while the middle class pays between 7% to 12%.

http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/show/250.html#Data

 

43% of my paycheck goes to taxes (i live in ny) so it's painful. But honestly, if my tax rate went up I wouldn't spend less, that's because the excess money I make I invest in foreign mutual funds in developing nations. I'm not rich, but I am trying to get there, and I am saying rolling back the bush tax cuts won't really change my life or spending habits. I'm locked into a lifestyle because I make enough to do that. And I am not going to invest a penny into the u.s. markets or opportunities until it turns around.

Oh, and I am an entrepreneur too with a small business on the side. And I will tell you that I would rather see stimulus occur to drive up activity and prevent a recession that save a bit on taxes. Seriously....I make a lot more money when people spend than I do in a recession. I'll gladly pay 2% more (a big chunk of which I can deduct against anyway) and see my income rise.

So the whole idea that rolling back Bush tax cuts will prevent "job creators" from making jobs is stupid. Small business powers this countries employment, and they do what is best for their business which is dependent on how much their customers are willing to spend.

Put money in people's pockets - I am all for that. Let the ultra rich pay more. Geez. The ultra rich may not care because they are so divorced from reality and a recession actually might be better for them in some ways since they can get more for their money. But for the guys who are there recessions suck and the gov't better put some kick into this economy because there is nothing that small business owners or even more business can do to make people spend money they don't have.

 

Africa have many places that do have SEC, FDA, EPA or any other government control, you can sell sick meat and kill people and no one will care, you can sell fake drugs and no one will give a damn either, isn't that what you want here in the United States?

"free market" When have there ever been free market anywhere? Maybe you like to move to the Moon?

 

Hong Kong

 

tallanvor is a preacher. He talks like he has all the answers and speaks the dogma given to him in a fervor pitch. However, when pressed, he has no factual or analytical basis for any of his opinions. He's simply belching out what he himself wants to hear.

Best to smile politely and move on down the road.

 

I was not aware of HK's open door immigration policy.

 

How do you think those war lords rose to power? Maybe the lack of a strong central government?

 

a strong central government is not synonymous with a lack of a free market. You can have a strong military and a free market. Not sure what point you are making. It would be liberals/libertarians who believe in less national defence and would thus be more susceptible to being taken over.

 

Ireland.

 

That's true. China has the most vibrant capitalism in the world right now.

 

oh great, the USA should invest even more in a strong military and police force because war lord Jenga might take over, but it can't invest in health-care or education because that would make it way too strong. ohhh no, the government can possess the infrastructure to jail half of its citizens and kill the other half, but as soon as they start building hospitals it's game over.

The United States has to maintain 50%+ of world military expenditure in case the Covenant attack, I suppose.

 

Also, the whole argument of doctors vs investors is moot anyways, because you can target tax increases to investors---it's as simple as implementing things like a higher capital gains tax, and financial speculation taxes.

So you can spare the "poor" doctors, and instead focus on spearing the very rich and the very poor. That is if Tea Party "no taxes ever" folly ever ends.

 

s

You waive "fairness so casually. You won't like this country once a majority become very convinced that this country is not about fairness. I suppose you think living in a gated community with body guards will be ok.

You make some good points wrt to infrastructure or tax breaks for offshoring.

Not everyone will be willing to believe your conservative talking points. WRT to social security and medicare you say "entitlements" (you either deliberately or unconsciously employ conserative taling points and rhetoric.)

 

Like when they killed every bird in Hong Kong for fear of bird flu? Like when they limit the number of cars in the city by issuing set number of licenses? Like when they intervened during the Asia financial crisis in the market?

 

Hong Kong is the world's freest economy and has been for some time.

wikipedia