What I don't get about taxes: Why not have everyone pay, say....10%-15% (or whatever is appropriate). Some people pay more, some people pay less; but everyone pays the same percentage. Have another percentage for businesses. It is simple and fair, no? Seems easy enough to me. Is this so hard to figure out?
It would be, except for those that live paycheck to paycheck they spend 100% of their income just to live. To tax some of that, even 15% is more harmful to them than it is to someone who invests or saves large amounts of their paycheck. Thus those people can pay more with less hardship.
Declining marginal utility of money. A person making $20,000 is more affected by losing $2,000 to taxation than a person making $500,000 losing $50,000.
I didn't ignore this, it just wasn't relevant to my argument. Are you saying that people having 'wants' is what is killing social mobility in this country? The desire to have an iPhone is stopping people from being able to afford college? This isn't true. People who can't afford to pay for college aren't rendered unable to pay for it because they have a cellphone (one should note that cellphones are cheaper than landlines now, and that most employers work from the assumption that prospective employees will have cellphones). I'm not sure if you've ever tried living on minimum wage, but there's really no room to save for college. If you genuinely believe this, then I'd have to suspect that you've never been in that position and that you're relatively isolated from people who are. I wouldn't deny that we've become wealthier as a nation, except to include the caveat that that wealth has been concentrated to a greater and greater extent in the hands of fewer and fewer people. And when you note that there are significantly more opportunities it begs the question: More opportunities for whom? Without reasonable access to college, there is no rational reason to assume that opportunities are equal for everyone. Also, you'll note that the statistic I cited about the massive increase in the cost of college since the 1980s was adjusted for inflation and wasn't based on any economic brackets that could "skew" that figure.
But people seem to assume that, JUST because you were born in the United States, that you have every possibility of achieving success if you're not dumb and lazy. (of course, one would have to ignore the fact that there are plenty of dumb and lazy people who appear to be doing just fine and are making a nice income ... why is that?) The "gas station" fact was to illustrate the point that social mobility has taking a MASSIVE nosedive in the last fifty years. Plenty of people manage to move up the ladder doing the same job that billions of other people can also do, but they're able to afford college so they have an official slip of paper that certifies that they can do the same job that billions of other people can do. As much as the deluded "I lifted myself up by my own bootstraps" types protest otherwise, most jobs can be done by most people - but most people don't have access to most jobs. At any rate - do you deny that social mobility is declining in America? That the cost of college is rapidly outpacing the ability of people to afford it?
I hope you don't think its impossible for a family to send their kids to college on minimum wage. It all has to do with lifestyle. I know people who are currently making minimum, and drive brand-new 60k-70k cars. There's a dude I know who works at KFC... just bought a brand new Jaguar XF. My GF's parents are Chinese immigrants who came here in 1992. They still barely speak English. They worked for minimum, and still currently have minimum wage jobs. They bought their first home in 2000, AND payed for my GF's college. My GF got a part time job to pay for other expenses, but college was paid for by her parents.
I'm not sure what state you live in but assuming 60 hours a week at $7.25 and hour, it would take over 2 years to buy a new Jaguar XF. That's with every penny going to the car. I'm not sure this is a realistic option for most people who earn this much.
The American dream. The biggest peice of crap Amreica has been teaching us for years. We've all heard the American myths what they actually are and lots of us have failed tryna pursue the dream which is the myth instead of realizing reality. It has never been about what you know but who you know and what they can do for you and what you can do for them. Lets look at reality of life and not the dreams. We can acheive what we want if we make the moves but not forget that its doesn't mean it will happen. American reality is about conforming. Fitting in the system and the only way you can move up is go outside to box we are taught to live in. But its a risk to go out the box because you will become an outcast. WHy do you think generrations of families stay where they stay. The Rich stay rich the Middle Class stay middle class and the Poor stay poor. Its the Amereican reality. Obama cant kill somthing that never existed
well the america i want doesn't require certain people to have to scale virtually insurmountable obstacles to get to that stage. in the late 50s average folks working at a factory could take vacations plan for a nice retirement and send their kids to college with only one income earner. thats the america i want. not one in which if two parents bust their ass 60 hours a week until their 70 just to get by.
You obviously didn't get my message, did you? No. I think the government should encourage good health, not "health care" i.e. "treatment for financial gain." I abhor medicine for money. I hate the medical systems of the country. Max.... you communist you... (Jesus was basically a commie ) I hope you get my drift. I understand everything you're saying... the problem with humanity is that we cannot help but affix political labels (that we are familiar with) to everyone... and in many senses of the "Word" early Christianity sounded like a commune... and with good reason- in our understanding it would only make sense. We must then remember, "my ways are not your ways." This is why our beliefs seem to fly in the face of our current government, and many governments of the world. Remember, God's system is a Mono-Theocracy that exudes equality and fairness... And when we put that in the contextual understanding of obeying the laws of the "authorities" placed over us, "render to ceasar" etc. it gets even cloudier. Ultimately... faith vs. state will always a conflict be. But it is not anti-Faith to be pro-small government in the least. Since we cannot seem to separate the two it seems, why not keep things as simple as possible, and seek to educate the masses to reduce bad health choices.... Much of the Old Testament text contained health advice, nutrition advice, etc... things that taught good stewardship over good health... this is the same idea I have for the reduction of abortions... just educate people, while young, if the parents won't learn to be responsible enough as parents to do this, develop a way to figure out who has not been taught, then teach them. If the health of the nation is better, through education and implementation of nutrition and exercise... then financial burden on you and I, through the government or private means, is less. I still will never see that government health care is the solution to the health crisis. If anything, perhaps government should concentrate the funds already committed to these institutions toward preventative measures and ground floor education and nutrition, instead of kick-backs and grants to pharmaceutical companies that encourage them to come up with new medications to treat the symptoms of the side-effects of the last medications they produced. The vicious cycle has to stop somewhere, and I propose square one is the stopping point. Get healthy foods and natural remedies. Not unlike "red counties"... I'm all over the map here.
well to be fair, they were recent immigrants who did not speak english, and had a middle school education. if they could pay for their kids college, why can't someone who was born and raised here? if you don't work hard, nothing good can happen.
Obama's messages are worrying me. i don't like McCain, but i completely disagree with Obama on a lot of issues. i just hope none of his plans pass the congress after he gets elected. the whole trade protectionism, taxing business, health care, other plans he promised are going to end us costing us more in the long term.
I find it funny that people who make 50k are worried about those of us making over 250k. Now I'm in that bracket obama will increases taxes on but that doesn't bother me. What people like the op should concern themselves with is how cindy mccain made 4m and paid 27% taxes which is what that 50k person pays. Just on a common sense angle, if the richest man in america isn't worried about obamas taxes, why should you?
