The growing gap between rich and poor.

That's odd, because many people feel otherwise, including....Bill Gates, pere.

http://www.pbs.org/now/transcript/transcript_inheritance.html

 

Except a large portion of the wealthy's income is from capital gains rather than traditional wages. The rates that Bill Gates pays on his $100 million in income is far less than if 10,000 people made $10,000 more dollars. So when the CEO pays himself far more (in stock options and other things) instead of raising the wages of the middle and lower levels of the company, it hurts the tax base, not helps it.

 

After accounting for inflation, but before accounting for the massive rise in energy prices, which are not included in inflation numbers.

 

Once again, this is why a Flat Consumption Tax is so important.

 

So hypothetically what would happen if the government say raised the minimum wage to $10?

 

A bunch of teenage kids would have more in their pocket. Minimum wage has very little to do with our system with the illegal immigrants already here.

Economically speaking, minimum wage is completely arbitrary to capitalism.

Here's a thought: Let's go back to our Gov't taking only 5% of our wages. It was like that 75 years ago, and we won WWII.

 

I am SOOOOOO with you on that.

No sarcasm, I am very serious.

 

Nah, I liked your idea above. Let's go to government taking NO income and only taxing consumption.

 

And here I thought that they sold war bonds during WWII. Go figure.

 

I don't see how a consumption tax will reduce the income gap?

In fact, it has quite the opposite effect on after tax income levels between the 'rich' and the rest of us...

 

Agreed - though you could make arguments on both sides.

 

We did. We also did a "one time" increase in taxes that never went back down for the war.

 

Wrong. A bunch of teenage kids would become unemployed.

And yes, a 5% tax rate sounds good to me.

 

WTF. Are you a liberal?

0% sounds about right to me.

 

The income "gap" is what it is. Unless you curb it, or make taxation more fair, it will continue to increase.

I'm not sure how you could fathom a consumption tax increasing the gap, unless people don't spend anything, which we know isn't true. There is a reason people invest large sums of money. So they can earn a return. The money they invest is spent on everything, from banking loans to building businesses, etc. The invested money doesn't just sit and "rot."

Read this. A little long, but it gives a good idea of how the flat tax benefits everyone. And notice how the economists are from all over the country.

http://fairtax.org/pdfs/Open_Letter_President_Endorsements.pdf

 

I am indeed a liberal.

 

Civilizations die from suicide, not by murder.
- Arnold Toynbee

 

I'll be damned......

I may. Granted "may" have struck a chord in how we can all get along.....