Why am I such a hypocrite?

Hypocrisy is a fig tree growing in the middle east that has leaves but no figs.


Seeing both side is not always equal to hypocrisy.


Saying you are one thing, then doing another... now that's another story.


Don't sweat it. Just vote your conscience.

 

Who says you have to be either? That's the problem with politics, not all people are like you. They are blinded by whatever party they choose, following whatever the party says to a fault, and only want to disagree with the other party's strategies. I commend you, Fatty.

 

crazy = posting drunk and assuming you'll be taken seriously

 

just because the current state of politcs is bi-partisan, doesn't mean that you have to be! you can be a moderate, just like most Americans. believe it or not, you conform instead of being an abberration (yes, sorry, you are NOT special )

 

Damn, this really is priceless.

Let me say it one last time; drunk or sober, your conception of economics is so insultingly stupid as to cause me to be embarrassed for you. This is quite ironic as I generally don't mind pointing out when others are stupid.....but man this is like beating up on a r****ded kid. There is no way that Americans pay 70% of their total income in taxes, and they never have at any point in the nations history. This is like believing that the sky is green with auburn highlights.

.

 

I think it's more important to be aware of our logical inconsistencies and be open to new ideas than to worry about being hypocritical. We're all hypocrites, no matter what we like to think. The world's just too complex.

Anyone who aligns their viewpoints along a single line of logic just to avoid the appearance of being hypocritical is obviously more concerned with appearance than true understanding.

 

Maybe I'm missing something but isn't Fatty saying 40%? Maybe his previous post says something else (referring to 70%).

But to self employed folks 40% is very likely especially since the first $87,000 has 15.3% of socail security of medicare, then throw in Federal taxes, state, local (which I don't believe they have in Texas), and property taxes. I am also ignoring sales taxes (which would boost the number even more).

But in my personal example (I have my tax return in front of me) I paid out 37.7% in taxes mentioned above. Now I'm sure there are people that pay more and folks that pay less (alot is dependent on number of dependents and how much they can itemize) but 40% is very realistic number to me.

 

No, he's ridiculing people for thinking they're only taxed 40%. I could see your point if he put some sort of emphasis on the "only" part.

 

I wish somebody would add it up:
Income Tax, sales tax, school tax, Junior college tax, gasoline tax, cigarette tax , liquor tax , hotel tax, rent car tax, business franchise tax, estate tax, capital gains tax, auto registration tax corporate income tax , self-employed tax, social security income tax, subsidence district tax, pre-owned auto tax, airport tax, toll road fees.

Here's the thing though; if you didn't pay all these taxes you would either have to pay user fees for everything or you would have to live without government services. Without government services many many jobs would not exist or would not be able to generate much income. Can you imagine if every road was a private toll road or having to pay a fee to send you kids to school or the only flights were from a few private airports or the only way to defend your country was to leave home to fight?

 

http://www.cato.org/pubs/briefs/bp-015.html

The formula for the purchase of a $10,000 car in Michigan is:

State and Local Sales Tax = $10,000 x 4% = $400 + State Income Tax = Required Earnings x 4.6% + FICA Tax = Required Earnings x 7.65% + Federal Income Tax = 28% x (Required Earnings - State Income Tax).

Required Earnings = (Retail Sales Price + State and Local Sales Tax)/ [1 - Federal Income Tax Rate x (1 - State Income Tax Rate) - State Income Tax Rate - FICA Tax Rate] = $10,000 + $400/[1 - 28% x (1 - 4.6%) - 4.6% - 7.65%] = $10,400/(1 - 0.28 x 0.954 - 0.046 - 0.0765) = $10,400/(1 - 0.267 - 0.046 - 0.0765) = $10,400/0.6105 = $17,038.

To buy a $10,000 car a wage earner needs $17,038. The summary of each tax is as follows:

State and Local Sales Tax = $10,000 x 4% = $400. State Income Tax = Required Earnings x 4.6% = $17,038 x 0.046 = $784. FICA Tax = Required Earnings x 7.765% = $17,038 x 0.0765 = $1,303. Federal Income Tax = (Required Earnings - State Income Tax) x 28% = ($17,038 - $784) x 28% = $4,551. Total Taxes = State and Local Sales Tax + State Income Tax + Federal Income Tax + FICA Tax = $400 + $784 + $1,303 + $4551 = $7,038. Total Required Income = Retail Price + Taxes = $10,000 + $7,038 = $17,038.

These numbers approach FFB's assertion. If it takes $17K to buy a $10K car and all these taxes are paid, well......

 

I think that since FFB spends 70% of his income on liquor he thinks he's being taxed a total of 70%.

Damn those TTU math classes.

 

Hmm, I see, very enlightening.

Sooo, giddyup...100 percent of your net income is spent on buying automobiles in Michigan?

How quaint. Thanks for the info. Next time you are chowing down on a chrome bumper for easter sunday dinner (which, apparently, you do, from your example) I will think of your poor, disadvantaged ass.

 

Sam, don't be in such a hurry to be a decent fellow.

If you have something contributory to say just say it, otherwise just leave it alone.

I asked for input not sarcasm. You seem to be incapable. If you want to, try again....

 

Why would you take the car buying example and use that as justification for claiming "I pay 70% in taxes"?

Couldn't someone just say: "I buy a stick of gum. I get taxed 8.25%..."??

I think someone already broke this down - the truth is somewhere in the middle.

Now - you're not a hypocrite. You've just bought into the stupid American mentality of being liberal/conservative. You can't be in the middle. You can't be socially conservative and economically liberal, or socially liberal and economically conservative.

Your political position is based on abortion and taxes... How dopey is that? Why do we have to have such a simplistic mindset when it comes to politics? Aren't there other things which are important?

 

Fatty,

You're not a nypocrite. Merely a moderate who's watched too much FoxNews and feels like he must vote the prty line on every single thing.

 

So can nobody disprove that you have to earn $17,308 dollars to buy a $10,000 car? That falls in line with FFB's 70% assertion. I would have believed the 40% rule of thumb and slept well.

Now I know that nobody buys a car every year but nor do I see that any of the taxes applied are car-specific. What gives?

 

Even asssuming that 100% of your income is used on buying cars in michigan, your math is still frigged up.

If you pay 7k in taxes on 17k in income, that works out to only 41% . (were you taking 7k out of 10k? that's not the proper measure)

FattyFBs contention is that we pay 70% of our income in taxes.

Mine is that that number is closer to 30%, if even that high.

So, is 41 closer to 30 or to 70?

 

I suppose Fatty's figure includes both direct and indirect taxes.

So...if you include not only the income tax you pay, and the sales tax, but your property tax, gas tax, the income, sales, property, gas, payroll, and other taxes implicit in the price of the products you buy with your leftover money then the number will be higher than the amount you calculate each April 15.

I don't doubt we pay ' a whole buncha taxes.' But I cannot find anything (other than Fatty's proclamation) that puts the figure at 70%. That number has been dispelled by a number of us who are potentially less informed than the Fatman himself.

So Fatty -- help us out. How do you come up with 70% in a Nation that is perceived to be one of the least taxed industrialized countries in the world.

I'm genuinely curious.

 

Gotcha.

Thanks for the civil response. I'm going to go call someone and tell them...