Health Care : Meaningless Republican scare tactics becomes reality

[Brian GC]

It is hard to discern where our tax money goes…whether if it is for public or private use.

It is my understanding that CA pays the highest taxes and that anyone making over $50K a years pays the same percentage.

Right now a family of four making $50K a year pays the same rate as one making $350K a year. Nobody is asking for that to be changed. They are asking that those making more than $7,000/week to pay at a higher rate like they used to. Those people live in the land of plenty and are blessed by the riches of this country. They cannot spend it all so they sock it away and create another form of income called capital gains which they protect from being taxed like regular income. But to them it is regular income.

[Special Ed]

Well, you know what, Brian, all this could be avoided if the government instituted the whole sales tax thing. That way no one could ever honestly say the other guy ain't paying his fair share.

And about the capital gains thing, I'm sure you know that that's taxed as well albeit @ a much lower rate than regular income tax. But the rich can't make all their income through capital gains (or maybe they can, who knows?) so they've gotta pay some taxes somewhere. And if you wanna get mad at someone for that whole set-up blame the politicians - both Dems and Repubs came up w/it so no one party is to blame entirely.

All the current tax code does is foster a kind of class-envy....

[54885488]

What do you guys think about earned income credit ? I think it should be called unearned income credit . Im all for doing away with it . I dont think anyone should get back more at tax time than they ever paid in . If this was done away with how much would this raise are available federal dollars for stuff . This is going to probally make some peoples heads spin but i going to throw it out there any way , I also feel that wether a person is married, single, has a kid or ten kids should have no play on there tax rate .

[Pete838]

What do you guys think about earned income credit ? I think it should be called unearned income credit . Im all for doing away with it . I dont think anyone should get back more at tax time than they ever paid in . If this was done away with how much would this raise are available federal dollars for stuff .

EIC infuriates me more than anything else. And you don't even need to be a citizen to get HUGE "refunds". Tax time for a lot of people means time to piss away a windfall. Every year I see a close relative get a $6000+ check from the government and buy video game systems, new televisions, computers, trips to Disney and anything else they desire. It never occurs to them to pay a medical bill (medicaid pays them), buy their own groceries (Food stamps for that), or make an extra mortgage payment.

[Tool-Slinger]

What do you guys think about earned income credit ? I think it should be called unearned income credit . Im all for doing away with it . I dont think anyone should get back more at tax time than they ever paid in . If this was done away with how much would this raise are available federal dollars for stuff . This is going to probally make some peoples heads spin but i going to throw it out there any way , I also feel that wether a person is married, single, has a kid or ten kids should have no play on there tax rate .

I think it is an unforgivably stupid concept.

[54885488]

EIC infuriates me more than anything else. And you don't even need to be a citizen to get HUGE "refunds". Tax time for a lot of people means time to piss away a windfall. Every year I see a close relative get a $6000+ check from the government and buy video game systems, new televisions, computers, trips to Disney and anything else they desire. It never occurs to them to pay a medical bill (medicaid pays them), buy their own groceries (Food stamps for that), or make an extra mortgage payment.

Thats my experience also, i to have relatives that receive that amount and more . I have a sister that received over 8 thousand last year . If were going to help in this way it should stop at 0 dollars owed to federal tax . But not thousands back beyong no federal tax due .

[Tool-Slinger]

It should never be acceptable, Tool.

But what I'm getting at is that some of the taxes Brian brings up aren't based on how much we make, they're based on usage.

For example, the Interstates are funded by a tax on gas and not by a Federal income tax. However, he is correct that other functions of the Government, such as defense, are indeed funded by the income tax which is higher for the wealthy.

And as long as how much a person is taxed is based on how much he makes the wealthy will always pay more, and I suppose that can be considered "wealth redistribution".

My problem w/the whole Democrat plan is that it doesn't stop there. They don't just want a flat tax, they want the rich to pay a much higher tax rate than everyone else simply because they've found a way to make more money than most people - the Dems call that "paying their fair share" which we all know isn't fair at all. Think about it: even paying the same tax rate as everyone else they're still paying more than most. But now we want them to also pay a higher rate? That's just not right.

Still, I don't think that's Brian's point. I think his whole point is, we're already redistributing wealth with how we're doing things right now, so why are we Conservatives having such a fit now that we're taking it to another level? And to that I would say, I never said I like the way it's done now, I've always opposed such hypocrisy. I'm not a Repub, I'm a wholly independent conservative.

Actually, I think the graduated tax rate is a direct violation of the constitution. The equal treatment under the law thing. But that is irrelevant, as we accept it as a nation. To me a usage tax makes sense, like the gas tax, and I like the idea of a flat-tax, but also the idea of some exemption for the poor.

You may be talking over my head intellectually on this matter, or I misunderstood you, but that is the best reply I could come up with.

[Special Ed]

True, I think the Founders would consider the graduated tax unConstitutional, if for no other reason than it's essentially redistribution of funds.

And I don't think there should be any allowances for the poor, because the less they make then the less they pay in taxes. Unless, of course, there is no income tax but a flat sales tax instead, then it doesn't matter.

And, no, I don't think I'm discussing things that are over your head.