American Tax System - Freedom or Tyranny?

[minn_stat]

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/228/

I want to know how those of you with a more liberal bent feel about the general idea of nearly 50% of Americans voting to elect representatives who promise to raise taxes on others, while contributing nothing to tax coffers themselves.

Of course, this is somewhat mitigated by the politicians often handing the money back to the rich (Example 1A being the bailout) anyways, so the end result is primarily just more power for the politicians.

[BarbaraGordon]

Originally Posted by minn_stat

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/228/

I want to know how those of you with a more liberal bent feel about the general idea of nearly 50% of Americans voting to elect representatives who promise to raise taxes on others, while contributing nothing to tax coffers themselves.

I want to correct a couple of misrepresentations before somebody takes you on on.

First, according to your source it's not "nearly fifty percent" that don't pay taxes. It's forty percent. Let the number speak for itself.

Second, it's a little silly to suggest that that entire 40% is voting Democrat (or at least I assume that that's what you must mean when you say that this population votes for "representatives who promise to raise taxes on others, but contribute nothing.") In 2004, 36% of voters with incomes under 15k voted Bush, and Bush's share increased with each successive income bracket. (Obviously, the population that turned out to vote is not statistically representative of the population as a whole; so my statement is not intended to suggest that 36% of your group votes Republican, but only to demonstrate that the group is not wholly comprised of Democratic voters.)

Third, there's an extent to which you portray these 40% of Americans as lowlifes who contribute nothing but are trying to create a system in which they can live as some kind of parasite off of productive society. But the 40% that you cite includes -- in addition to the parasites -- students, mothers, and all the others who pay no income taxes because they choose to have no income. It also includes the profoundly handicapped who physically cannot work, but who certainly aren't voting to increase taxes on anybody -- they're not voting at all. I don't know have an exact stat on how many Americans fall into these categories, but the population surely isn't insignificant. It's estimated that homemakers alone make up 30-40% of the adult female population.

[TripletDaddy]

Originally Posted by minn_stat

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/228/

I want to know how those of you with a more liberal bent feel about the general idea of nearly 50% of Americans voting to elect representatives who promise to raise taxes on others, while contributing nothing to tax coffers themselves.

Of course, this is somewhat mitigated by the politicians often handing the money back to the rich (Example 1A being the bailout) anyways, so the end result is primarily just more power for the politicians.

I'll tell you what minnstat........you shouldnt be asking any questions until after you have contributed significantly to the content of the board.

As it stands, you barely contribute anything and you show up now and then demanding answers from those of us that invest a larger chunk of our time here.

Stop being a freeloader. You want all the benefits without putting in the same amount of time and effort that we all put in.

[BarbaraGordon]

Originally Posted by TripletDaddy

Stop being a freeloader. You want all the benefits without putting in the same amount of time and effort that we all put in.

Elitist.

I, for one, am not above working a little harder to accommodate the less productive among us if it means a more prosperous, vibrant community for us all.

[exUte]

Originally Posted by BarbaraGordon

Elitist.

I, for one, am not above working a little harder to accommodate the less productive among us if it means a more prosperous, vibrant community for us all.

Nothing prevents you from sending in a little extra tax $$. Does it? Have you done so in the past? If not, why not?

[BarbaraGordon]

Originally Posted by exUte

Nothing prevents you from sending in a little extra tax $$. Does it? Have you done so in the past? If not, why not?

I would but I'm on unemployment.

[BlueHair]

I really wish they would do away with income tax and figure out some kind of usery tax. Of course, then everyone would complain how unfair it is that they pay more taxes because they buy more stuff. I think the most fair thing to do would be to divide the budget by the number of people and send each family a bill for their fair share. I bet we would watch our elected officials more closely and wouldn't stand for their reckless spending. "What? The war in Iraq is going to cost me $2000 per family member? Hell no!"

[Mormon Red Death]

Originally Posted by BlueHair

I really wish they would do away with income tax and figure out some kind of usery tax. Of course, then everyone would complain how unfair it is that they pay more taxes because they buy more stuff. I think the most fair thing to do would be to divide the budget by the number of people and send each family a bill for their fair share. I bet we would watch our elected officials more closely and wouldn't stand for their reckless spending. "What? The war in Iraq is going to cost me $2000 per family member? Hell no!"

Call me a fervent supporter of

http://www.fairtax.org

[BlueHair]

I just did a little rough math. The Federal budget for 2008 was about 3.1 trillion dollars. There are about 300 million Americans. That would put each person's Federal tax liability at 10,333. My family of four would be required to pay 41,332 if taxes were divided fairly for each person. Why do we allow our elected officials to spend like this?

[BarbaraGordon]

Originally Posted by BlueHair

I really wish they would do away with income tax and figure out some kind of usery tax. Of course, then everyone would complain how unfair it is that they pay more taxes because they buy more stuff. I think the most fair thing to do would be to divide the budget by the number of people and send each family a bill for their fair share. I bet we would watch our elected officials more closely and wouldn't stand for their reckless spending. "What? The war in Iraq is going to cost me $2000 per family member? Hell no!"

Consumption tax is a nice idea, except that it discourages spending, which hurts the economy and leads to decreased revenues.