Kasz216 said:
steven787 said:
HappySqurriel said:
steven787 said:
Kasz216 said:
Final-Fan said:
So Kasz216, you favor a Flat Tax? |
Not as of yet. However I don't favor raising the tax percentages either. Doing that to the people who actually do a large portion of investing and job creating seems like suicide with the financial situation as it is.
I think a flat tax in the end is probably fair. Yet not feasable considering how the government currently runs, and that if we cut back on a lot of the useless crap the government does and focus some money on other needs like healthcare and other needs.
I mean.... once everyone is taken care of by their basic needs... what's unfair about a flat tax?
Once the basic needs are taken care of on all what's wrong with having a flat tax?
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You could also argue if the bottom half gets more money to spend, they will spend it; creating demand for goods and services (which is part of GDP, financial investment is not), which creates jobs and increases profits, making stocks more attractive to investors who will sell off gold, foreign bonds and foreign currencies to buy stocks, which means more money for capital(K capital as in means of production, not dollar capital)
When you encourage stock purchases with lower taxes on higher incomes and investment income, you just create artificially high demand for stocks which creates a bubble that bursts the moment the market shows signs of trouble... like now.
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The problem with the "Trickle-Up" model is it negates the fact that the people who earn more income generally have more ability to increase their income, typically at the expense of lower (in real terms) income for their employees or higher prices for their customers.
Edit: In other words, like any other cost they take on, wealthy people and corporations do not "eat" the cost of taxes they pass that onto someone else.
The truth is the Trickle Down theory works but not in the way that people want it to ... When you keep taxes (in general) low and let businesses and individuals grow the ecconomy everyone is far better off; the problem is that people don't notice how wealthy they are (primarly) because they compare their wealth next to someone else at the exact same point in history. If you go back 25 or 50 years and compare yourself to someone who was in the same financial position as you are, you will find that you are dramatically "Wealthier" than they were ...
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That is because technology makes lives better. The quality of life get better for everyone as time goes on. Some of the poorest people of today in industrialized nations live "better" than the ancient royalty.
But that doesn't matter I am talking about today. The tax code is set up where somebody who makes money off of investments pays a lower percentage than a middle class worker. The person who gets to not work because of the strength and security of the economy should pay more than the people who contribute to the strength and security of the economy.
One last thing, the middle class not wealthier than they were 8 years ago. They make less money than they did then, when adjusted to inflation.
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Yet the Gini coeeficient is about equal as the end of the Clinton era interestingly... which is surprising since usually the Gini Coefficent gets much higher president to president. One of it's biggest increases infact was under Clinton. Seems like the Bush Tax Cuts really weren't helping the rich "Break away" as for whatever reason they've been held in check from the rich getting richer while the poor get poorer.
That's still something i can't figure out. Guess when the economy goes bad, the rich hurt more. Or something.
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I never said they were. I said that the quality of life went down. I am not talking about the separation of rich and poor. I am talking about where the income comes from. The wealthy get their money because the government provides infrastructure, workers (through education), physical protection, and much more. Why should the people who do not benefit as much (the working middle class) pay for foundation that the wealthy built there businesses on?
