Do you consider yourself more left or right wing?

[Chrkeller]

zorg1000 said:

Chrkeller said:

Agreed.  Clinton had a great balance and was fair.  Taxes were fine.  I'm happy to take on more taxes, when someone (like you did) provides what "tax the rich means."  Going back to the Clinton days is fair.  

Thanks for providing metrics not silly cartoons.  

No problem!

The thing that is hard about simply going back to Clinton tax rates is that while the Bush/Trump cuts were skewed towards the rich, they did also include cuts for the middle class (I’ve seen estimates put it at an 80/20 split) and it’s political suicide to increase taxes on the middle class so that means the taxes on the rich would likely need to be a bit higher than the Clinton days to offset the middle class cuts.

Looking at the Biden tax proposals:

Increase top corporate tax rate from 21% to 28% (halfway between Pre-Trump & Trump rates)

Raise minimum corporate tax rate from 15% to 21% for corporations with profits over $1 billion

Raise stock buyback tax from 1% to 4%

Return top income bracket to 39.6% for individuals making over $400,000 and couples making over $450,000

Apply Social Security taxes to income over $400,000

Increase Medicare tax from 3.8% to 5% for income over $400,000

Tax capital gains at the same rate as income

25% minimum billionaire tax

Some other, extremely wonky taxes

I do think part of the problem is most don't know how taxes work, so rising taxes gets a huge push back.  

Like increasing Medicare from 3.8 to 5%.  If someone makes 450k, most think that 5% applies to the entire 450k, when it doesn't.  It applies to the 50k above 400k. 

I'm not saying you don't understand how taxes work, but the average American doesn't, which is why so many oppose.  

I had a coworker a long time ago who didn't want want his annual raise because it was going to take him from 98k to 100k and his tax rate was going to increase, and has was going to make less money.  I could not get him to accept the increase tax rate was on the 2k, not applied for the first 98k.  Tbe first 98k was going to be taxed as per usual.