We the people need to wake up!!!!!

[waterdog101]

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Our country has in the past done whatever was necessary to keep it strong and hopefully will continue to do so in the future... I would like to ask how you feel about your tax rate being "upwards of 30%"and at the same time the top income earners paying 14 or 15 percent, I believe you have argued in the past that the top of the financial food chain pays more than their share of the taxes, I believe they do pay something like 70% of the taxes or something like that but it seems to me it is very unfair to you and others like you to be paying "upwards of 30%" of your income while they they pay a rate of somewhere in the mid teens.... just seems a little one sided.

maybe in the next 100 years or so, the Trickle Down economics will kick in and start to work. but then maybe not.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...class/2941391/

[Hlleonard]

maybe in the next 100 years or so, the Trickle Down economics will kick in and start to work. but then maybe not.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...class/2941391/

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Well.... That was a grand idea and I do believe Mr. Reagan was sincere in his belief that folks who prospered would "share the bounty"... I have seen some statistics that suggest that is not the case... It does seem from some of the stats. that the top 1% seems to have stayed fairly constant in the wealth they hold, it also seems the 15 or 20 % below them has seen their wealth grow at a greater rate in the years since trickle down was suggested while the middle class seems to have suffered a decline in their numbers, not sure how anybody else might see that but to me it says people who have the ability to grow their own wealth at the cost of the people who are employed by them and at the cost of our country's economy seems to choose that and that seems to be against what Mr. Reagan advocated... It seems they warship him as their saint but don't seem to follow what he believed was right.... I believe most employers will pay no more to their employees than they are forced to pay.. That is the main reason I believe trade unions were very beneficial to the countries economy when they were thriving... Trickle down will never work.

[SLP]

What you have to understand is that when the top rates were that high most of the "rich" still didn't actually pay at that rate. Precisely because the rates were so high there were also all kinds of tax loopholes, deductions, and tax shelters written into the tax code available so people could use them as write offs and deductions in order hide much more of their incomes then they currently are able to do. In essence when the rates were that broad people lowered their real rates paid by taking advantage of all the tax shelters. When the tax rates were lowered the tax codes were simplified at the same time. So it really isn't as simplistic as you make it sound, and the differences are not as glaring as you probably assume them to be.

[SLP]

Capital gains and dividends should not be taxed at the same rate as ordinary income. With capital gains doing so would really hurt the economy because there would be a lot less incentive for investors to risk their capital. Capital I might add that most often would have originally been taxes already at some point. With Dividends they are already double taxed in that the corporation pays out the dividends in after tax dollars, and then the individual also again pays tax on the money received in the form of a dividend.

The answer is less spending because we have a spending problem in the country, not a revenue problem. The solution to that is not to squeeze the investment capitol.

[Hlleonard]

Capital gains and dividends should not be taxed at the same rate as ordinary income. With capital gains doing so would really hurt the economy because there would be a lot less incentive for investors to risk their capital. Capital I might add that most often would have originally been taxes already at some point. With Dividends they are already double taxed in that the corporation pays out the dividends in after tax dollars, and then the individual also again pays tax on the money received in the form of a dividend.

The answer is less spending because we have a spending problem in the country, not a revenue problem. The solution to that is not to squeeze the investment capitol.

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The solution from 1980 through 2008 left us with a debt that went from less than a trillion dollars to over ten trillion dollars and an economy that seemed to be in pretty bad shape at the end of that time... It seems to me the republican agenda (I have a pretty hard time finding democrats in that time frame that added substantially to that debt) got us in worse shape instead of better shape, after 30 years of that crap it would seem to be not working very well so maybe we need to do something a bit different.

[SLP]

Well, it is really not hard to follow. We have a spending problem not a revenue problem. Revenue went up steadily from 1980 to 2008, but unfortunately spending went up much faster. And I blame both parties for the spending, although more Democrats do seem to relish in it even more so.

Revenue- Outlays & Deficits (in current dollars & in billion dollars)

1980- Revenue-$517.1 __ Outlays- $590.9 ___ Deficit-$73.8
2008- Revenue-$2,524.0__ Outlays-$2,982.5__ Deficit-$458.6


Source:
http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxfa...historical.gif

[Hlleonard]

Well, it is really not hard to follow. We have a spending problem not a revenue problem. Revenue went up steadily from 1980 to 2008, but unfortunately spending went up much faster. And I blame both parties for the spending, although more Democrats do seem to relish in it even more so.

Revenue- Outlays & Deficits (in current dollars & in billion dollars)

1980- Revenue-$517.1 __ Outlays- $590.9 ___ Deficit-$73.8
2008- Revenue-$2,524.0__ Outlays-$2,982.5__ Deficit-$458.6


Source:
http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxfa...historical.gif

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Two sides of the same coin... If we are going to spend money like drunkin sailors then maybe we should provide for that instead of continuing to borrow money we seemingly can't pay .... I do agree our government waste a tremendous amount of money... We do disagree on what fair taxation is, the right is always harping about income for the upper class being taxed thirty ways from texas, the taxes an individual pays is stated on his return and that is based on his income (regardless of how much was paid on it in corporate taxes) and that seems to be at a lower rate than the middle class.... The rate on social security taxes on wages is almost as high as the rate the upper class pays in income tax.

[DJD]

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The solution from 1980 through 2008 left us with a debt that went from less than a trillion dollars to over ten trillion dollars and an economy that seemed to be in pretty bad shape at the end of that time... It seems to me the republican agenda (I have a pretty hard time finding democrats in that time frame that added substantially to that debt) got us in worse shape instead of better shape, after 30 years of that crap it would seem to be not working very well so maybe we need to do something a bit different.

So you give this admin a pass on their performance from 2008 to 2013? How about the time when the dems controlled congress at the end of GW's time? All that was GOP fault? Being attacked and going to war with dem support.....but Obama isn't at fault for his spending habits and lack of budgets habits??thats the change you speak of?? Hmmmm

[Hlleonard]

So you give this admin a pass on their performance from 2008 to 2013? How about the time when the dems controlled congress at the end of GW's time? All that was GOP fault? Being attacked and going to war with dem support.....but Obama isn't at fault for his spending habits and lack of budgets habits??thats the change you speak of?? Hmmmm

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Well... I didn't read anywhere there that I gave a pass to this administration but I do find it a bit ironic that anytime something seems to be a bit left handed with a republican president the right finds a way to interject congress as sharing the blame but when there is a democratic president (obama) they seem to be able to lay the blame for all our problems either financial or social directly on his shoulders, this president has seemingly done us a good deal of financial damage but for you or anybody else to say the first offenders in our budget crisis were anything except republicans presidents is ludicrous, all you have to do is look at the numbers, they speak for themselves... This president might well deserve crucifying but if so the right wing shouldn't have to deny responsibility they share for our present state while embellishing the responsibility the present administration has.

[DJD]

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Well... I didn't read anywhere there that I gave a pass to this administration but I do find it a bit ironic that anytime something seems to be a bit left handed with a republican president the right finds a way to interject congress as sharing the blame but when there is a democratic president (obama) they seem to be able to lay the blame for all our problems either financial or social directly on his shoulders, this president has seemingly done us a good deal of financial damage but for you or anybody else to say the first offenders in our budget crisis were anything except republicans presidents is ludicrous, all you have to do is look at the numbers, they speak for themselves... This president might well deserve crucifying but if so the right wing shouldn't have to deny responsibility they share for our present state while embellishing the responsibility the present administration has.

Well that's how I read it.....Plenty of blame for both sides that's for sure. I do hear on a constant basis how Obama isn't to blame for the debt....typical liberal denial by the media. He is FIXING what he inherited. Bush didn't hang his hat on a radical program like obamacare. That is all dem and Obama. No getting around that fact.
I honestly am not a blind GOP supporter. I have a lot of issues with them but not as many as with the dems. I just cannot stand the pass that Obama gets on just about everything. It's sickening.