1/3 of all Americans who file a federal income tax return PAY NO TAXES. 1 in 3!The bottom 50% pay only 2.99% of all federal income taxes and the top 5% of wage earners pay 60%.
What happens in a democractic society when a majority can vote to punder a minority, voting themselves goodies paid by someone else? I doubt our founding fathers even considered such a thing.
With Barack Obama as our POTUS and a Democratic controlled congress, we'll certainly find out.
2 comments:
Pay no taxes? More like "pay no federal income taxes."
There are a host of other taxes to be considered:
* FICA and other contributions
* inflation which is a Federal tax on holders of currency
* sales taxes
* property taxes (even non-property owners pay them because businesses pass them along in their expense structure)
Granted there are some people who get EITC givebacks that exceed their other tax amounts in total, but they are a quite a smaller group than 1 out of 3.
I would quibble that we aren't a democratic society, but I agree with the general thought that populism demands some forced redistribution of wealth in order to keep the power that be, being in power.
Keep in mind that the trend in taxation which you've mentioned has been pretty constant for several decades, through a variety of administrations and congresses from "both" parties. It would continue under a McCain presidency, if he won (which he won't).
Hi Bill,
Please note, I'm careful with the words I use. In every case I say "income taxes". With that noted, should the "wealthy" be paying more in FICA taxes? They certainly don't recieve payouts beyond the cap. And should the wealthy be paying a higher sales tax rate? Higher property tax rates? I don't quibble with a mildly progressive income tax structure, but we already have that. If government wants steep progressivity, it should be at the descretion of each state.
My question is what happens to a country where 1/3 of wage earners have no skin in the game? Think about that. What happens when a huge voting block can vote themselves payments and benefits from the wallets of other citizens?
I counter that WE DO indeed have a democratic society, and we're about to see the results of what the dark side of democracy (mob rule) brings.
Personally and philosophically, I can't stand McCain. He isn't a libertarian, a fiscal conservative, or a free market capitalist. But he isn't a committed socialist like Obama, who is a competent politician, likely to extend systemic socialist policies ala FDR. I'm truly fearful of the effects of Obamanomics over the next 3+ decades.
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