-- Contrary to popular belief, the vast bulk of federal taxes are paid by the wealthy. According to the JCT, in 2007, 53.7 percent of all federal income taxes were paid by those with incomes over $200,000. Those with incomes between $100,000 and $200,000 paid 28.3 percent of all individual income taxes. Thus those with incomes over $100,000 paid 82 percent of the total. They also paid 44.4 percent of all payroll taxes.
-- Those with incomes below $40,000 paid no federal income taxes at all in the aggregate; the positive liability for those who paid anything was more than offset by tax rebates from the Earned Income Tax Credit for many more who paid nothing. In total, the EITC put $41 billion into the pockets of low-income workers in 2006, 91 percent of it being paid to those with no income tax liability. However, according to the Tax Foundation, three-fifths of Americans believe that it is wrong for anyone to pay no taxes at all, that everyone should pay something to finance the government.
-- So-called tax loopholes—deductions and exclusions that reduce one's tax liability—are mainly used by the middle class, not the wealthy. The largest tax expenditures are the exclusions for pension contributions and health benefits for workers. Among the largest deductions are those for mortgage interest and state and local taxes. In 2006, taxpayers saved $62 billion in taxes due to the mortgage interest deduction, with 72 percent of that going to those with incomes below $200,000. The child credit saved taxpayers $46 billion—almost all of it claimed by the middle class. Just $8 million went to those with incomes over $200,000.
If I can find more loopholes, I'd jump right in and use them to lower my taxes...and you wouldn't? right? right!!
emotions, emotions, emotions...and not facts and intellects that is what typical liberal arguments are based on...
« bamafan 張貼於 Tuesday, Mar 03 at 04:39 PM »
It is an admirable goal to "MAKE A LOT OF MONEY" if one measures success by the amount of money one accumulates. It is also a proud achievement to acuumulate a great amount of money through hard working, smart working, and law abiding with conscience.
Unfortunately, there are some people who "make a lot of money" not through the criteria mentioned above.
Several years ago, my family took a trip to Galapagos. During an after dinner conversation, the topic about tax came up. One member in our group (who was in apartment business) said "every year on April 15 if I found I still had to pay tax that indicated I failed my financial management. my goal is not to pay one cent of tax every year." I am sure he worked very hard and very smart. But no matter how much money he made, he was nothing but a loop-hole finding, greedy fatcat with no sense of resposibility to the society he lived. By the way, he did not strike me as a person who would donate his money to charity.
My point is if one makes a lot of money through smart, hard working with conscience, more power to him/her. However, it is very important to give it back to the society where one made the money from.
« 匿名 張貼於 Monday, Mar 02 at 08:42 PM »
shame on those who are fat cats......
« SANSan 張貼於 Sunday, Mar 01 at 10:18 PM »
Pursuant to February ( Bad Bank, TIAO's Editorial CARTOON) & January (LT Treasury Bond Trap) advice,
CAUTION and Discipline needed at this moment ( hope you have traded as suggested, to exit with gains could be easier ?!! ). Sell Equity Ultra SHORTS and wait for the next rolling swing(unless U like to try the heat/tumult in the coming days- which could be an endeavor,or, no discipline to regret later).
Aside from all the bounce ups, the Equity market trend is still DOWN (not a nay sayer, but the healing period will be long because decades' of dysfunctional schemes/machination rotten the fabric of this society). THOUGH as U may have found, that it's the new fad among hindsight herd guru/touters , To recognize this DOWN Trend , bear it in mind, will give U much better chance winning it without ever being a trader , nor taking much risk.
GOLD is also advisable for its" true value". Can buy at dips and accumulate.
Refrain from getting into details though U can finetune a little bit to Ur sector tilt. Enjoy it to be
A few months ago I asked my now teenaged kids, what do they want to do after college?
Both replied, something they will enjoy but also makes "LOTS OF MONEY," or something they will enjoy less but "MAKES LOTS OF MONEY!!"
I told them; "put in the hard work and you will. You will be able to enjoy the fine dinnings of these nice restaurants that MOM N' DAD has been taken you guys to, and afford nice cars like you always wanted. Do not be jealous, do not whine even if you fail, try harder! you can do great things when you have money...you guys always wanted to donate to charities? you need money! you guys like to travel? you need money! And there will come a day when you meet someone who tells you money is not everything or money is evil...just think about MOM N' DAD...see how evil we are?
Wouldn't you like to take a trip into the mind of someone who just can't stand the fact that there are people out there who have worked smarter, harder and longer and in the process have become very successful. Yeah .. how dare these people work that hard and earn that much money? Don't they realize they're making me look bad?
Have you ever tried to noodle out the thought processes behind wealth envy? Here, let me help you...
Nobody likes to be told that they just haven't worked smart enough or hard enough to become wealthy. People don't want to accept the fact that they've made some pathetic decision in their lives that stood in the way of success and wealth. They don't want to be told they didn't pay attention to their education. They don't want to hear that they took a dead-end job and hung with it for years. They don't want to hear that they were too eager to punch out and head home after their required eight hours every day .. eschewing a bit of extra work that might have moved them ahead a few squares. People don't want to hear that all of the money they spent on booze, partying, bass boats, vacations, car payments and lifestyle might have been better invested for future returns.
In short .. so many people just can't bring themselves to accept the fact that it is they who have held themselves back. No. No way. It's not their fault they aren't rich. You can hear the thought process: "I'm a good person. I work hard. I put in my 40 hours a week. I pay my taxes. I coach little league. It's not my fault I'm not rich. Those rich people cheated. They have crooked lawyers. They cheat on their taxes. They've exploited people like me. They're may be poor but at least I'm honest. Those rich people are all crooks and they're holding the rest of us down.
Well it seems that Great Britain now has its own version of the story. Let's just start with the title: "Fatcat Barclays bankers jet off to Italy for lavish 500,000 English lb. banquet as country faces up to financial crisis." What are some things that we learn from this headline? First we notice that the company spending the money to send its bankers on a trip is called Barclays Wealth. Then we learn that these bankers are "fatcats." Then we learn that their trip is considered "lavish." Finally we come to the conclusion that Great Britain is in a financial crisis.
A few things to consider... Barclays Wealth is a private company. If it wants to spend $1 million to have the bankers' shoes shined, that's their choice. The company chooses to give its bankers these trips and banquets because it ultimately makes them more money. Oh wait, making money is evil. Never mind.
So, what is really going on here? Wealth envy. That's exactly what it is, folks. Take a look at the words used to report the story: "fatcat," "wined and dined," "luxury," "exclusive." Even the people quoted in the story spew nothing but wealth envy jealousy:
"Hard-working Brits face losing their homes, but it seems these bankers don't care as long as they can sip Chianti in Italy. The cost will be huge - talk about feasting while Rome burns."
Or here's another one (my favorite part is the "shameless display of extreme wealth"):
"They were lapping up five-star luxury and talking of their party night in Monte Carlo as if the banking industry was in rude health. It was a totally shameless display of extreme wealth at a time when millions back at home are struggling with debts. While youngsters can't get mortgages and financial institutions are on the brink of bankruptcy, these overpaid bankers seemed not to have a care in the world."
If Nancy Pelosi had it her way .. we would increase taxes on the evil rich and give welfare checks to the parasite class. What is scary folks is the distinct possibility of Nancy actually making that happen. Ok, so Nancy agrees with Obama's plans for a so-called "tax cut" (welfare) included in his economic stimulus plan. But on top of that, Nancy is "urging" Obama to repeal the Bush tax cuts immediately. Don't let them expire in 2010, do it now. And remember, repealing the Bush tax cuts is just the Democrat way of saying "increase taxes on the evil rich." It's a way for them to pander to the wealth envy crowd. Joining in the hatred of high-achievers has always been a winner for the left.
The Rat could harbour some detectable prejudice toward them (judging from the history) , though now the Rat sounds like Justice itself, poignantly.
Mea culpa?
Canine fight to be continued. Want to joint force?!!
Bid adieu & Salut .
-- Those with incomes below $40,000 paid no federal income taxes at all in the aggregate; the positive liability for those who paid anything was more than offset by tax rebates from the Earned Income Tax Credit for many more who paid nothing. In total, the EITC put $41 billion into the pockets of low-income workers in 2006, 91 percent of it being paid to those with no income tax liability. However, according to the Tax Foundation, three-fifths of Americans believe that it is wrong for anyone to pay no taxes at all, that everyone should pay something to finance the government.
-- So-called tax loopholes—deductions and exclusions that reduce one's tax liability—are mainly used by the middle class, not the wealthy. The largest tax expenditures are the exclusions for pension contributions and health benefits for workers. Among the largest deductions are those for mortgage interest and state and local taxes. In 2006, taxpayers saved $62 billion in taxes due to the mortgage interest deduction, with 72 percent of that going to those with incomes below $200,000. The child credit saved taxpayers $46 billion—almost all of it claimed by the middle class. Just $8 million went to those with incomes over $200,000.
If I can find more loopholes, I'd jump right in and use them to lower my taxes...and you wouldn't? right? right!!
emotions, emotions, emotions...and not facts and intellects that is what typical liberal arguments are based on...
Unfortunately, there are some people who "make a lot of money" not through the criteria mentioned above.
Several years ago, my family took a trip to Galapagos. During an after dinner conversation, the topic about tax came up. One member in our group (who was in apartment business) said "every year on April 15 if I found I still had to pay tax that indicated I failed my financial management. my goal is not to pay one cent of tax every year." I am sure he worked very hard and very smart. But no matter how much money he made, he was nothing but a loop-hole finding, greedy fatcat with no sense of resposibility to the society he lived. By the way, he did not strike me as a person who would donate his money to charity.
My point is if one makes a lot of money through smart, hard working with conscience, more power to him/her. However, it is very important to give it back to the society where one made the money from.
Pursuant to February ( Bad Bank, TIAO's Editorial CARTOON) & January (LT Treasury Bond Trap) advice,
CAUTION and Discipline needed at this moment ( hope you have traded as suggested, to exit with gains could be easier ?!! ). Sell Equity Ultra SHORTS and wait for the next rolling swing(unless U like to try the heat/tumult in the coming days- which could be an endeavor,or, no discipline to regret later).
Aside from all the bounce ups, the Equity market trend is still DOWN (not a nay sayer, but the healing period will be long because decades' of dysfunctional schemes/machination rotten the fabric of this society). THOUGH as U may have found, that it's the new fad among hindsight herd guru/touters , To recognize this DOWN Trend , bear it in mind, will give U much better chance winning it without ever being a trader , nor taking much risk.
GOLD is also advisable for its" true value". Can buy at dips and accumulate.
Refrain from getting into details though U can finetune a little bit to Ur sector tilt. Enjoy it to be
an easy laisserfaire investor.
March 1, 2009 1:22 PM
Both replied, something they will enjoy but also makes "LOTS OF MONEY," or something they will enjoy less but "MAKES LOTS OF MONEY!!"
I told them; "put in the hard work and you will. You will be able to enjoy the fine dinnings of these nice restaurants that MOM N' DAD has been taken you guys to, and afford nice cars like you always wanted. Do not be jealous, do not whine even if you fail, try harder! you can do great things when you have money...you guys always wanted to donate to charities? you need money! you guys like to travel? you need money! And there will come a day when you meet someone who tells you money is not everything or money is evil...just think about MOM N' DAD...see how evil we are?
Have you ever tried to noodle out the thought processes behind wealth envy? Here, let me help you...
Nobody likes to be told that they just haven't worked smart enough or hard enough to become wealthy. People don't want to accept the fact that they've made some pathetic decision in their lives that stood in the way of success and wealth. They don't want to be told they didn't pay attention to their education. They don't want to hear that they took a dead-end job and hung with it for years. They don't want to hear that they were too eager to punch out and head home after their required eight hours every day .. eschewing a bit of extra work that might have moved them ahead a few squares. People don't want to hear that all of the money they spent on booze, partying, bass boats, vacations, car payments and lifestyle might have been better invested for future returns.
In short .. so many people just can't bring themselves to accept the fact that it is they who have held themselves back. No. No way. It's not their fault they aren't rich. You can hear the thought process: "I'm a good person. I work hard. I put in my 40 hours a week. I pay my taxes. I coach little league. It's not my fault I'm not rich. Those rich people cheated. They have crooked lawyers. They cheat on their taxes. They've exploited people like me. They're may be poor but at least I'm honest. Those rich people are all crooks and they're holding the rest of us down.
A few things to consider... Barclays Wealth is a private company. If it wants to spend $1 million to have the bankers' shoes shined, that's their choice. The company chooses to give its bankers these trips and banquets because it ultimately makes them more money. Oh wait, making money is evil. Never mind.
So, what is really going on here? Wealth envy. That's exactly what it is, folks. Take a look at the words used to report the story: "fatcat," "wined and dined," "luxury," "exclusive." Even the people quoted in the story spew nothing but wealth envy jealousy:
"Hard-working Brits face losing their homes, but it seems these bankers don't care as long as they can sip Chianti in Italy. The cost will be huge - talk about feasting while Rome burns."
Or here's another one (my favorite part is the "shameless display of extreme wealth"):
"They were lapping up five-star luxury and talking of their party night in Monte Carlo as if the banking industry was in rude health. It was a totally shameless display of extreme wealth at a time when millions back at home are struggling with debts. While youngsters can't get mortgages and financial institutions are on the brink of bankruptcy, these overpaid bankers seemed not to have a care in the world."
If Nancy Pelosi had it her way .. we would increase taxes on the evil rich and give welfare checks to the parasite class. What is scary folks is the distinct possibility of Nancy actually making that happen. Ok, so Nancy agrees with Obama's plans for a so-called "tax cut" (welfare) included in his economic stimulus plan. But on top of that, Nancy is "urging" Obama to repeal the Bush tax cuts immediately. Don't let them expire in 2010, do it now. And remember, repealing the Bush tax cuts is just the Democrat way of saying "increase taxes on the evil rich." It's a way for them to pander to the wealth envy crowd. Joining in the hatred of high-achievers has always been a winner for the left.