Results so far:
| Yes | 45% | 38 votes | Total: 85 votes | |
| No | 55% | 47 votes |
Rich people, poor people, with the middle class caught between? That was not true in the United States until the so-called Progressives wedged into the public forum with their misguided conception of American society. Its incubator was Marxism. Its influence was felt in America as early as the middle Nineteenth Century. Lincoln's wartime income tax was an early attempt to soak the rich; though I believe he did it to finance the war effort. He had come from mudsill youth to affluent lawyer-politician, himself.
Fabianism, the slow and steady uses of deception and strategic retreat, came along by the turn of the century. Theodore Roosevelt was a Progressive. So was President Wilson. Under most administrations throughout the Twentieth Century, Socialism made progress. As it did, Government became more involved in business and personal life. Today our government is attempting complete Totalitarianism. So, having become heavily in debt, it must draw more money out of the economy.
Who has discretionary income in large enough supply to stimulate an economy? The rich. How can they best do so? By what they are already doing; investing, consuming, and philanthropy. Should they, instead be robbed of their funds; to support bureaucratic ineptitude and political imbecility?
Our forefathers wisely forbade any such personal income tax, graduated or otherwise. The poor and middle class are entitled to spend their own money on their own families, homes, dreams and projects. The rich contribute by, besides the aforementioned methods; making payrolls.
Capitalism was the method that built this nation; parasitic Socialism has weakened it. Parasites tend to kill the very victim that is feeding them. The process must be stopped. It is glaringly evident to the foreign observer that the United States of America has lost its way. Some rejoice; some despair. Our politicos and our pundits tell us all is well. Ask your friend in a foreign country what he or she thinks.
Why do the rich outsource jobs? First, why are they in business? To make money. So they must profit to survive. Government, in the form of Congresses who pass laws in ignorance, not envisioning the consequences; Presidents who have little grasp of real world monetary policy; citizens who are not educated, hence apathetic; all these combine to gum up commerce. Every move we make, rich, poor, or middle class is either mandated or mishandled by Government at some, even all levels.
You may notice I have not addressed social, just economic problems, here. Here's my opinion: The rich are paying their fair share and more; so are we all. Now, there are a couple ways the rich can be loosely sub-categorized: Idle Rich/ Productive Rich. There are two ways the poor can be loosely sub-categorized: Idle Poor/ Productive Poor. Where will we find the answer to the problem of realigning Government to its proper proportions? From the middle class. There are two types of middle class that can be loosely sub-categorized; Aware and Active/ Unaware and Apathetic.
In my view, all these sub-categories lean heavily toward Socialism. Those of us who don't must re-establish Institutional Memory of America's climb and decline. It can be reversed. We should know that cursing Socialism is a negative negotiationing stance. We need, instead to become informed, historically as well as currently; and tell the story of Capitalism's rewards.
Government is doing everything in its power to bring the Rich down. Down to where? To where they no longer provide the monies to grow the American economy. Down to Fourth World standards.
Learn more about this author, Marcus Emery.
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While it is true that the rich pay more money toward taxes, It is also true that they don't pay their fair share. If you take the amounts they are able to deduct for charitable contributions, it turns out that they probably pay less overall. There are many things that a person who earns six figures a year are able to do that someone who only makes $20,000 a year cannot. What are some examples of what I am talking about?
First, a person who makes less than $2000 per month is going to have less money for everything. As an example, I was working one full time job where I was taking home $1700 per month. My rent was $540, electric was about $75, phone/internet was another $50, I spent about $200 for food, $200 for gas, plus various other bills. That left me with nothing extra. There were many years that I still had to pay in at tax time because of not having enough taken out of each paycheck. I wound up having to take a second job just to make ends meet.
Next look at the person who makes $10,000 per month. He owns a house, and an expensive one at that. He does have all the bills that the other person has, but he can afford it. He also has an expensive car that is paid for so he has no payments. He puts several thousand a month into savings and also charitable contributions. Then he complains at the end of the year when he has to write a check to the IRS. This doesn't make sense to me. Why wouldn't the rich man pay more? He makes more!
It seems like there would be a lot less problem if everyone were taxed equally a flat rate with no deductions and no refunds. The government might not like it because then they would have to curtail their spending to make ends meet, but the taxpayers would know that everyone was paying their fair share. Two percent of six figures is a lot more than two percent of four figures and it would be a lot more equitable for everyone. This country would be a lot better off if they were to change the system of taxation so that everyone would pay their fair share. Those who currently make charitable contributions in order to pay less in taxes should still make the contributions, but only out of the goodness of their heart instead of doing it to lower their taxes.
Learn more about this author, Debbie Eckardt.
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