Comments about ‘Attacking the rich is easier than tough decisions’

there is another side to globalization's role in increasing inequality. It has allowed labor arbitrage, whereby employers can make first world workers compete for jobs with third world workers who work for a tiny fraction of first world wages. This allows payroll costs (what you and I live on) to steadily decline. It also leaves a much bigger chunk of the profits to flow to the tiny percentage of people who own everything.

Does warren Buffet and the others feel attacked? I wonder or is it now more obvious the wealthy should be paying more in taxes. Samuelson now appears to be agreeing with the idea; however, not long ago republicans wanted nothing to do with raising taxes on the rich.

Attacking the poor and blaming their "greed" is an easy way to dismiss claims that our tax code heavily favors the rich and is in need of an overhaul.

I clicked on this link expecting more corporate-sponsored, right-wing vitriol. I'm pleasantly surprised to find a rather balanced approach to the issue. While I certainly never expect party leaders to completely follow this lead, I would at least hope the strategy would shift to winning more battles for issues they care about, and less about simply unseating the opposing party. Republicans in Congress could have used their victory to pass legislation that edged us more toward conservative points, but took an all-or-nothing approach, only passing bills with no chance in the Senate, in hopes of making Obama look bad. With Obama over a barrel, they could have passed things Repubs have fought for for years (such as tying higher tax breaks to company investments in equipment, etc), but chose instead to politicize everything.

'By all means, Congress should pass the "Buffett Tax," named after billionaire Warren Buffett, who noted that his 2010 tax rate (17.4 percent) was about half his secretary's.' - article

And this, is a fact.

So is:

**'Romney paid $3M in federal income tax in 2010' - By Stephen Braun - AP - Published by DSNews - 01/24/12

'At the same time, Romney gave nearly $3 million to charity about half of that amount to the Mormon Church which helped LOWER his effective tax rate to a modest 14 percent...' article

Romney pays LESS in taxes than Buffett, his staff or...

majority of Americans. Who pay, on average 30% in taxes.

So, to claim that the 'decisions' of those poor are the result of their plight, when:

**"According to the Pew Economic Policy Group, an extension of all of the Bush tax cuts will cost $3.1 trillion over ten years, once the costs of servicing the debt are factored in."

And the result is:

**'Study: Rich get a lot richer, outpace middle class' - By Andrew Taylor - AP - 10/26/11

Is simply, not true.

**Stop coddling the Super-Rich By Warren E. Buffett NY Times 08/14/2011

But what I paid was only 17.4 percent of my taxable income and thats actually a lower percentage than was paid by any of the other 20 people in our office. Their tax burdens ranged from 33 percent to 41 percent and averaged 36 percent.

Ghandi, hardly a rich man's advocate, said, "All that can liegitimately be expected of the wealthy class is that they should hold their riches and talents in trust and use them for the service of the society. To insist on more would be to kill the goose that laid the golden eggs..." He also said, "All exploitation is based on the cooperation, willing or forced, of the exploited...there is in English a very potent word--it is "No," and the secret we have hit upon is that when capital wants Labor to say "Yes," Labor roars out "No," if it means "No." And immediately Labor comes to recognize that it has got its choice of saying "Yes" when it wants to...and "No" when it wants to...Labor is free of Capital and Capital has to woo Labor!" If America wants real change, it must be individual change, not someone using the power of the government to compel equality or any other number of ideas that power hungry and corrupt politicians covet. Wake up America! You have a choice! Stop being victims! The President we have now has no clue about the proper role of government. My biggest laughable regret, however, are the millions of minions who are so forlorn of liberty and freedom, that they will vote for more of the same.

'If America wants real change, it must be individual change...' - bandersen | 10:09 a.m. Jan. 31, 2012

**'Study: Rich get a lot richer, outpace middle class' - By Andrew Taylor - AP - 10/26/11

'The study comes from the Congressional Budget Office and is based on IRS and Census Bureau data.
It finds that after-tax income for the top 1 percent of U.S. households almost tripled, up 275 percent, from 1979 to 2007. For people in the middle of the economic scale, after-tax income grew by just 40 percent.' - article

**'Poorest poor in US hits new record: 1 in 15 people' - By Laura Wides-munoz - AP - Published by the DSNews - 11/03/11

**Half of all Americans are struggling to get by on poor or on low income, figures reveal By Rebecca Seales Daily UK news 12/15/11

Ok.

I have heard you. And I am willing to listen more.

Please, explain to me who HALF of all Americans are struggling on poor income...

in their own fault.

We are born with the birthright of freedom and opportunity free to make our own choices about the important things in life and the opportunity to fulfill our God-given potential, even if it means to tax the rich and give to the middleclass.

The rich who are our shadow government need to be put behind bars asap.

We need and must have rich people, or become a third world country. Our poor people are obese of off the backs of the rich. Free food, schools, and housing come from where? Jobs come from where? Government gets the majority of it's money from where?

Why do people blast the providers?

'Why do people blast the providers?' - worf | 12:14 p.m. Jan. 31, 2012

Because America, has been PAYING for the wealthy to have tax breaks...

since it passed legislation in 2001.

**"According to the Pew Economic Policy Group, an extension of all of the Bush tax cuts will cost $3.1 trillion over ten years, once the costs of servicing the debt are factored in." - article

By a Republian lead, House, Senate and Presidency.

In 2001.

Today worf, you blast Obama for the 8.5% unemployment rate.

If 'trickle down' economics WORKED....

where are, the jobs?

And if the claim of 'job providers' is proven empty...

why continue, to make the same empty, claim?

Pagan: My very point! You and I can't do anything except help people to change their ways without compulsion! Politicans of either stripe are only interested for the most part in power! The system is being gamed by the people who hold the money strings, including the rich. "The people" aren't be represented, but we just have to look in the mirror to find the answer. The answer isn't more government intrusion, but less. Choke the money going to Washington and liberty will have a chance. Europe has as much or more corruption than we have here, despite calls for us to move to a socialistic model. The only real answer is to return to God and the principles that brought people to these shores many years ago. If anyone thinks that the rich won't find a way to get around any law intended to tax them more is naive beyond description. In fact, the rich are gaming the sytem right now by letting the politicans score points with their constituency and then placing the burden on the poor and middle class again! The truth is stubborn.

I'd like to point everyone back to the title of the article.

This country and whoever is in the oval office - repub or demo - needs to address real issues and stop with their distracting and misleading political stunts.

The article points out that the additional tax revenue that would be generated by having the rich paying a 30% rate on everything they make, wouldn't even come close to putting a dent in the deficit or national debt.

So... how is taxing the rich going to solve our national debt crisis?

People on this comment board and comment boards about similar subjects point out that the "bush tax cuts were supposed to have created jobs and have not."

So... how would the government receiving 15% more in tax revenue from the rich, which the article estimates to be very minimal, create jobs?

If tax cuts don't create jobs... how will tax increases create jobs? How will $400 Million extra a year in the governments hands help create jobs?

Anyone?

Anyone?

Anyone?

Attacking the rich is easier than tough decisions.

or Protecting the rich while denigrating the working class is easier than tough decisions.

or Protecting your party is more important than protecting the American People for the last 3 years.

This will be brief with the limited word count we get.

Before taxing the "rich" more lets be honest about how much tax the average joe pays.

Its a LOT less than 13% that Mr. Romney paid. Median Income was 49.4k in 2010 (US Census press release). 50k in income with no deductions comes to 12.5% tax rate.(H&R Block Tax calculator). Adding 1 dependant brings the rate to 8.65%.
More than 50% of all tax payers pay a rate far lower than Romneys 13%.

Real Life Example Family of 5, 75k income, .02% effective tax rate. This was a family that filed in 2012.

With EIC and per/child tax credits most people bring thier tax rate to 0 if not actually getting more back than paid in as a "refund", at times thousands of dollars more.

Lets all start paying our fair share.

worf | 12:14 p.m. Jan. 31, 2012
Mcallen, TX
We need and must have rich people, or become a third world country.

==================

You've NEVER been to a 3rd world country, have you?

If you had, you'd already realize they have rich people,,,very VERY rich people.

The disparity between the Rich and the Poor is the HIGHEST in 3rd world countries.
The contrast is enough to make anyone sick.
And America is trending in THAT direction.
What do you think the whole Occupy WallStreet demonstations are all about?

Why do you think there is even the term "redistribution of wealth"?

Try reading up on your Mormon History:

a couple lines from the LDS Church's, Proclamation on the Economy...

"The experience of mankind has shown that the people of communities and nations among whom wealth is the most equally distributed, enjoy the largest degree of liberty, are the least exposed to tyranny and oppression and suffer the least from luxurious habits which beget vice."

"One of the great evils with which our own nation is menaced at the present time is the wonderful growth of wealth in the hands of a comparatively few individuals.

..and there's more, much much more....

Pagan:

"According to the Pew Economic Policy Group, an extension of all of the Bush tax cuts will cost $3.1 trillion over ten years,"

* Cost? No cost if BO could cut the out of control spending. Bush did the right thing, and our people should never have become dependent on government. This was not the purpose of The Revolutionary War.

* Raising taxes on our bosses, don't create jobs, but leads to lay offs.

* Rejecting Keystone is costing. Laying off tens of thousands military people is costing. Building auto plants in Finland and Mexico is costing. Sending billions to Brazil for off shore oil drilling is costing.

Hiring Chinese companies to fix our infrastructure is costing. ABC News--Diane Sawyer

Two words: Flat tax. Another few words: No loopholes, no deductions, and no credits for anyone for anything. Sure, it probably won't magically fix everything, but it is one thing that no graduated tax is--fair. Until everyone is pulling their weight, such as they have, it is ridiculous to speak of how unfairly the middle class or the poor are treated. Fully half of all Americans (+/- ~2%, depending on who you ask) don't even pay taxes once they get their refund back. I fall into that category, but in honesty I don't miss the thousand bucks or so I get back each year. I would welcome a flat tax. Ironically, it is largely the people in this category who are most vocal about how unfairly they are being treated. They are right, they are being treated unfairly--at the expense of everyone else.

Besides, can you imagine the amount of paperwork, bureaucracy, and headaches a flat tax would save? I don't know anyone that wouldn't be happy to skip that part of it.

Pagan

'Why do people blast the providers?' - worf | 12:14 p.m. Jan. 31, 2012

Because America, has been PAYING for the wealthy to have tax breaks...

No! Half of America pay little to no income tax, and depend on the rich. A person paying millions in taxes doesn't deserve legal loopholes? Romney pays three million and you think it's not enough? You're welcome. Only a spoiled generation would think this way.

There should be thanks and gratitude rather resentment.

The wealthy are Americans who benefited from our liberties, and freedoms. They keep America going. Thank you Mitt for benefiting America with your hard work and helping of the less fortunate.