Are you willing to pay the majority of your paycheck to taxes?

Yup, and the lowest marginal rate was 22%.

I'm willing to inflict a 22% tax on the poor if the rich's taxes have to climb to that level.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_tax_in_the_United_States

 

Everyone should pay some level of tax.

 

And?......

 

So, hitorically, when the USA's finances have been up merde creak, the rich have had to step up, take out their "patriot" badges and pay significantly higher taxes.

Now, I'm in agreement that this is not soley their responsibiility. Austerity measures should also be implemented across the board, including the reduction in military spend, which is a huge issue for you.

 

The military budget is insane, some will argue that it's been a good investment, but I disagree. I do agree that a reduction in government spending overall is the better solution... as opposed to increased taxes.

Nobody is going to tolerate upper bracket tax rates as seen in 1917-24 / 1932-81. And it's already been shown that taxing the bejesus out of the wealthy will do little in solving our problems.

 

But this is rubbish. Germany is a very strong economy with long term investment, highly competitive industry and a very extensive Welfare State. It has socialized medicine with universal access with a signifiantly higher coverage and quality than the USA, and costs a lot less. It has high wages and excellent retirement benefits. Its workforce enjoys six weeks holiday a year which many of them spend overseas. It has high marginal tax rates. It also has very rich people. There is no structural weakness in the German economy. Many economists would argue that it is far stronger long term than the US economy.

The question is how you get there. Germany got there on the back of austerity, hard work, massive inward foreign investment and a mature political establishment that tended towards the centre. Italy took a different route and has different problems. There are no simple formulae. Sometimes governments are profligate and wasteful but often the electors hold them to account for this. When they don't the people simply get what they deserve. that's what's happening in Greece right now.

People don't evade taxes when the government rightly starts sending tax evaders to prison. And tax evaders elicit little sympathy from their fellow citizens. It's a question of political will to collect taxes.

 

Well I'm all for progressive tax rates. My tax rate should be and is higher than a dustbin collector. It is not less than a CEO's however and should be.

People tend to forget that if a progressive tax code works like:

0-20000 - 20%
20000-40000 - 30%
40000> - 40%

That if you earn more than 40000pa, you do not pay 40%. You only pay 40 on earnings over 40000. The same applies to the other bands.

There's too much hysteria about progressive tax bands.

 

I'd start working under the table doing (*)(*)(*)(*) jobs that illegals do before I'd pay 70%, and supporting people like you.

 

By the way, in which socialist tyranny do people pay 70% income tax? Isn't this a pretty crude straw man?

 

If conservative and democrats have it their way that very well may come true in 50 to 100 years.

 

I think one could safely assume that like other taxes this would scale compared to how much you actually made. Meaning the highest tax bracket would be 71% and the lowest would still be 0%.

 

no it would create a kind of collectivism where everyone pays for each others needs and there are no classes, it doesn't mean no one will work but have really easy high paying government jobs like in Greece.

government will spend more efficiently without competing against the interests of the free market who are represented by the republican party, it will meet infrastructure and other national needs while also meeting the needs of the people who are already swindled out of most of their paychecks to pay for rights like health care, housing, food etc...presently the many pay for the 1% instead it should be the 1% paying for the many

we firmly believe in mother government and her power to redistribute wealth fairly so that there isn't oppression any longer that creates wealth gaps between rich and poor

 

You know, sometimes I read your post and I really get a hint of sarcasm. No one believes in "mother Government" not even liberals are that wild for Government.

No liberal politicians believe any of that stuff you spewed up there. Hillary Clinton for instance would laugh you right out of her office if you said that to her.

 

that was intended as humor but opinion is serious, government is spending inefficiently because the republicans represent the interests of the free market which forces government to make concessions

in many european countries government spends efficiently because the people give more power to the government than the free market, thats why they have better lives than most americans

 

If it was a genuinely good government and the money was spent wisely ... sure. If it was necessary.

Most of us give the majority of our lives to some private enterprise or another. Giving up a big portion of one's paycheck doesn't seem like such a big deal.

 

WTF are you talking about?

I don't care what people pay in other countries, it's no concern of mine. And, never once did I even mention tax rates in socialist countries. Please try to pay attention.

 

Maybe to you it doesn't. But, I'm sure for people who bust their ass to make a living, it does.

 

I work eighty hours a week, and I work hard, and I work well. I take no days off -- or rather, my last day off was last Christmas. So. Y'know. Screw you, buddy.

You can try to disparage the character of those you disagree with, if you want to, but it's pretty much an admission that you don't have a strong point.

 

Nope. There should be no need for any tax rate of over 50%, and even a rate as high as 50% (or close to that) should only apply to the very top earners, and for only that portion of their income which is above a very high threshold (so they wouldn't actually be paying anything like half of their income either, only a high rate on a portion of their earnings).

 

Will my house be much better than yours?

 

I wouldn't have a problem having 70% tax rate as long as it went for the betterment of all mankind. You can't take it with you when you leave this world so why not use it to assist your fellow man.

 

I sure hope so because I'm a baby-boomer and want my money!

 

I'm perfectly comfortable with a portion of my 'income' being used for 'the betterment of all', since I am part of the 'all' that is bettered by it! As long as everyone is also paying their share, and everyone is recieiving the benefit of it in infrastructure and services, that's fine.

If the rate is 70%, though, that is simply higher than should ever be necessary (with the possible exception of a time of a real war of survival, which creates obvious additional costs that need to be met for the benefit of all, including me!). If everyone is paying there proper share, and nobody is getting a 'free ride' (apart from those in genuine need, of course), then income tax shouldn't need to be anything like that high.

Of course, there are current social issues to be resoved before all that is exactly as it should be, and there is some investment required to make that happen, but even with the current problems a tax rate that high means that somebody somewhere has got their sums badly wrong! That kind of tax burden would simply be unsustainable, as well as being unfair.