50% of us are poor and low income; what are we doing about this?

IMO, 'fair share' is nothing but a political soundbite! It has no meaning other than to garner re-election votes.

But, 'fair share' should be defined as how much should every US citizen contribute to the general fund of the USA in order to support the nation for the government which citizens demand...

 

I think a person earning $15K and above can afford to pay federal taxes of $100 per year minimum. I also believe if people have zero money, then they should volunteer for some types of work which support the government...

 

I'm not surprised about people paying no taxes. I'm surprised that those people paying no taxes believe they can live in the USA, make demands on government, and then pay nothing! This is pathetic at best.

Romney paid $20 million in taxes...how much did you pay?

If you have not seen Romney's tax returns, then you are clueless to your statements above about his money transactions.

You should look up what 'share' means...

 

Protectionism is a failure to compete on one's own merits so they turn to government to solve all of THEIR problems...

 

How can you claim anyone is paying too much or too little, if you have not defined the problem?

 

Yup, and we don't have to compete in every sector to be successful. We'll do what we do best, you do what you do best and we'll all be better as a result.

Adam Smith got, what's everyone else's excuse?

 

How about $1 trillion deficits for years to come and $15-$20 trillion debt in just a few years...is that a big enough problem for you...

 

1. don't buy a new car
2. live in a home you can afford
3. forget the new 60" widescreen until you can pay cash
4. pay off all credit cards and cut them up
5 . turn off lights that are not in use
6. stop buying junk food
7. use coupons

Lord, don't you know how to tighten your belt?

 

I would agree with you more if we were better Angels on Earth who have little or no need for the expense of Government. Otherwise, simply resorting to that form of "ethic" may not produce better results here, than in any command economy which does require a work ethic.

 

How does that relate to "fair" share?

Why complain about progressive forms of economic discrimination under any form of Capitalism?

 

I agree 1,000%.

I have not had a credit card in over 20 years. I have absolutely nothing financed. My wife is not working at the moment, and we are preparing a big move from Texas to California, so have been saving for that for months.

We own a Lincoln, a Silverado, and a Winnebago. We have a 60" flat screen. The two of us live in a 3 bedroom place. And we do it all on an income of less then $30k a year.

We bought all the vehicles cash, which shocked the dealer when we bought my wife's Lincoln Towncar. He was all ready to give us a credit app, when I pulled $6k out of my pocket to pay for it.

Of course, the cost of living is much lower here in Texas then it is in California. I myself tend to laugh at what some people consider "poverty" and "low income". They tend to forget that not everybody lives in a big city. In 2003 I moved from LA to Alabama. I went from paying $800 a month for a room to paying $250 a month for a 2 bedroom duplex. I went from spending $50 a week on gas to commute to and from work to spending $10 a month on gas to commute.

Yea, I went from $28 an hour to $12 an hour. But I still lived better and had more money in my pocket at the end of the week then I did when I was "bringing in the big dough".

The problem is that most people today do not seem to know how to live within their income. They buy everything on credit, and can't wait until they can actually afford it.

 

The above suggestions are actually very prudent.

However, you will NEVER see Obama ask anyone to consider this prudent action.

We just went through, and perhaps are still feeling the effects, of an economic recession, and not once did I ever hear Obama suggest to Americans to tighten their belts, live within their means, try to save some cash, etc.

Your suggestions above are just plain old common sense yet most Americans are not interested in being proactive to live within their means. Is it a sense of entitlement? Is it ignorance? Is it the government providing easy credit and subsidies?

The last two Xmas shopping seasons didn't skip a beat from the past trends...why not? Why didn't people cut back 10-20% on spending? Once we understand the answer to this question, we will understand why so many are in such deep financial (*)(*)(*)(*)...

 

When a person goes into a restaurant, and orders a full meal, and at the end of the meal feels satisfied, will they expect to simply walk out without paying?

And the very next week, they will eat another meal at a restaurant, and will walk out without paying. And they will do this week after week after week.

How is this scenario any different from US citizens who make huge demands on government, government at all levels, and then expect others to pay for their demands?

I have great empathy for everyone! I fully understand everyone is different with varying needs and potential. But I do not understand why so many feel they don't need to pay a stinking dime to fund the governments they demand?

 

Financially, the USA only has three problems; First, we have out of control spending with zero regards to deficits and debt. Second, our leaders are chicken-(*)(*)(*)(*) to ask, and our citizenry refuses to pay enough taxes to support the government we demand, And third, we have 50+ million Americans paying zero federal income taxes.

So...

Stop the out of control deficit spending.

Increase ALL tax brackets to the appropriate levels to offset government expenses.

All Americans must pay something in taxation...zero is unacceptable.

 

What huge demands are your referring to? Corporate welfare even pays multimillion dollar bonuses.

 

I agree that everyone should pay their fair share; I also believe in "wartime" tax rates for the wealthy, even if only due to wars on abstractions, merely to ensure they do not become boondoggles and generational forms of theft for those upon whom the "hellish" conditions of warfare on Earth may fall disproportionally.

 

I just want to take a minute to slap you on the back. I have been reading this thread all along, here and there and wish you all the success in trying to educate some of the folks here, what an uphill climb people without jobs and suffering in the recession are really about.

 

Then to make things fair, punitive taxes should be paid by everybody.

After all, that is what fairness is all about, right?

And next, they will decide how many cars you can have. And how many bedrooms your house or apartment has. Either tax people for having to many rooms, or demand that they give them up to the homeless maybe.

And that is a nice utopian fantasy, that taxation will stop wars. To bad it is out of touch with reality.

 

Who doesn't pay taxes? General taxes are paid by everybody.

It depends on what you mean by "fairness" under any form of Capitalism where economic discrimination is both legal and socially acceptable. Only Socialism doesn't discriminate in that manner.

Taxing the wealthy should stop those boondoggles and generational forms of theft under any form of Capitalism where economic discrimination is both legal and socially acceptable.

And, the wealthy simply have more means at their disposal to influence politics, when they are not "purchasing" tax loopholes large enough to drive a yacht through.

 

15k is under poverty line, having them pay more taxes just pushes them more into poverty.

So they should stop looking for work and just go work for free?

 

AH so you want to go back to the good old days when only people making enough money could vote?


Stop the nonse of "everyone 1 vote"

Why cant someone with less or no income cant say anything?

No he pays 3 million on 20+million income.


And this has little to do with how much romney pays. The fact remains you (and romney) want to lower taxes on people who can easily afford to pay extra (and lets not forget with 13.x % of taxes he isnt paying all that much in taxes) while increasing them on people already in poverty or close by. People who can use every dollar you want to tax more of them.

How is that in any way "fair"?

 

Actually, 3 million of 20 million is 16.67%.

Are you paying 16.67% of your income in taxes?

 

Solving poverty is EASY!:
- Give the richest 1% MORE tax breaks.
- Continue rewarding companies for outsourcing jobs overseas.
- Break up labor unions and all collective bargaining power.
- Shut down the US postal service.
- Defund NPR.
- Make birth control pills illegal.
- Abolish medicare, medicaid, and food stamps.
- Make collecting unemployment benefits impossible.
- Dismantle the EPA.
- Make gay marriage illegal.
- Start more wars.
- Drill and burn more fossil fuels.
- Harass immigrants and blame them for everything.
^^^ Conservatives and the GOP are all about these above "solutions."

 

There is an easier way to solve poverty in America.

Close the border with Mexico, deport illegal aliens, end welfare to able-bodies Obama voters and let them take the jobs that illegal aliens used to do.

 

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Firing teachers will also help too. Especially if they have a "Mexican" accents.