Tax the 1%...

Not income, property.

Take 10% of the property of the top 1%. 1 time tax. Drastic I know because they would be left with a paltry 22.5 TRILLION dollars to squeeze by on.

Invest that 2.5 Trillion conservatively for a yield of 5% and an annual revenue of 125 Billion.

A person making $10 /hr working full time earns about 22,000 per year.
Married couple working full time @ $10/hr would earn 44,000 annually.
The average SS recipient gets $18,500 per year.

Using $10k as the average supplement to increase retirees and those working full time up to the median income we would be able to move 12,500,000 people up to the middle class. This additional income would be taxable.

There's a chunk of math there but the option to help move that many people into the middle class is attractive.

 

You want government to replace the private sector. I wonder, what is the opposite of anarchy?

 

Shouldn’t able-bodied and able-minded people be able to work towards getting themselves out of poverty?

 

Sure if you include motivated with the able-bodied and able-minded.

 

Phrase it however you like. The point still stands.

 

How about just fair taxation for everyone. A flat 15% tax on everyone no loop holes, no shelters, no excuses. Everyone does their taxes on a single page online and gets a refund or pays immediately.

 

This sounds like something China would suggest America should do.

 

Non-responsive.

I don't expect you to say anything nice but lucid and on topic would be a change.

 

You got a problem with decent housing? Healthy food?

Of course, we could just shoot for the $20 /hr minimum wage.

 

A regressive tax hurts the poor while enriching those already at the top.

 

Non responsive. Expected but non responsive.

 

I'm sorry you're incapable of discussing this rationally.

 

I have heard something like that before, in an old western. As the banditos held up the stage, they explained "you have it, we need it, so we take it".....

 

Not sure how you got the idea I would have a problem with decent housing or healthy food. My point was why can't able-bodied and able-minded people work to get themselves out of poverty? I did it. My first job I was making about $19K. I worked my ass off to get where I am today professionally. If I can do it anyone can. And again, by anyone I'm talking about able-bodied and able-minded people.

Why can't poor people buy healthy food?

This is from 2010 but you get the idea...
"An adult on a 2,000-calorie diet could satisfy recommendations for vegetable and fruit consumption (amounts and variety) in the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans at an average cost of $2 to $2.50 per day, or approximately 50 cents per edible cup equivalent."

 

I will take a wild guess and suggest you are really pissed that the DNC has twice stabbed Bernie Freeshit Sanders squarely in the back.
Swimming to Cuba is still an option.

 

How would work? If the government simply takes 10% ownership of the property, they couldn't easily realise the value for the investment you propose but I suspect a lot of the owners wouldn't be able to easily pay the cash value of the 10%. You also have the issue that the moment such a policy was announced, the saleable value of all those properties would suddenly drop.

 

I wouldn't want to veer from your expectations.

 

I see...

Billions in subsidies for billionaires the energy industry
Billions in subsidies for millionaire farmers
Billions to the military contractors

But what's good for the goose isn't good for the gander?

 

6.4 million people work in the energy industry in America.
22 million people work in the farming industry in America
2.5 million people work in the defense industry

 

All you have to do is do what they do, and you can have what they have- be the goose. Chances are you would find it most unfair to you, if you did that.
I think you probably have no idea of the reasons behind what you think are free-money subsidies, but most of such things exist so you (the average citizen) can afford the products or benefits those subsidies make possible. Nobody really gives away millions or billions because they just like somebody- these are usually things where all you see is a payment, not the overall picture and what's behind it.

Right now for example, farm bankruptcies are higher than they have been since the great depression.
From the USDA:

"Farm sizes increased with the average rising to 441 acres, up from 434 acres in 2012 and the biggest since 2002. Income from operations, meanwhile, ticked down from the previous census. The average farm earned $43,053 in 2017, down from a record $43,750 in 2012, the USDA said.Apr 11, 2019"

So you farm 440 acres, maintain the equipment, and make an awesome $43 grand. That compares to the median household income in the us of $56K. The small farmers may qualify for small subsidies, the large farmers for large subsidies. Doesn't look like it's all gravy to me.

 

Maybe in 2010 but as of 2016 the total for just fruit and veggies is $2.60/day. Let's add another $2.00 for grains, dairy, and meat and we're at $4.60. Now let's add another $1.20 for inflation since 2016. That gives us $5.80/day.

full time worker $10 /hr = 20000/yr.
Payroll taxes = 7% = 1400 = 18,600 take home (assuming no state taxes)
18,600 /12 = 1550 /mo takehome
1000 /mo for rent = 550
150/mo for utilities = 400
200/transportation = 200
Food 30 days $5.80 = 175 = $25
Health care, dental care, clothes, other = 75

And THAT's for someone making $2.75 more than minimum.

And buying "healthy" food? Not as easy as you seem to think. Particularly for those living on low income housing where a Kroger, Winn Dixie, or Wal Mart could be miles away.

Perhaps if you step away from the "blame the victim" mentality you could see the forest.

 

Irrelevant. If you can't discuss the topic the circle-jerk group is on the next thread.

 

does your property value decrease when the property taxes are due? No? Your argument is without merit.

 

Those subsidies don't end up in their pockets.

 

Most farm income is earned by major corporations. Farm bankruptcies among smaller farmers is bought about by the large corporations control of the markets, transportation, and storage. Most of those subsidies end up in the coffers of billion dollar corporations in fact, the top 10 agricultural concerns in the world, all with operations in the US, generate annual revenues in excess of $430 Billion.

But, since you're worried about farmers, if their income is below the US median they too would get subsidies.

This is not about punishing but about helping live safer, healthier lives.