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quote:
Originally posted by garth66:
Between the feds and the state, I'm being taxed into poverty!


Isn't poverty what they call the middle class now?

Those below the middle class have all of the government programs and public assistance they can shake a stick at! Hell, they can even get a better stick than the middle class can to shake! At this point, they're better off than the middle class.

Michael
I think what garth66 is talking about is going backwards from where we are right now. Taxes keep going up; redistribution of wealth; high energy prices .....

If someone gave you a beautiful Pantera, restoration all complete; would you take real good care of it, or would you take better care of it if you worked hard to make it happen? The answer is obvious -- and one that is human behavior that none of us can change.

Not to take away from the photo that Larry posted, but has money that has been dumped into the great society programs made anyone become rich -- or has it just kept people at that subsistence level? I'm sure that some have clawed their way out, but I wonder about the majority of people that it is supposed to help. I would think that most are in the same spot for their lives. The question I have is, is there a better way to get people out of poverty other than just "giving" everything to them?
"The plan would raise the top marginal income tax rate to 12% from 10.3% - twice the national average - and corporate income tax rate would also rise to 9.3% from 8.4%."

Instead of giving them money, give them housing, education, healthcare and opportunity. That would help them make their own way and cost a heck of a lot less in the end. But unfortunately it is expensive up front.

Which is why we Canadians see this proposed income tax of 12% and biz tax of 10% and laugh. We sure don't have the homeless and poverty like CA (which has very unique geographic and economic reasons for this) but we pay income tax of around 50% and biz tax of almost 20%.

Movie stars I can live without. Mountains and beaches, not so much. But I could sure use a break from the taxes we pay. Then again, what we see around us doesn't look much like Larry's photo. Maybe I should be happy to be able to pay these high taxes.

Sorta like paying alimony (which I have just ended, after 25 years). It was expensive, but worth every cent.
Last edited by davidb
Not that I'm complaining much either, but I'd be really happy if my higher taxes came with the weather and scenery of California.

The balance between social programs and capitalism is a delicate one, for sure. I am happy to pay more taxes knowing that the "bottom" for some people is not as far down as it might otherwise be, especially in the dead of winter.
I read this article the other day. I also read one today on WSJ about how Bulgaria not only has a flat tax, but it is only 10%. Their corporate tax is also only 10%. They do not have exemptions either. How does a socialist country have lower taxes that the great capitalist United States. We have lost our way.

Leaving California aside for a moment, Michigan is the perfect example of the ignorance of elected politicians. The automakers are in big trouble thanks to poor managment, unions and a slowing economy. Most new auto plants built in the US are built in the South because of the business unfriendly climate in other parts of the country. BMW in South Carolina, Mercedes in Alabama, Toyota in Tennessee, Kia in Georgia, Honda in Oklahoma. The list goes on.

So what is Michigan's solution? Raise taxes on the remaining shrinking tax base so that it will shrink even further leading to further deficits. And of course, protect the unions. Brilliant. If the state needs more money, it will just legislate a raise. The well will never run dry. Why would anyone leave Michigan?

The truth is, everyone is leaving Michigan. No one is immune. Not even California.
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