It's time to bring back the 90% tax tier. (more economics from DU)

[Miss Mia]

Atman  (1000+ posts)  Fri Oct-10-08 08:44 AM
Original message

It's time to bring back the 90% tax tier.

Edited on Fri Oct-10-08 08:47 AM by Atman

Think about it, seriously. You've been shown, vividly, that their "low taxes" message has been meaningless (unless you're one of them), but what was the tax rate when GE was born, when the Kennedy's and Bush's bought/built their compounds, when the Carnegies and Melons built their fortunes? It was ninety freakin' percent. And they not only survived on the millions they had left, they built industries and massive estates and got even wealthier. Even if you "only" have 10 million dollars instead of 10 billion, the interest is quite handsome. Most people could still survive. It's time for Obama to go all populist on 'em and say "**** THEIR WHINING! The people who caused this will be the people to pay for it."

It's time to tax the living shit out of them. If they can't take it, they can go get a job as a Wal Mart greeter.

OPERATIONMINDCRIME  (1000+ posts)        Fri Oct-10-08 09:04 AM
Response to Original message
6. No Way. I'm 100% Against That. 
 No one, no matter how rich, should ever be taxed more than 35% in my opinion.
 

gravity (1000+ posts)        Fri Oct-10-08 09:24 AM
Response to Original message
15. Taxes shouldn't be punishment for making money
 If taxes need to be raised, they should be modestly to balance the budget. This tax the shit out of them mentality is doing it for all the wrong reasons and is bad for the economy.
 

Atman  (1000+ posts)        Fri Oct-10-08 11:14 AM
Response to Reply #15
17. It's not a "punishment." 
 When you reach a point where your interest income is greater than most people's working income, you have a responsibility to your country. After all, it was your country that made you the money. You sold your product/service to people. The money you made didn't come out of thin air.
 

gravity (1000+ posts)        Fri Oct-10-08 02:58 PM
Response to Reply #17
26. They should pay a fair share, but 90% is just absurd
 The only reason people advocate this is because they believe that the wealthy don't deserve any of it.

The wealth people generate doesn't come out of thin air either. Unless you are born lucky, it requires hard work, perseverance, and risk. Self made millionaires work their asses off, and should be rewarded for what they bring to the economy.

If you want to strike balance, maybe give 50% in taxes to the government and you can keep the other half. The government plays an important part of generating that wealth, but so did the individual.
 

Atman  (1000+ posts)        Fri Oct-10-08 03:40 PM
Response to Reply #26
31. "The only reason people advocate this is because they think..."
 Uh, excuse me. I made the OP, and I don't think the wealthy don't deserve it. Stop with the rash generalizations about the motivations or thought processes of people you don't even know. My point had nothing to do with whether or not anyone deserves their wealth or not. Not that long ago the United States actually had a 90% top tax rate. And wonder of wonders, people like the Kennedy's and the others I mentioned still managed to amass great wealth. And, the amount of money Bush's 1% has makes more money faster than they could possibly spend it.

I don't need a lecture about how hard some people work. I'm not a child. I never said people didn't work hard. I simply think that if you can't live on 10% of 5 billion dollars, you have a serious spending problem and are making very poor investment choices.

 

ThomWV  (1000+ posts)      Fri Oct-10-08 03:22 PM
Response to Original message
29. Just remember, that is a marginal rate - so no one ever actually pays that much
 That is the rate on all income above some level - let's say $200,000. On the early wages the taxpayer pays the same rate as you or I or anyone else so the actualy rate the taxpayer puts in has to be lower than the top marginal rate.

nadinbrzezinski  (1000+ posts)        Fri Oct-10-08 04:21 PM
Response to Reply #29
33. That is why realistically it is 75%
 but if you set it at 75%, then it is 60%

(And yes I am just using the numbers and justification to bring it down from 90 to 70 by JFK)
 

ThomWV  (1000+ posts)      Fri Oct-10-08 04:51 PM
Response to Reply #33
38. A 70% top marginal rate would be fine with me
 Hell, I think a 25% marginal rate is just fine as long as they get rid of the bullshit deductions. When Warren Buffet tells us that when all is said and done his secretary pays income taxes at a higher rate than he does then you know our system is horribly broken but that the problem is not in the rates that are charged, but how the rates are applied.

[franksolich]

The 90% tax tier existed during the latter part of the Eisenhower administration, the first part of the Kennedy administration--the late 1950s into the early 1960s.

It was there, it was on the books.....but nobody paid it.

If El Stupido Supremo thinks Joe Kennedy gave the government 90% of his vast income, El Stupido Supremo has reached a new low in utter stupidity.

[djones520]

Hey Atman,

Look at yourself in the mirror, and tell yourself that if you made that much money you'd still support taxing 90% of it.

[franksolich]

Hey Atman,

Look at yourself in the mirror, and tell yourself that if you made that much money you'd still support taxing 90% of it.

Of course, El Stupido Supremo doesn't make that much money, but El Stupido Supremo has a household income above the national average.....and two homes, both of them in Connecticut.

I think it's time for El Stupido Supremo to share.

[jukin]

Most of the DUmbasses really do want 15-20% unemployment don't they.

Sadly, women, children, minorities, and DUchebags will be hit hardest.

[asdf2231]

Quote
Atman  (1000+ posts)        Fri Oct-10-08 11:14 AM
Response to Reply #15
17. It's not a "punishment." 
 When you reach a point where your interest income is greater than most people's working income, you have a responsibility to your country. After all, it was your country that made you the money. You sold your product/service to people. The money you made didn't come out of thin air.

Actually, DUmbass, the country was founded by people who were pissed as hell for being taxed to death.

This Assclone hasn't improved much since he was banned at CU for offering threats of sexual violence to an old lady.

[Splashdown]

This idiot needs to Google "Boston Tea Party" to learn about unfair taxes.

[Airwolf]

When Atman and Warren Buffett practice what the **** they preach then maybe it will be time to listen to them. Its easy to say tax the rich when your hiding alot of your assets in foundations and who knows whay else.

[franksolich]

This idiot needs to Google "Boston Tea Party" to learn about unfair taxes.

El Stupido Supremo needs to google statistics about American--and global--per capita income, household income, family income, whatnot--to see where he stands with the rest of the population (American and global).

But obviously El Stupido Supremo has the Kennedy attitude about the whole thing--everybody else should pay more, but El Stupido Supremo's going to keep all he has, and try to get even more.

Really.  El Stupido Supremo has no idea.

[BlueStateSaint]

Most of the DUmbasses really do want 15-20% unemployment don't they.

Sadly, women, children, minorities, and DUchebags will be hit hardest.

And that in the bolded will cause a massive swing of the pendulum the other, right-of-center, capitalistic way--for a generation.

Personally, I can't wait.