Exactly right. ALL of it. If you don't understand this already, you have NO business having political/tax debates or discussions, as you don't know you head from your A$$$.
Do you guys realize how foolish your arguments are? Marginal tax rates tax the "next dollar earned" - lets agree on the fundamentals. Your assessment of how we are taxed is mostly correct.
However - in your rich loathing dogma ideology - you fail to see how damaging those tax conditions are to productivity, wealth creation, and standard of living.
You mentioned the 1950s tax code with a 91% marginal rate above $200k. Do you realize that inflation adjusted income level is well in excess of $2 million in income today? Just so we are talking apples to apples, a person under that prior tax code making $200k then would likely have a lower effective tax rate than a person making $2 million today because the person today would have over 3/4 of their income taxed at our top marginal rate.
So if you are a small business owner who files a Schedule-C on your personal income taxes, your businesses profits are rolled into your own personal income. Lets say you are a dry cleaner. You don't need new equipment this year, but you know in two years time you will. You have to save cash for this large purchase and that cash will be personal income dollars taxed at our personal income rate. You certainly aren't wealthy or rich, as many small business owners do not take nearly the income that their small business generates in profit. They re-invest and save. However, the bottom line on their taxes each year is greatly reduced with this behemoth we call the Federal Tax Code. With a reduced bottom line their ability to reinvest, save, or even HIRE people is certainly reduced. Incidentally small business as defined by the SBA employs well in excess of 70% of our working population. Is it any wonder we cant get unemployment below 8%?
And how did our nation get wealthy in the first place? Why do we enjoy the highest standard of living the earth has ever known? You loathers are cringing when I say those words but the fact remains most households in the "99%" (hell, even the lowest 25%) have multiple automobiles, a home with walls, windows, a roof, and likely running water, heat, and even air conditioning. They eat out several times a week and enjoy food prices still relatively cheap to their income level. (In many 3rd world countries people spend nearly all their income merely on sustenance). Its likely their kids have iPods, iPhones, nike tennis shoes, they have a flat screen in the living room with cable or satellite and get picked up in a big yellow school bus to go to their free indoctrination... err education paid by society.
The point is that it is no mistake we have gotten to where we are. The only thing that produces our standard of living is productivity. And with a tax code that punishes people attempting to be productive it is no surprise we have a lack of takers. Our current tax code is a joke and I'd argue needs to be completely burned and re-written. It gives all the incentive to non-productive earners, and punishes those who stick their neck out and dare to produce.
The issues this country faces have nothing to do with "revenue". Our "revenue" today is within a percent of what it was during any of the Clinton -or- Bush years, however our spending has gone through the roof. We have collected approximately 18%+/- of GDP in tax receipts for the last two decades, but the year BO took office under all democrat house and senate our federal spending went from 19% of GDP to over 25% of GDP and has remained there throughout his term.
If we confiscate the entire wealth of the top "1%" we can fund the federal government's deficits for only a few months. Doesn't this say something about the state of our nation?
Thanks for reading.
