OT: Wealth Redistribution Experiment

[bubba99]

The whole question of tax “fairness” is dwarfed by the underlying arithmatic.

“that the top or most affluent quintile had 49.7 percent of all income, while the bottom quintile had only 3.5 percent.”

from
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Taxes/bg1791.cfm

Go ahead, tax the crap out of the middle quintile, they only make 13.6% of all the income – it makes little difference to the total tax collected. If you don’t tax the upper two quintiles, you miss 68% of all the taxible income.

And remember that most of us (under 100K/year) pay social secutity tax while the upper 2 quintiles do not on amounts above 100k.

[CA renter]

Chris Scoreboard Johnston wrote:
I can only hope that is a true story. Of course another way to combat it is just lay people off to offset the impact of increased taxes as well as cut back on philanthropy, which is what I and many friends that employ people plan on doing. I doubt the class warfare that is starting will be won by the poor, but let’s have at it and see.
—————–

But who will your customers be? And who will your customers’ customers be? At the bottom of the capitalist pyramid, stands Joe Sixpack, propping up the economy with his meager pay…Joe the consumer who represents ~70% of our GDP.

What makes you think a laid-off, poorly-educated person is going to go away quitely? Chances are, when push comes to shove, these people will be the ones holding up banks; crashing through your front door, taking your family members hostage, demanding ransom in exchange for their safe return.

What happens when they get communicable diseases (that are easily cured/prevented with modern medicine), but cannot pay for the medicine? Do you want your children attending school or going to the park with their kids? Do you expect them to just lay dying in the street, without trying to help themselves (or their family members)?

Personally, I’d rather pay higher taxes so the masses can let the rest of us live in peace.

What so many don’t seem to understand is that a social safety nets benefit ALL of us, **especially** the wealthy. Instead of having to move through town in armoured cars and living in guard-gated communities, we have a sense of safety because everyone has enough to eat, basic shelter, and healthcare.

I greatly fear living in a nation where the poor and unemployed have no resources, and will feel they have no alternative but to commit crimes against those who do have the resources. Civil wars and stife are the result of great weath disparity. Is that really what you want?

[CA renter]

Chris Scoreboard Johnston wrote:
I can only hope that is a true story. Of course another way to combat it is just lay people off to offset the impact of increased taxes as well as cut back on philanthropy, which is what I and many friends that employ people plan on doing. I doubt the class warfare that is starting will be won by the poor, but let’s have at it and see.
—————–

But who will your customers be? And who will your customers’ customers be? At the bottom of the capitalist pyramid, stands Joe Sixpack, propping up the economy with his meager pay…Joe the consumer who represents ~70% of our GDP.

What makes you think a laid-off, poorly-educated person is going to go away quitely? Chances are, when push comes to shove, these people will be the ones holding up banks; crashing through your front door, taking your family members hostage, demanding ransom in exchange for their safe return.

What happens when they get communicable diseases (that are easily cured/prevented with modern medicine), but cannot pay for the medicine? Do you want your children attending school or going to the park with their kids? Do you expect them to just lay dying in the street, without trying to help themselves (or their family members)?

Personally, I’d rather pay higher taxes so the masses can let the rest of us live in peace.

What so many don’t seem to understand is that a social safety nets benefit ALL of us, **especially** the wealthy. Instead of having to move through town in armoured cars and living in guard-gated communities, we have a sense of safety because everyone has enough to eat, basic shelter, and healthcare.

I greatly fear living in a nation where the poor and unemployed have no resources, and will feel they have no alternative but to commit crimes against those who do have the resources. Civil wars and stife are the result of great weath disparity. Is that really what you want?

[CA renter]

Chris Scoreboard Johnston wrote:
I can only hope that is a true story. Of course another way to combat it is just lay people off to offset the impact of increased taxes as well as cut back on philanthropy, which is what I and many friends that employ people plan on doing. I doubt the class warfare that is starting will be won by the poor, but let’s have at it and see.
—————–

But who will your customers be? And who will your customers’ customers be? At the bottom of the capitalist pyramid, stands Joe Sixpack, propping up the economy with his meager pay…Joe the consumer who represents ~70% of our GDP.

What makes you think a laid-off, poorly-educated person is going to go away quitely? Chances are, when push comes to shove, these people will be the ones holding up banks; crashing through your front door, taking your family members hostage, demanding ransom in exchange for their safe return.

What happens when they get communicable diseases (that are easily cured/prevented with modern medicine), but cannot pay for the medicine? Do you want your children attending school or going to the park with their kids? Do you expect them to just lay dying in the street, without trying to help themselves (or their family members)?

Personally, I’d rather pay higher taxes so the masses can let the rest of us live in peace.

What so many don’t seem to understand is that a social safety nets benefit ALL of us, **especially** the wealthy. Instead of having to move through town in armoured cars and living in guard-gated communities, we have a sense of safety because everyone has enough to eat, basic shelter, and healthcare.

I greatly fear living in a nation where the poor and unemployed have no resources, and will feel they have no alternative but to commit crimes against those who do have the resources. Civil wars and stife are the result of great weath disparity. Is that really what you want?

[CA renter]

Chris Scoreboard Johnston wrote:
I can only hope that is a true story. Of course another way to combat it is just lay people off to offset the impact of increased taxes as well as cut back on philanthropy, which is what I and many friends that employ people plan on doing. I doubt the class warfare that is starting will be won by the poor, but let’s have at it and see.
—————–

But who will your customers be? And who will your customers’ customers be? At the bottom of the capitalist pyramid, stands Joe Sixpack, propping up the economy with his meager pay…Joe the consumer who represents ~70% of our GDP.

What makes you think a laid-off, poorly-educated person is going to go away quitely? Chances are, when push comes to shove, these people will be the ones holding up banks; crashing through your front door, taking your family members hostage, demanding ransom in exchange for their safe return.

What happens when they get communicable diseases (that are easily cured/prevented with modern medicine), but cannot pay for the medicine? Do you want your children attending school or going to the park with their kids? Do you expect them to just lay dying in the street, without trying to help themselves (or their family members)?

Personally, I’d rather pay higher taxes so the masses can let the rest of us live in peace.

What so many don’t seem to understand is that a social safety nets benefit ALL of us, **especially** the wealthy. Instead of having to move through town in armoured cars and living in guard-gated communities, we have a sense of safety because everyone has enough to eat, basic shelter, and healthcare.

I greatly fear living in a nation where the poor and unemployed have no resources, and will feel they have no alternative but to commit crimes against those who do have the resources. Civil wars and stife are the result of great weath disparity. Is that really what you want?

[CA renter]

Chris Scoreboard Johnston wrote:
I can only hope that is a true story. Of course another way to combat it is just lay people off to offset the impact of increased taxes as well as cut back on philanthropy, which is what I and many friends that employ people plan on doing. I doubt the class warfare that is starting will be won by the poor, but let’s have at it and see.
—————–

But who will your customers be? And who will your customers’ customers be? At the bottom of the capitalist pyramid, stands Joe Sixpack, propping up the economy with his meager pay…Joe the consumer who represents ~70% of our GDP.

What makes you think a laid-off, poorly-educated person is going to go away quitely? Chances are, when push comes to shove, these people will be the ones holding up banks; crashing through your front door, taking your family members hostage, demanding ransom in exchange for their safe return.

What happens when they get communicable diseases (that are easily cured/prevented with modern medicine), but cannot pay for the medicine? Do you want your children attending school or going to the park with their kids? Do you expect them to just lay dying in the street, without trying to help themselves (or their family members)?

Personally, I’d rather pay higher taxes so the masses can let the rest of us live in peace.

What so many don’t seem to understand is that a social safety nets benefit ALL of us, **especially** the wealthy. Instead of having to move through town in armoured cars and living in guard-gated communities, we have a sense of safety because everyone has enough to eat, basic shelter, and healthcare.

I greatly fear living in a nation where the poor and unemployed have no resources, and will feel they have no alternative but to commit crimes against those who do have the resources. Civil wars and stife are the result of great weath disparity. Is that really what you want?

[urbanrealtor]

[quote=qwerty007][quote=cooprider]

What I don’t want is Obama at the reigns, spending my hard-earned money, on people that don’t deserve the help, and whatever special interest groups he caters to.

With the Community Reinvestment Act Obama helped poor and minority families get into “affordable” housing Governemnt assistance ala FNM, FMAC.
[/quote]

Having lived in Europe for many years, I have first hand knowledge of the social security safety net, and there are many problems with it; not least it allows the lazy to live off the industrious, and is a tax burden. However, there will always be unemployed comprising those who either can’t or don’t want to work. Means testing the unwilling is fraught with difficulty and leaves you with a choice of whether you ignore the problem and hope it doesn’t manifest itself into a worse problem like racial tension, crime, or civil unrest, or take a gamble and hope the straddlers aren’t too many in number. Yes, it’s a given that you carry a small percentage of the population, but generally most prefer to work because it pays better.

Failure in public policy is often measured by the outcome of the next election, so it may be Obama wins by default. You may have to put up with his decisions for the next eight years, but I seriously doubt many of us are going to be seriously more worse off than with McCain at the helm. I am happy to be proven wrong.
[/quote]
Best post on this thread so far. I don’t agree with it but it solid and well thought out.

[urbanrealtor]

[quote=qwerty007][quote=cooprider]

What I don’t want is Obama at the reigns, spending my hard-earned money, on people that don’t deserve the help, and whatever special interest groups he caters to.

With the Community Reinvestment Act Obama helped poor and minority families get into “affordable” housing Governemnt assistance ala FNM, FMAC.
[/quote]

Having lived in Europe for many years, I have first hand knowledge of the social security safety net, and there are many problems with it; not least it allows the lazy to live off the industrious, and is a tax burden. However, there will always be unemployed comprising those who either can’t or don’t want to work. Means testing the unwilling is fraught with difficulty and leaves you with a choice of whether you ignore the problem and hope it doesn’t manifest itself into a worse problem like racial tension, crime, or civil unrest, or take a gamble and hope the straddlers aren’t too many in number. Yes, it’s a given that you carry a small percentage of the population, but generally most prefer to work because it pays better.

Failure in public policy is often measured by the outcome of the next election, so it may be Obama wins by default. You may have to put up with his decisions for the next eight years, but I seriously doubt many of us are going to be seriously more worse off than with McCain at the helm. I am happy to be proven wrong.
[/quote]
Best post on this thread so far. I don’t agree with it but it solid and well thought out.

[urbanrealtor]

[quote=qwerty007][quote=cooprider]

What I don’t want is Obama at the reigns, spending my hard-earned money, on people that don’t deserve the help, and whatever special interest groups he caters to.

With the Community Reinvestment Act Obama helped poor and minority families get into “affordable” housing Governemnt assistance ala FNM, FMAC.
[/quote]

Having lived in Europe for many years, I have first hand knowledge of the social security safety net, and there are many problems with it; not least it allows the lazy to live off the industrious, and is a tax burden. However, there will always be unemployed comprising those who either can’t or don’t want to work. Means testing the unwilling is fraught with difficulty and leaves you with a choice of whether you ignore the problem and hope it doesn’t manifest itself into a worse problem like racial tension, crime, or civil unrest, or take a gamble and hope the straddlers aren’t too many in number. Yes, it’s a given that you carry a small percentage of the population, but generally most prefer to work because it pays better.

Failure in public policy is often measured by the outcome of the next election, so it may be Obama wins by default. You may have to put up with his decisions for the next eight years, but I seriously doubt many of us are going to be seriously more worse off than with McCain at the helm. I am happy to be proven wrong.
[/quote]
Best post on this thread so far. I don’t agree with it but it solid and well thought out.

[urbanrealtor]

[quote=qwerty007][quote=cooprider]

What I don’t want is Obama at the reigns, spending my hard-earned money, on people that don’t deserve the help, and whatever special interest groups he caters to.

With the Community Reinvestment Act Obama helped poor and minority families get into “affordable” housing Governemnt assistance ala FNM, FMAC.
[/quote]

Having lived in Europe for many years, I have first hand knowledge of the social security safety net, and there are many problems with it; not least it allows the lazy to live off the industrious, and is a tax burden. However, there will always be unemployed comprising those who either can’t or don’t want to work. Means testing the unwilling is fraught with difficulty and leaves you with a choice of whether you ignore the problem and hope it doesn’t manifest itself into a worse problem like racial tension, crime, or civil unrest, or take a gamble and hope the straddlers aren’t too many in number. Yes, it’s a given that you carry a small percentage of the population, but generally most prefer to work because it pays better.

Failure in public policy is often measured by the outcome of the next election, so it may be Obama wins by default. You may have to put up with his decisions for the next eight years, but I seriously doubt many of us are going to be seriously more worse off than with McCain at the helm. I am happy to be proven wrong.
[/quote]
Best post on this thread so far. I don’t agree with it but it solid and well thought out.

[urbanrealtor]

[quote=qwerty007][quote=cooprider]

What I don’t want is Obama at the reigns, spending my hard-earned money, on people that don’t deserve the help, and whatever special interest groups he caters to.

With the Community Reinvestment Act Obama helped poor and minority families get into “affordable” housing Governemnt assistance ala FNM, FMAC.
[/quote]

Having lived in Europe for many years, I have first hand knowledge of the social security safety net, and there are many problems with it; not least it allows the lazy to live off the industrious, and is a tax burden. However, there will always be unemployed comprising those who either can’t or don’t want to work. Means testing the unwilling is fraught with difficulty and leaves you with a choice of whether you ignore the problem and hope it doesn’t manifest itself into a worse problem like racial tension, crime, or civil unrest, or take a gamble and hope the straddlers aren’t too many in number. Yes, it’s a given that you carry a small percentage of the population, but generally most prefer to work because it pays better.

Failure in public policy is often measured by the outcome of the next election, so it may be Obama wins by default. You may have to put up with his decisions for the next eight years, but I seriously doubt many of us are going to be seriously more worse off than with McCain at the helm. I am happy to be proven wrong.
[/quote]
Best post on this thread so far. I don’t agree with it but it solid and well thought out.

[kewp]

[quote=gandalf]Amazing. We’re fighting a $TRILLION WAR completely OFF BOOKS, our economy is on the verge of a MELTDOWN, America has turned into the biggest DEBTOR NATION in the history of the planet in 30 short years, our infrastructure is CRUMBLING, our political system is having a PARTISAN seizure, kids growing up with a declining standard of living, and you irresponsible GOP FUCKERS are complaining about MARGINAL CHANGES to the tax code? What the fuck is wrong with you.
[/quote]

Dude I so owe you a beer!

[kewp]

[quote=gandalf]Amazing. We’re fighting a $TRILLION WAR completely OFF BOOKS, our economy is on the verge of a MELTDOWN, America has turned into the biggest DEBTOR NATION in the history of the planet in 30 short years, our infrastructure is CRUMBLING, our political system is having a PARTISAN seizure, kids growing up with a declining standard of living, and you irresponsible GOP FUCKERS are complaining about MARGINAL CHANGES to the tax code? What the fuck is wrong with you.
[/quote]

Dude I so owe you a beer!

[kewp]

[quote=gandalf]Amazing. We’re fighting a $TRILLION WAR completely OFF BOOKS, our economy is on the verge of a MELTDOWN, America has turned into the biggest DEBTOR NATION in the history of the planet in 30 short years, our infrastructure is CRUMBLING, our political system is having a PARTISAN seizure, kids growing up with a declining standard of living, and you irresponsible GOP FUCKERS are complaining about MARGINAL CHANGES to the tax code? What the fuck is wrong with you.
[/quote]

Dude I so owe you a beer!

[kewp]

[quote=gandalf]Amazing. We’re fighting a $TRILLION WAR completely OFF BOOKS, our economy is on the verge of a MELTDOWN, America has turned into the biggest DEBTOR NATION in the history of the planet in 30 short years, our infrastructure is CRUMBLING, our political system is having a PARTISAN seizure, kids growing up with a declining standard of living, and you irresponsible GOP FUCKERS are complaining about MARGINAL CHANGES to the tax code? What the fuck is wrong with you.
[/quote]

Dude I so owe you a beer!

[Author]

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