[Vision2020] The balls in my court, or let's have a whack.

thansen@moscow.com thansen@moscow.com
Wed, 14 Apr 2004 22:53:29 GMT


Concerning taxes -

I said this a long time ago.  It makes sense.

We can totally eliminate federal income tax.  In its place, we could introduce 
what is already present in Europe, a value-added tax.  This is a federal tax 
added to goods.  In Europe it is already at 15 to 20 percent.  We can eliminate 
the deficit and still support current domestic programs by adding 2 to 3 
percent to goods.  The only exceptions would be staples like food, etc..

Those that buy the expensive toys pay the expensive taxes.

To me, that would level the playing field big time.

Any htoughts?

Tom Hansen

> As Paul Duffau has dangled his two things before me, I'm obliged to take
> a swing.  So . . .  
> 
> 1) It's true; Bill Clinton did not come from the wealthy and privileged
c> lass.  In fact, he's white trash.  (Don't argue with me; I'm an expert
on>  this.  I grew up eating moon pies, putting peanuts in my coke, and
think> ing The Dukes of Hazzard was much funnier than Shakespeare.)  Clinton
was>  well-educated, brilliant, and talented, but he was W.T. nonetheless. 
Ki> nd of like Elvis -- it was singing, not breeding, that made him the
King.>    
> 
> So, granted, we've recently had a guy who grew up poor in the White
House>   Great.  But Mr. Clinton is in his late fifties.  He had the good
fortu> ne to grow up when the U.S. was being re-made by the G.I. Bill, and he
ca> me of age in the Great Society.  Pell grants.  Guaranteed student loans.
>  The ability (and facility) to rise based on knowledge and merit.  But
as>  we systematically replace the New Deal with the Raw Deal, we ensure
that>  there will be no new Bill Clintons.  You went to college, but will you
b> e able to send your kids?  You climbed a ladder of grants and loans, but
> now George and his friends are pulling it up behind you and setting fire
> to it.  Not far off lurks a return to the bad old days when a university
> education was only for the rich elite.  Just compare the average
increase>  in state tuition costs to the percentage decline in the average
worker's>  earnings.  Then subtract.  And let's use real dollars -- none of that
Wh> ite House Budget Office fiddling.  If 20% of the UI's staff are earning
b> elow the poverty line, how many of them will be able to send their kids
t> o the university that pays them their serfdom wages?
> 
> 2) About George Bush's 28% tax rate and Mr. Duffau's 4.8% -- rather than
> write you a lengthy answer explaining the concept of progressive
taxation> , let's instead pretend that we already have that British-style
electoral>  system I mentioned in a previous post.  As Tony Blair frequently 
says
du> ring Prime Minister's question time, "I refer the gentleman to the
answer>  my right honorable friend gave some moments ago."  See Ron Force's
messa> ge below.  Then follow the link to the LA Times article.
> 
> Joan Opyr/Auntie Establishment
> 
>       
> 
> From: Ron Force
> Sent: Tuesday, April 13, 2004 1:26 PM
> To: vision2020@moscow.com
> Subject: [Vision2020] Dick Cheney's 2003 tax savings larger than your
ann> ual income.
> 
>   
> I read somehwere else that the average tax savings of the Bush cabinet
wa> s about the same as the median U.S. family income ($45K).
> 
> For more on taxes see Matthew Miller's column in the LA Times
(registrati> on required, but free).
> 
> http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-miller13apr13,1,1292> 
628.story?coll=la-news-comment-opinions
> 
> "...Conservatives love to cite facts like these: The top 5% of taxpayers
> pay more than half of federal income taxes; the top 1% pay more than a
th> ird all by themselves; and the bottom 80% of earners pay less than 20%...
> 
> ...But this is not the full picture. Any fair-minded person should want
t> o know two other things: What percent of total income do these different
> slices of earners actually earn; and what share of total federal taxes,
n> ot just income taxes, do they pay?
> 
> The conservative worldview inexplicably ignores the payroll tax
—>  predominantly the FICA deductions for Social Security and Medicare
â€> ” as well as excise taxes on things like liquor, gasoline and tobacco.
> Those taxes take their biggest bite, proportionally, from lower-income
Am> ericans...
> 
> ...When you look at who pays what based on total federal taxes, the
Unite> d States doesn't look much like an Ayn Rand novel after all.
> 
> The top 1% of American taxpayers earn 17% of the income and pay 23% of
to> tal federal taxes; the top 5% earn 31% of the income and pay 40% of the
t> axes; the bottom 80% of the earners make 41% of the income and pay 31%
of>  the taxes. These numbers are from 2001, the most recent available data;
> Bush's tax cuts have since made the burden on top earners lower. In
other>  words, for all the conservative whining, we have a modestly progressive
> federal tax system..."
> 
> 
> **********************************************
> Ron Force          Moscow ID USA
>  rforce@moscow.com
> 
> ********************************************** Get more from the Web. 
FR> EE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com
> 



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