[Vision2020] Who pays US income tax?

[Tom Hansen]

Would you be so kind as to enlighten us with the responses you may have
heard in response to those questions, Mr. Harkins?

What is it gonna cost?

(and just as importantly)

Who is going to pay for it?

By the way, GW's gotta shoulder some blame.

Remember WMD?  Not to mention a long list of others.

--------

WMD!  WTF?

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

On Tue, December 28, 2010 12:46 pm, Jeff Harkins wrote:
>   Mr. Hansen,
>
> You should attend a Republican caucus.  The questions I often hear are:
>
> What is it gonna cost?
>
> Who is going to pay for it?
>
> Occasionally, I do hear "it's Obama's fault - which is a far sight
> better than it's Bush's fault. '-))
>
>
>
> On 12/28/2010 11:40 AM, Tom Hansen wrote:
>> Generally speaking . . .
>>
>> Wars are good for a nation's economy.  It puts everybody to work
>> resulting
>> in extensive cash flow.
>>
>> I mean . . . jus' take a look at our economy during World War 2.
>>
>> But, if everything is out-sourced . . . and we are forced to borrow from
>> China . . . and emphasis is placed on tax reduction . . . well . . . you
>> get the picture.
>>
>> It is my impression that there are two questions asked at every
>> Republican
>> caucus . . .
>>
>> 1)  What's wrong?
>>
>> 2)  How is it Obama's fault?
>>
>> Tom Hansen
>> Moscow, Idaho
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Tue, December 28, 2010 10:46 am, Joe Campbell wrote:
>>> Shouldn't we wait until we're not at war or in debt before talking tax
>>> reform?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Dec 28, 2010, at 9:46 AM, Jeff Harkins<jeffh at moscow.com>  wrote:
>>>
>>>>   OK, that works ........... now if we can keep the words alive, by
>>>> echoing and reflecting across the land, we might get some tax reform.
>>>>
>>>> On 12/28/2010 9:35 AM, Tom Hansen wrote:
>>>>> My apologies, Mr. Harkin -
>>>>>
>>>>> I should have stated . . .
>>>>>
>>>>> "Jeff Harkins echoes in the words of About.com:"
>>>>>
>>>>> Tom Hansen
>>>>> Moscow, Idaho
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>> From: Jeff Harkins [mailto:jeffh at moscow.com]
>>>>> Sent: Tuesday, December 28, 2010 9:33 AM
>>>>> To: Tom Hansen; vision2020 at moscow.com
>>>>> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Who pays US income tax?
>>>>>
>>>>>    Well, Mr Hansen,
>>>>>
>>>>> I am uncomfortable when someone attributes words to me that I did not
>>>>> say. I did not "reflect" those words, simply posted them from the
>>>>> About.com site - which was coincidentally based on data from the US
>>>>> Treasury.
>>>>>
>>>>> On 12/28/2010 5:30 AM, Tom Hansen wrote:
>>>>>> Jeff Harkins reflects:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> "The top 1 percent of taxpayers paid 33.7 percent of all individual
>>>>>> income
>>>>>> taxes in 2002. This group of taxpayers has paid more than 30 percent
>>>>>> of
>>>>>> individual income taxes since 1995. Moreover, since 1990 this
>>>>>> group's
>>>>>> tax
>>>>>> share has grown faster than their income share."
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Could it be because the top 1 percent earn a majority of the
>>>>>> national
>>>>> income?
>>>>> Well, it could be, but the Treasury Dept. reports that the top 1% in
>>>>> earnings paid 33.7% of income taxes in 2002. They also report that
>>>>> the
>>>>> 1% income earners share of income taxation has grown faster that
>>>>> their
>>>>> income share.
>>>>>
>>>>> More to the point, Mr. Hansen, the Treasury Department reports that
>>>>> "Taxpayers who rank in the top 50 percent of taxpayers by income pay
>>>>> virtually all individual income taxes."
>>>>>
>>>>> In all years since 1990, taxpayers in this group have paid over 94
>>>>> percent of all individual income taxes. In 2000, 2001, and 2002, this
>>>>> group paid over 96 percent of the total.
>>>>>
>>>>> WOOF WOOF!
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>> That dog don't bark, Mr. Harkins.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> That argument is similar to the old anti-marijuana claim that 95
>>>>>> percent
>>>>>> of the people currently addicted to heroin got started on marijuana
>>>>>> (let's
>>>>>> not pay any attention to the 5 percent that started right away on
>>>>>> heroin).
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Scuttlebutt has it that shortly after Rep. Boehner assumes office as
>>>>>> Speaker of the House, a couple of his Republican buddies are going
>>>>>> to
>>>>>> introduce a bill making the tax cuts permanent.  Shortly later it
>>>>>> will
>>>>>> be
>>>>>> suggested that spending be reduced by TWENTY PERCENT.  One can
>>>>>> hardly
>>>>>> imagine where the budget cuts will originate.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> There is even a nasty, vicious rumor that attempts will be made to
>>>>>> privatize Tri-Care (healthcare for military retirees).  This has
>>>>>> been
>>>>>> "attempted" several times over the past decade.  Thank God for DAV
>>>>>> (Disabled American Veterans) of which I am a lifetime member.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Tom Hansen
>>>>>> Moscow, Idaho
>>>>>>
>>>>>> "The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to
>>>>>> change
>>>>>> and the Realist adjusts his sails."
>>>>>>
>>>>>> - Unknown
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>> =======================================================
>>>> List services made available by First Step Internet,
>>>> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>>>>                http://www.fsr.net
>>>>           mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
>>>> =======================================================
>>
>> "The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to
>> change
>> and the Realist adjusts his sails."
>>
>> - Unknown
>>
>>
>> =======================================================
>>   List services made available by First Step Internet,
>>   serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>>                 http://www.fsr.net
>>            mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
>> =======================================================
>>
>>
>
>


"The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change
and the Realist adjusts his sails."

- Unknown