I pay taxes but I will be honest, it does not really impact my life. And yes I send some big checks to Uncle Sam. At some point once you have the basics covered (ie you own your home, cars) no debt. Have the flatscreens and gadgets you want (ipad etc..) And travel covered. There is no need to be so focused on taking every penny you can squeeze. It is okay to let some of that wealth go if it means not living in shitsville. I cannot see myself suffering if I had to pay an extra 4-5% if it means we end up with a better nation. I never understood people bitching about paying a little more taxes when they pretty much are tapped out when it comes to consumption. What is the point of living in a country if you cannot get out of the neighborhood because the rest of the USA is blight. I do not want this country to end up like Mexico, where you live imprisoned in locked gated community while the rest of it looks like a shithole with beggars, kids naked and barefoot, glue huffers, bums all over, garbage on the streets, raw sewage, homes and buildings that look like bombed out shells, 50 gallon rusted out drums with fires to keep people warm etc.. Seriously at some point you need to think past your nose and look at the whole picture. I sure do not want to live locked in while the rest of the country is a shithole. We need to bring jobs back, cut bullshit programs and not be so focused on trying to cut taxes so much for the 10% Shit like Cutting Education and sciences so we can pocket an extra few bucks is fucking idiotic. Countrys unwilling to invest in its future generation are doomed to fail. Only in America do we eat our own young by fucking them over for a quick buck not thinking that they are supposed to be the future leaders of this country and shepherding it into the 21st century.
The source of your numbers is the Tax Foundation, the director of which is Wayne Gable, Managing Director of Federal Affairs at Koch Industries. Koch! Are you serious? The Tax Foundation is regularly criticized as an unreliable source. Even assuming that your suspect numbers are accurate, how does that explain the historically low taxes for the rich, which coincides with the historically high income gap between the rich and everyone else? Are you really so stupid as to be utterly oblivious to the implications? Also, are you even remotely aware that the middle class has given First World countries their stability and prosperity, because the engine of an economy is its middle class? The very same middle class that was being squeezed out of existence during the Bush years, thanks in part to his administration's fiscal and regulatory policy? We both seem to agree that the goose that lays the golden eggs is being led to slaughter. Our principal disagreement lies in the identity of that goose. Since the rich are feasting and getting fatter, with the Right seeking nothing other than to feed the rich some more, I don't think the rich are in any mortal danger.
Kudo's to you for speaking the truth. May your head be spared when the bourgeoisie bring out the guillotines.
Well, there aren't many orthodox Marxists left anymore, his thinking has been revised and interpreted in several important ways. Still, the root of your theory there is economically deterministic. The approach is powerful, but not sufficient. Not that you do not already know this, I'm just mentioning it.
oh give it a rest. "shit like cutting education and sciences" blah blah blah...how about getting the federal government out of education and letting the states handle it? this isn't a yes/no issue, so that ridiculous post you agreed with shows a lack of comprehension on the issue. oh sure, let's all contribute more to a government that has no conception of responsible spending. let's all enable further stupid behavior rather than force the beast to behave and restructure. NO ONE, short of some evil rich banker somewhere who truly cares for nothing but his own fat ass, wants to see people suffer instead of paying to help out. no one. the debate is about responsible spending - not spending.
I just want to react to this bit. If one would want "Balkanization" of the US, as another poster has warned is happening (along racial lines in his case), then by all means proceed with letting the states "handle" it. Imho we are a nation state with a lot to lose, we can't let (some) states handle education.
As Grandpa used to say... "Don't hold your hand on your ass waiting for THAT to happen... might just grow there"...
The words of every house nigga. Don't be talkin bad bout my massa, he be's a real nice man. Don whip me less I deserves it. You think you'll be spared the heavy boot of elitist oppression? Think again! They're coming for you next.
What does a doctor typically tell a man who is fat? 1. Eat less. 2. Exercise more. Not just one thing, but two. We need to: 1. Spend less, on everything front, including the sacred cows of military. 2. Cut waste in government, become more efficient in government spending. 3. Increase revenues through closing tax loopholes, punishing corporations who move offshore to avoid taxes, and yes, increase tax levels for the upper 2%. The upper 2% won't miss the money. Do what the doctor says, go on a diet and exercise more. That's what many Americans are doing. They are cutting expenses, and trying to work more to pull in some extra revenue. Sell some shit they don't need, work more hours or an extra job, etc. All I ask is the for the government to run their business like most Americans have to run theirs during difficult times. Be prudent, don't waste, buy at the best price, etc. This insanity of thinking revenues are not part of the equation is just going against the reality of the problem. Like the fat man who ate and didn't exercise, he took in more calories than he was burning up. Now he needs to take in less calories and burn up more. Simple, and we need to cut spending and increase revenue through taxation.