I found this tax graph interesting. The AVERAGE is 17.80%...so in theory, if everyone paid a flat 18%, wouldn't we end up with the same amount - yet it would be FAIR. Why should some pay way more than others, and call that 'fair' when it certainly isn't? 18% of 1 million is way more than 18% of 20,000.
Making more money does not take away any money from those earning less. And I often see those earning less, and on welfare, with nice cell phones, large flat-screen TV, cable, internet, driving large vehicles that are fairly new. The 'poor'? Hardly. Did you know you can buy lobster tails with food stamps? (lone star card here in TX). That, and gift baskets containing food. I'm just like "WHAT!??!"
Posts
Diane:
ReplyDeleteI know that with the Fed tax and state tax and sometimes (like in Philly) CITY tax, my total used to come to around 27%...and that was better than 20 years ago!
But I hear where you're coming from...a FLAT tax should be THE way to go.
As to the EBT cards?
Don't even get ME started.
I'm getting pretty "GeeDee" tired of seeing all these mooks getting EXACTLY what all the WORKING peeps are getting...and WE'RE paying for THEIR frivolous purchases...freaking amazing!
I'd MUCH rather pay for MORE COPS (to arrest their lazy asses)
Looks like CRIME (at ANY level) DOES pay after all...
(but I, like you prefer to SLEEP at night with a clear conscience)
Great post...short and sweet.
You stay safe down there.
I get a "feed the pig" email once a week.. there is some calculator that figures out the percentage of taxes you pay - state, local, federal, down to even including the tax you pay in gas! http://www.feedthepig.org/node/43582 is the link to the thing.
ReplyDeleteEBT cards are ... well.. I was watching Them Idiots Whirled Tour.. with Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall, and Larry the Cable Guy. Bill Engvall was talking about how he would treat homeless people. See all this trash by the sides of the roads? Have them pick up the trash. Give em jobs by picking up trash. He said the lawyer asked "isn't that kind of demeaning?" he said "they're homeless - its a step up!" to which I totally agree.
What we need are more GOOD cops and less bad. Cato has a new thing - misdeeds of cops - over at their blog - lots of drunk driving, misdeeds, etc. The good cops need to band together and get RID of the losers in their ranks. Used to be a cop was the good guy.
Sorry, but you seem to have a fundamentally misunderstanding of math. You said, "...if everyone paid a flat 18%, wouldn't we end up with the same amount..." The simple answer is no. Let me show you why: According to the chart you posted, someone with an income of between $1,000,000 and $1,500,000 pays 29.4% in federal taxes, so someone earning exactly $1 million pays $294,000 in taxes. A person earning $25,000 and $30,000 pays 9.7% in taxes, so someone making exactly $25,000 pays $2,425. So, for our example those two individuals pay a combined $296,425 in taxes.
ReplyDeleteNow, let's see what happens to that combined total if both were taxed at a flat rate of 18%. Well, 18% of $1,000,000 is $180,000 and 18% of $25,000 is $4,500, so those same two individuals would pay a combined $184,500 under a flat tax of 18%.
Thus, as the math shows, just because the average of all the tax rates is about 18%, that does not mean that a flat tax of 18% would result in equal revenues. Again, I'm not trying to be rude at all - I just wanted to point out the fallacy of your argument so that you can reanalyze what you posted from a mathematically-sound perspective.
well, being I suck at math.. lol. Sorry for taking so long to reply to you Anonymous. The main thing about the flat 18%, would be those that don't pay anything, or get more back than what was withheld.. will *finally* be "paying their fair share". You may like Iowahawk's blog post about "feed your family for 10 billion a day" http://iowahawk.typepad.com/iowahawk/2011/03/feed-your-family-on-10-billion-a-day.html
ReplyDelete