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Thread: Taxes

  1. #31
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    Something like 60% of the population is employed. Paying for a single payer system by putting the entire burden on a payroll tax while at the same time eliminating any subsidies they get though employers would almost certainly increase their combined out of pocket and tax burden substantially; although I would think the non-working population would be very satisfied with the situation.
    of course being that the working and non-working population are probably overwhelmingly the EXACT SAME people at different times in life (sure there are exceptions, grown kids that never leave the basement, kept women that never do a days paid labor, well at least their hard-working benefactors will breath a much welcome sign of relief - and they deserve it! But *overwhelmingly* they are the exact same people). So, I guess we will have to go with people will be very satisfied with the situation or at least neutral being that the working population IS the non-working population.

    P.S. what does 60% of the population is employed even mean? In jobs with health insurance, or gig and contract work without it? What does working actually mean?
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  2. #32
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    Quote Originally Posted by iris lilies View Post
    your brother—was his income lower than yours?
    Hardly. He wrote a check for a $70k pickup, as an example. Self-employed farmers have a knack for 100% writeoffs and "losses". Tax attorney and accountant team kept his tax rate nominal or non-existent some years.

  3. #33
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    Quote Originally Posted by LDAHL View Post
    It accounts for 26% of federal spending. Federal spending comes from taxes and debt that will ultimately need to be serviced from taxes. The Medicare tax is just another tax. Surpluses and deficits in the Medicare “trust fund” are merely IOUs the government writes to itself and funds with taxes. Calling different taxes by different names does not mean that the 26% those programs represent of federal spending isn’t funded by federal taxes.
    My point is that the primary source for these programs is NOT federal income tax we pay. They are separate payroll taxes paid by the worker and the employer.

  4. #34
    Yppej
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    Quote Originally Posted by LDAHL View Post
    Something like 60% of the population is employed. Paying for a single payer system by putting the entire burden on a payroll tax while at the same time eliminating any subsidies they get though employers would almost certainly increase their combined out of pocket and tax burden substantially; although I would think the non-working population would be very satisfied with the situation.

    It’s hard for me to believe the difference for working people would be made up by a series of managerial miracles. Rationing healthcare, increased wait times, etc. more stringently than people with employer-provided care are used to will also provoke a reaction.
    Most people under 65 get their insurance through employer plans. A large portion of the 40% not working get their coverage through employer provided family plans, for which the worker is already paying. Will children be "very satisfied" with a payroll tax funding mechanism? I don't think your typical 3 year old will care.

  5. #35
    Senior Member iris lilies's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gardnr View Post
    Hardly. He wrote a check for a $70k pickup, as an example. Self-employed farmers have a knack for 100% writeoffs and "losses". Tax attorney and accountant team kept his tax rate nominal or non-existent some years.
    I dont really understand all of the perks of business writeoffs, but DH had a sole propietorship business and I didnt see the cash roll in from that. In my gubmnt job I usually made 1.5 to 3 times his money.

    He “wrote off” mileage on his modest pickup truck. One time he “Wrote off” the cost of a point and shoot camera because he had a rash of building Permits to file with the city and they require photos.

    I think it is great that your brother built a business of that magnitude and he can retire based on those fruits of his labor.

  6. #36
    Yppej
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    IL were you a head librarian? You seem to have done very well for yourself, and most librarians I know do not make a lot.

  7. #37
    Senior Member iris lilies's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yppej View Post
    IL were you a head librarian? You seem to have done very well for yourself, and most librarians I know do not make a lot.
    Not head. A managerial job.

  8. #38
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gardnr View Post
    My point is that the primary source for these programs is NOT federal income tax we pay. They are separate payroll taxes paid by the worker and the employer.
    And imposed by the federal government. I think it’s legitimate to include them in the federal spending total.

  9. #39
    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    When it comes to the perceived outlandishness of the THOUGHT of taxing extremely wealthy people a SMALL FRACTION in addition to what they are paying, here's a calculator that puts dollars and cents to what the extremely wealthy would have to pay under Warren's plan.

    https://elizabethwarren.com/calculat...e=soc-WB-ew-tw

    This is nothing more than a small tax adjustment. This is not the proletariate seizing the homes of the bourgouisie. And what it would do for good is to even out the playing field for people who, in their humanity, are no better or worse than people who happen to have billions of dollars. Is Jeff Bezos a qualitatively better person than Teacher Terry? Is Bill Gates a qualitatively better person than Alan? These people made their money on the backs of people like Alan. And jp1. And bae. And me. This is not a big ask. We are all in this together. If a tiny increase in taxes from a tiny % of the population will prevent people from dying, why not?
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
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  10. #40
    Simpleton Alan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by catherine View Post
    This is not the proletariate seizing the homes of the bourgouisie.
    No but it's similar and I'm glad to see an example of someone's possessions rather than just money being used as an example, even though they're the same. It's more like deciding that someone has a bigger garden than you so you'll vote yourself a greater share of theirs, or someone has an extra bedroom so you'd like the government to force them to allow you to move in or their car has a comfortable back seat so you'd like to legislate a ride to work from them. If I run into a billionaire in a movie theater how much of their popcorn am I entitled to?

    Is Jeff Bezos a qualitatively better person than Teacher Terry? Is Bill Gates a qualitatively better person than Alan?
    I don't get the whole 'better person' thing. In my mind the better person is the one unconcerned with the possessions of others.

    These people made their money on the backs of people like Alan. And jp1. And bae. And me.
    I don't think it was on my back, those two made their money from my voluntary participation in their endeavors. I consider myself a beneficiary of their efforts, not a victim.
    "Things should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler." ~ Albert Einstein

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