Quote Originally Posted by peggy View Post
First of all Gregg, you are trying to deflect and misdirect again by saying 'taxing wealth'. No one is talking about confiscation, and you know that. Please don't pretend ignorance. Income is income. Whether that income comes from investments, or flipping burgers, it is still income (that which you did not have at the start of the year and has come into your possession during the year---does that make it more understandable? Do I REALLY need to explain what income is?)
Do I REALLY need to explain to you how the experiment failed? If it worked this conversation wouldn't be happening, would it?


You say the tax system we have has failed because the poorer pay more percentage wise. Well, duh!
That's not even close to what I said, now is it peggy? Time to wake up and smell the bacon. Percentages on the progressive tax scale have nothing to do with it. It's nothing but a political talking point to snag the low information voters. If you REALLY want to get into it you will realize that the EFFECTIVE tax rate is what matters. To everyone. Besides, the working poor don't pay higher percentages than I do or than you probably do. What hurts them is that they don't have enough money left over to achieve a better life. It doesn't make the slightest bit of difference what percentage is taken out of their checks when they can't afford to have ANYTHING taken out.

As far as taxing spending alone, that is but another way to get the 'little people' to pay more tax and let the wealthy get off.
It is EASY to get around that, isn't it peggy? Like bUU said, it's simple to eliminate taxes on necessities. Here in Nebraska there is no sales tax on food. Zero. Poor people spend a much higher percentage of their income on food than rich people do so it is the working poor who derive the most benefit from that approach. It's that simple. And it's pretty much a given that rich people spend more on non-necessities than poor people and so would pay more tax on those categories of goods. It is elegant in it's simplicity unless your tripping point is that eliminating sales tax on ramen noodles means you would have to eliminate it on foie gras as well...