Wednesday morning links

"The poor don't pay enough taxes"

I think this is true. It makes no sense that so many people get a free ride while enjoying record levels of welfare and free stuff. It makes good sense for the poor and every adult to have some skin in the game. It is an interesting fact that when various cities implemented a soda tax that the poor using food stamps to buy soda were exempt. Think about that if you do not yet understand that there are two Americas; the entitled and the workers. More than likely you are one of the workers and you need to keep working because the entitled want more free stuff.

#1 GoneWithTheWind on 2017-11-08 10:06 (Reply)

Slavery is alive and well in the US. Workers pay taxes to support the lifestyles of those who don't or can't. To keep those who are supported in need, they raise the benefits enough that it is impractical to get off the gravy train and get a job because it would be a pay cut.

#1.1 mudbug on 2017-11-08 11:29 (Reply)

Disagree. We should all get a 'free ride,' in my opinion. I want income taxes GONE. Would rather have us rely on business tax (competitive one would reap in huge amounts of cash), cutting federal government, and using trade as our money-maker. I want that 0% rate (if that's what you want to call it) to continue to go up and up and up until almost everyone is NOT paying taxes.

And, yes, the poor do pay taxes. They pay into Social Security and Medicare, they pay gas taxes and sales taxes...and then end up on food stamps and welfare. So are you saying you want MORE taxation of the poor so more of them qualify for gov't help? It makes NO sense whatsoever.

I would love a future when personal income taxes are gone. Or maybe we all pay one affordable chunk - like $100 a year. Yes, I'm serious. We are a rich country. We are a prosperous country, but we are allowing the federal government to come after us as individuals...with the power to jail us if we don't pay our 'fair share' of taxes as required by law. NOT GOOD.

#1.2 MissT on 2017-11-08 11:32 (Reply)

I want 0 taxes too, but that's not practical. Business taxes are just paid by customers. They are a cost of doing business. Raise them and watch more companies become foreign either by moving their headquarters or by being bought by foreign companies. For the record, I'd prefer 0 tax on business.

As for the poor not paying their fair share - they aren't. Tax laws should impinge on everyone. Again for the record, I would prefer a sales tax where everybody would get a rebate for taxes paid on necessities. One benefit is that criminals would pay taxes for a change. Another is that the IRS, and all its intrusiveness, would be abolished or reformed to a sales tax collection operation. I'd also like to cut most federal spending.

The fact that the poor pay gas, FICA, Medicare, sales taxes is immaterial. Those taxes are earmarked for specific programs or uses unlike income taxes which are the primary vehicle for funding the government.

#1.2.1 mudbug on 2017-11-08 11:44 (Reply)

Lower business tax would help out consumers. We are at 35% now, they are wanting to set it at 20%, and Trump wants 15%. That would not only generate MORE business tax in this country (as we would attract many many companies to establish themselves here), consumers would benefit as well.

The one time 'fee' or whatever you want to call is for businesses with money parked overseas - which is in the TRILLIONS. We do not need to tax the poor in this country. And to keep stating that people making a pittance should be coughing up dough to support a huge federal government is just WRONG.

Especially when these poor will just get more BACK from the government if you continue with personal income tax. Have you heard of the Earned Income Tax credit? The idea that we need the poor to 'pay something' when they really would pay in and then get more back then they pay in is just dumb thinking.

GET RID OF THE TAX CODE for the majority of Americans. Period.

#1.2.1.1 MissT on 2017-11-08 13:26 (Reply)

Business taxes are just paid by customers. They are a cost of doing business. Raise them and watch more companies become foreign either by moving their headquarters or by being bought by foreign companies.

Such subjective poppycock permeates conservatism. as if in the land of a million laws one cannot be written repatriating corporate profits, of all things. We can tax everything but to the ostensible conservative, we must never tax the Entity Formerly Known as Public for that is the Dreaded Zero Sum Problem that shall Crash the Economy.

Instead let's transform legislative influence-peddling into "free speech" and make lobbyists owners of the voters' representatives and writers of laws. Conservativism! Madison! Jefferson!

#1.2.1.2 Meh on 2017-11-08 14:41 (Reply)

Whatever... A company's taxes are just another expense like labor and materials. All expenses are paid form the income generated by the business activity the company engages in.

#1.2.1.2.1 mudbug on 2017-11-08 15:02 (Reply)

No, not whatever at all. You're taking the conditional, apparently ends-justified view that either states or allows that 1) taxes necessarily fund govt, 2) that citizenship is predicated on servitude, 3) that the corporation is higher than he and should be freer, 4) that personal income equates legally as corporate profit, and 5) that these conflicts are legitimized by company bottom lines.

1) They do not, 2) citizens are not subjects, 3) it is most certainly not - quite the opposite, 4) wages are not profits, and 5) that's a zero sum game.

I'm sure you have your reasons. They just don't agree with original structuralism or conservatism.

#1.2.1.2.1.1 Meh on 2017-11-08 15:18 (Reply)

What I state has nothing to do with conservatism or leftism. It is just math. Nothing in your post disputes what I said vis a vis corporate taxes.

#1.2.1.2.1.1.1 mudbug on 2017-11-08 16:21 (Reply)

If it's just math then anything goes. Which indeed has nothing to do with conservatism. But it's not just math; it's not even good arithmetic.

You're also promoting a zero sum game, something the right never abides when the left does is.

Maybe we should be asking ourselves what we fear more, the welfare state or the corporatocracy. They end up in the same place; just the names are changed.

#1.2.1.2.1.1.1.1 Meh on 2017-11-08 16:44 (Reply)

Here is a better idea. Lobbying expenses should not be deductible business expenses, and sghould be taxed to foundations whch have found some way to hide political expenses. Any union political expenses should be passed through to the union members as "income", which union members must pay tax on. Ordinary taxpayers don't get to deduct "contributions" to congresscritters.

Of course, bribes and "insider deals" with congress critters should be made criminal. (congress has excluded itself from insider trading laws, which corruption should be corrected).

#1.2.1.2.2 jaybird on 2017-11-08 15:52 (Reply)

But M T, all rightists know personal income tax is like citizenship. Can't play if you don't pay, just like in the federalist papers or something.

#1.2.2 Meh on 2017-11-08 14:35 (Reply)

“the poor do pay taxes. They pay into Social Security and Medicare, they pay gas taxes and sales taxes”

Shouldn’t they? Shouldn’t everyone? Hopefully you understand that the working poor pay all of those taxes. The “recumbent” poor on welfare pay almost no taxes and certainly no taxes on their income. Shouldn’t they? If a “poor” welfare recipient receives in excess of $40,000 in direct payments and benefits shouldn’t they pay something in taxes? If a working stiff made $40k they would pay in excess of $10k in federal, state, local and FICA taxes. Why should the welfare recipient pay nothing and continue to live of the rest of us?

“So are you saying you want MORE taxation of the poor…”

No! Equality and fairness. We are dividing the nation up into a caste system where some get everything free with zero responsibility and others must pay up or face jail if they do not. Everyone should pay taxes, no one should get a free ride.

#1.2.3 GoneWithTheWind on 2017-11-08 18:07 (Reply)

Behold the brave new face of progressive conservatism.

#1.2.3.1 Meh on 2017-11-09 12:58 (Reply)

Israel: When intersectionality is raised in opposition to planting trees, I consider the oppo to be so ignorant as to be unbelievable.

#2 Sam L. on 2017-11-08 12:10 (Reply)

http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/268309/allahu-akbar-motive-islamic-terror-daniel-greenfield

#3 jake on 2017-11-08 12:30 (Reply)

Re: Journos bribed to push "Russian Collusion" fake news...

QUOTE:

As Russia-gate continues to buffet the Trump administration, we now know that the “scandal” started with Democrats funding the original dubious allegations of Russian interference...

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-11-07/huffpo-yanks-article-russiagate-hysteria-award-winning-journalist-joe-lauria-%E2%80%93-so-he

More proof it was an op all the way down.

#4 drowningpuppies on 2017-11-08 16:29 (Reply)

Gang of Z must be taking the day off.

#5 Sam L. on 2017-11-08 17:02 (Reply)

No, he cloned into meh.

#5.1 jma on 2017-11-09 06:59 (Reply)

Rafi Letzter is an idiot. "The subatomic discovery that physicists considered keeping secret" shows no understanding whatever of what's going on. Matter/antimatter interaction isn't a new finding. The only reason for keeping the "discovery" secret is that, as finally referenced in the last paragraph, this is a prediction (of a new type of boson, though Rafi doesn't understand this), and not an experimental discovery.
I say idiot, and not ignorant, because Rafi had the opportunity to have it explained; and presumably the opportunity to run the article by the scientists--and seems to have skipped both.

#6 James the lesser (Link) on 2017-11-09 22:10 (Reply)

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Wednesday, November 8. 2017

Wednesday morning links