I fucking quit. I honestly don’t know why I even waste my time.
By the way, I didn’t say that because the views don’t agree with mine, I said it because this thread went from a legitimate intellectual discussion between informed people to a shit show where people who didn’t even read the the thread made the same idiotic comments that were made on page 1.
It accomplishes nothing. It is honestly nothing else but a waste my time to try to bring upper level ideas to a bunch of idiots and expect them to understand what I’m saying. After all, you probably only do whatever Bill O’Reilly says anyway. :picard: :picard: :picard:
No go in this country? It’s been going on for decades!
Guess it all goes back to my prior point…“most of the middle class is too satiated to even realize what’s taking place”
Just because someone is realistic about something doesn’t mean they live in a bubble, at least that’s how I see it.
There have always been cyclical trends as with anything in life. I won’t deny that this country has corruption problems in politics but I don’t think there has ever been a time in its history when it hasn’t. Corruption in the government doesn’t justify socialistic policy though.
That’s why I said entitlement programs need to be scrapped. I don’t have a statistical figure handy but I’d go as far as saying the majority of people on governmental assistance programs are taking advantage of the system because they are born into a society where it is common and they don’t know any better or quite frankly they don’t care.
This sounds like the occupy wallstreet argument about tax loopholes and that the Rich aren’t paying the same amount of federal taxes as the middle class which is simply a fallacy.
All of those people are living in fairy tale land.
The 10% of households with the highest incomes pay more than half of all federal taxes. They pay more than 70% of federal income taxes, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
In 2009, 1,470 households filed tax returns with incomes above $1 million yet paid no federal income tax, according to the Internal Revenue Service. But that’s less than 1% of the nearly 237,000 returns with incomes above $1 million.
This year, households making more than $1 million will pay an average 29.1% of their income in federal taxes, including income taxes, payroll taxes and other taxes, according to the Tax Policy Center, a Washington think tank. Households making between $50,000 and $75,000 will pay an average of 15% of their income in federal taxes.
Lower-income households will pay less. For example, households making between $40,000 and $50,000 will pay an average of 12.5% of their income in federal taxes. Households making between $20,000 and $30,000 will pay 5.7%.
The latest IRS figures are a few years older — and limited to federal income taxes — but show much the same thing. In 2009, taxpayers who made $1 million or more paid on average 24.4% of their income in federal income taxes, according to the IRS.
Those making $100,000 to $125,000 paid on average 9.9% in federal income taxes. Those making $50,000 to $60,000 paid an average of 6.3%.
Only one percent of people that filed returns over a million dollars last year managed to get away without paying federal income tax through some loophole or another.
That’s a pretty minuscule percentage when you look at the big picture. I’m not defending that because in my opinion it isn’t right. All of these uneducated idiots going around spouting off that the wealthy don’t pay their fair share are misinformed though. It’s pretty clear that for the most part the tax structure is progressive. Granted capital gains is another topic but I feel like this post is already long enough.
I mentor some pretty rad kids at South Park High School. Would love for some of them to be able to have some new opportunity because of this.
Honestly guys some of us on here do quite well for ourselves and know we all come from different levels of opportunity. I 100% believe that someone driven enough will do well for themselves but I am also 100% for helping society and helping to create opportunity and inspire change in others as well.
The top 10% may have paid 70% of all taxes collected in DOLLAR terms, but they did not pay their fair share as a percentage of FULL income. The top 10% could even pay 100% of all taxes collected and it still wouldn’t necessarily amount to “fair” taxation, given their access to loopholes and tax havens. The stuff you copy/pasted is flawed logic & fuzzy math, essentially propaganda. Those numbers are limited in scope, for example as I just touched on, they don’t account for the UNtaxed income of big business & elite wealthy. Your numbers don’t account for the CEO’s making $1 on the books while selling the rights to their stock options, often for MILLIONS in UNTAXABLE income! Your numbers don’t account for Google and their Ireland tax haven scam. Certainly Google isn’t alone as far as companies evading FULL taxation, GE is another biggie that comes to mind off the cuff.
This thread has gone so far off on the tangent of economics. But again, I am glad to see a non profit organization trying to help a good cause. I still say the money could be better spent elsewhere in education. The problems stem far below high school, that is for sure (not to say the the high schools are problem free either).
x2 on trade school or a college degree with a fundamental purpose and some tangible social benefit. Or start at the core and begin to give young kids more hope and guidance.
