Cry me a river

[hoosier]

I'm with Fosco33. Our current tax structure rewards laziness and underachievement. It's not a good situation - even for those milking the system.

Our current tax structure also rewards corporate fatcats (who may or may not be lazy, I have no idea) by giving them preferential treatment. It also favors our car culture by subsidizing roads, highways and gasoline. It's hard to judge who's milking the system and who isn't when people only talk about "entitlement" programs and ignore the fact that income is also affected by government subsidization, and the higher income brackets much more so than the lower. In other words, redistribution doesn't just happen after taxes, it's already happening as soon you or I earn a buck.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Yes, and that's the sad part. It's like they are taking advantage of the people with no self control...that really should be putting the money toward good use.

The rebate is not being sent out for the benefit of the individuals receiving them. It is strictly a device to stimulate the economy.
It doesn't have anything to do with taxes. It isn't supposed to be fair.

[Harlan Huckleby]

I'm with Fosco33. Our current tax structure rewards laziness and underachievement. It's not a good situation - even for those milking the system.

How does laziness & underachievment get rewarded? This is a bizarre statement, not sure what this means. Do you think the people making $12/hour at home depot are lazy, or scamming the system? Specifically who is getting away with laziness?

The biggest injustice in the whole system is the capital gains tax rate. People who make their income from investment pay a lower tax rate than people who earn their income from wages. And no social security taxes are deducted from capital gains!

[Harlan Huckleby]

I want a fair use system - taxation based on utilization! And I want my money for my family first - then yours. That's why we're in a capitalist republic.

Please elaborate on how this would work. This makes no sense to me. One of the biggest federal expenses, if not THE biggest, is Medicare. Are you going to people people for Medicare? By definition, they are old or disabled, that's the purpose of Medicare

[Fosco33]

I'm with Fosco33. Our current tax structure rewards laziness and underachievement. It's not a good situation - even for those milking the system.

Our current tax structure also rewards corporate fatcats (who may or may not be lazy, I have no idea) by giving them preferential treatment. It also favors our car culture by subsidizing roads, highways and gasoline. It's hard to judge who's milking the system and who isn't when people only talk about "entitlement" programs and ignore the fact that income is also affected by government subsidization, and the higher income brackets much more so than the lower. In other words, redistribution doesn't just happen after taxes, it's already happening as soon you or I earn a buck.

I hate corporate tax shelters and these parent companies hiding money in foreign interests.

The gas tax subsidies most of the cost of transportation - although I'd favor revisiting the flat rates for a mileage/miles per gallon use.

I don't agree with the concept of redistribution per se. Yes, society needs to take care of the poor/elderly/sick to some degree. But I think some social programs need to go (or be better managed from a fiscal standpoint).

[Fosco33]

I want a fair use system - taxation based on utilization! And I want my money for my family first - then yours. That's why we're in a capitalist republic.

Please elaborate on how this would work. This makes no sense to me. One of the biggest federal expenses, if not THE biggest, is Medicare. Are you going to people people for Medicare? By definition, they are old or disabled, that's the purpose of Medicare

Social Security and Defense spending were bigger expenditures than Medicare ($440B in '07 vs $260B in '02).

We pay 2.9% of our salary into Medicare (50/50 employee/company - or 100% for entrepreneurs). That 1.45% isn't just 'given away' by business - and based on the company (relative elasticity of supply/demand) - those costs are passed on to consumers (in terms of cost of goods).

By fair use - I mean analyzing things like the following:
1. Property tax for education - huge disparity based on simple geography
2. Gas tax - using miles driven/MPG to pay for transportation (just as I use planes as my primary means of travel - I pay specifically for security/fuel based on usage).
3. Social Security - (e.g., I give away 7.65% of my salary and won't see a dime!). Why can't the gov't let me save for my own retirement - and let me fail/die if I'm not responsible enough to plan for the future?
4. Paying more as a single man w/o children than a married man with two kids (which situation do you think uses more social service) - the US has one of the largest disparities in this regard in the world! So we incent people to have more kids, why? So there's more working people to pay for social programs for those that came before.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicare_(United_States)

Medicare faces continuing financial issues. In its 2006 annual report to Congress, the Medicare Board of Trustees reported that the program's hospital insurance trust fund could run out of money by 2018.

The fundamental problem is that the ratio of workers paying Medicare taxes to retirees drawing benefits is shrinking at the same time that the price of health care services per person is increasing. Currently there are 3.9 workers paying taxes into Medicare for every older American receiving services. By 2030, as the baby boom generation retires, that is projected to drop to 2.4 workers for each beneficiary. Medicare spending is expected to grow by about 7 percent per year for the next 10 years. As a result, the financing of the program is out of actuarial balance, presenting serious challenges in both the short-term and long-term.

Part of the cost of Medicare is fraud, which government auditors estimate costs Medicare billions of dollars a year. The GAO lists Medicare as a "high-risk" government program in need of reform, in part because of its vulnerability to fraud and partly because of its long-term financial problems

[Harlan Huckleby]

I am just confused about what you are advocating. You mention property tax - you want to eliminate them? Social Security - OK, you want to opt out. You don't want people to have tax deductions for kids?? OK, a very simple tax system would be a good idea. I have no idea what you are getting at with Medicare.

I think you're just mad as hell and not gonna take it anymore!

[Fosco33]

I am just confused about what you are advocating. You mention property tax - you want to eliminate them? Social Security - OK, you want to opt out. You don't want people to have tax deductions for kids?? OK, a very simple tax system would be a good idea. I have no idea what you are getting at with Medicare.

I think you're just mad as hell and not gonna take it anymore!

Yeup

The system is way too complex - but that's a truism.

DME Medicare is run (that's medical equipment) is run my the major insurance carriers. I think A/B and maybe C should follow suit. And while Medicare has low admin costs - it needs to be overhauled for fraud and misuse. I'd have to write a 100 pages about it...

As far as property tax - I'm against being taxed for owning land year over year (yes - some state/local/federal tax is needed for fire/police/military - but it needs a limit). I grew up pretty poor - parents sacrificed a lot to send me to private school. But we basically had to pay twice for elementary education. I don't like the fact that kids in downtown Milwaukee and kids in Nicolet area (very close geographically) have such a disparity in opportunity. I think education needs to be privately managed and equally distributed. To pay into the system - I'd take monies being put into other gov't programs.

[Harlan Huckleby]

ya, I agree that paying for schools with local property taxes is nuts. Also, I don't mind school choice, but we do have to keep a commitment to public education. its one of the last shreds that hold the social fabric together.

[the_idle_threat]

And my opinion is just as valid as yours - and the people who you ask, 'cry me a river' have that same right, as well

Fair enough.

Your opinion that you pay too much taxes is just as valid as my opinion that you bitch too much about it as if you're living some kind of hardship, when in fact you're failing to see the big picture that it's a good problem to have.

I can agree with that.