What taxes should we pay?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Sigh. "Gimme the goods, but make somebody else pay for them." Gotta love Republicans.

That's what Republicans say? Frankly, if the whole "make someone else pay" is what you object to, then I'd think you'd be criticizing Democrats moreso than Republicans.

Nope. The republicans are for protecting the rich and letting the middle class pay. After eight years of Bush and six years of a republican controlled congress the middle class has taken a devastating hit.

Worse that that, actually. You can trace the banking crisis back to the deregulation frenzy of the Raygun years. The bailout was needed because the bankers paid the politicians to look the other way.

[Martok]

Seems most Americans think their taxes are fair.

In news that will be bad for activists hoping to start another American Revolution with a series of protests modeled on the Boston Tea Party, a new Gallup Poll finds that a solid majority of American say the income tax they pay is “fair,” and that slightly more than half classify their own tax burden as either “about right” or “too low.”

According to Gallup, their annual April poll on taxes found this year that 48 percent of Americans said the amount of federal income tax they pay is “about right,” 3 percent say it is “too low,” and 46 percent say it is “too high.” (Goldilocks could not be reached for comment.) Gallup notes that this level of support for current tax levels is “one of the most positive assessments Gallup has measured since 1956.” In nearly all past polls, Gallup adds, a majority said their taxes were too high.

This year’s poll also found 61 percent of Americans saying that “they regard the income taxes they have to pay this year as fair.”

Looking at the implications of their findings, Gallup concludes:

As the remaining U.S. tax filers prepare to send their income-tax returns before the April 15 deadline, Gallup finds Americans’ views of their federal income taxes about as positive as at any point in the last 60 years. This may reflect the income-tax cut that was part of the $787 billion economic stimulus plan, as well as a continuing sense of patriotism with the country fighting two wars.

Gallup’s results are based on telephone interviews with 1,027 adults, and have a sampling error or plus or minus three percentage points.

Update | 4:32 p.m. Since a reader raised the question, we should point out that Gallup does break the results down by party identification and by income level, here. In general, this year’s poll finds that “slim majorities of both lower- and middle-income Americans say they pay about the right amount of taxes, while upper-income Americans tend to think they pay too much.” Gallup adds: “As is usually the case, there are partisan differences in views of taxes — most Democrats think the taxes they pay are about right, while most Republicans say their taxes are too high.”

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/0 ... ort-taxes/

[NineOneFour]

Sheesh, what a stupid thread.

First, no one pays 35%. The informed among us know the highest rate actually paid by the richest of Americans is 30.1%.

Second, there is no VAT being proposed. Show me the legislation that has been brought to the floor of the House or the Senate. This is just fearmongering by people who should know better than to read stupid and insane right-wing blogs run by mouthbreathing morons.

Third, the ONLY proposal about letting tax cuts expire is to let them expire on the very rich, people making over $250,000 a year. This will make their top marginal rate go from 35% to 39%, or to put it succinctly - they will pay about 33% in taxes instead of 30.1%. So the real reason anyone is going apeshit is that the top 1% of the nation who makes over $250,000 a year is going to have to pay an extra $7500 in taxes. I mean, shitballs, who gives a flying shit?

Fourth, the very question "How much taxes should we pay?" is a canard designed to piss you off about the taxes you do pay. In fact, we pay very little taxes and in fact have to finance things on our own that people in other countries take for granted. Things like health care, college education, daily transportation, etc. They pay more taxes, but we pay more OVERALL. This just makes people complaining about tax rates look like suckers and if they're complaining about SOMEONE ELSE'S taxes, then their brainwashed, and this is me being kind.

Fifth, taxes actually went down this year. Yes, the ZOMG HE'S A SOCIALIZT COZ HE'S BLACK President Obama actually CUT taxes for 95% of Americans who pay taxes, so those complaining about taxes are actually COMPLAINING ABOUT A TAX CUT they received. Could this get any more ludicrous?

Sixth, bonus taxes are on huge bonuses that are over $125,000 a year, last time I checked. I can only assume those worried about bonus taxes are either uninformed or disingenuous. I'll give them a break and assume the former. Or they are actually receiving bonuses of over $125,000 a year, in which case they should go straight to hell since they are doing better in one bonus check than 95% of Americans.

The lies, deception, and bullshit being peddled from corporate America to fool you into voting and agitating against your best interests are everywhere.

Try thinking for yourselves. Shit, isn't that what atheists are best at? Why put down a Bible only to replace it with the Wall Street Journal editorial page?

For fuck's sake.