Redistribution of Wealth

[cobra bill]

I think I'm beginning to understand your disdain for people, I am, as you guys no a liberal, I have never collected any kind of government hand out nor has any of my family, I grew up with 6 brothers and 1 sister, and both parents worked, and most people I know living around me are the same, I'm sure there are people like you described around, they are no doubt every ware but most of the liberals as well as conservatives that I know are hardworking honest people, I don't know what percentage of people are as you described, but I like to think that most Americans are honest hard working people that love there country! Yes we do have a difference in ideology, but we are still all Americans that love our country and only want what's best for it.
This idea of the redistribution of wealth is a bit a red herring, the only people that would get a cut in taxes is people that pay taxes, now some are saying that they will get a return, even if they don't pay federal taxes, but everyone that works, pays federal income tax, some that don't make enough get it back, but that's the ones below the poverty level. Have any of you ever tried to live on that amount of money? I know a lot of senior citizens that are forced to go back to work and do it for minimum wage just to survive! These are still hard working people and deserve some compassion, its the same for the youth, how many of you like me worked and went to college on a minimum wage
job? Well that cannot be done anymore, When I grew up most families only had to have, one income, my parents wanted to buy a business, so both worked hard and achieved there goals, but with the price of everything it's no longer a reality. Two incomes are the norm and even that is not enough to get ahead, much less to even stay afloat. Now I know you would all agree that we should all be responsible for ourselves, and I agree with that, but even the little guy need help with that and if not having him pay as much in taxes as someone that is well off then I think its only right, we have run our debt up to the point ware it is out of control, and it needs to be paid down! I think Bush made a huge mistake asking Americans to just go shop and not sacrifice in anyway or form, and we would just put it on a credit card! Well its time to pay, that card down, and if that means that top 5 percent of hard working Americans have to pay more, they have benefited more! Over the last 30 years that we have been lowering taxes for them.
If 5% of the population have 50% the nations wealth, then its high time they pay for all that they have benefited from.
If we allow the less fortunate to keep more of there money then the wealthy it will only benefit the economy, if as they say is true, and I have no reason to doubt it, 95% of wage earners had more money to spend, and they will, it will almost all go back into the economy and those that are already running those small business are going to see more profits as well, the way it works is from the bottom up, not the top down when 95% put into the economy, its way better then 5% and will turn around the economy much faster!

[wtm442]

Originally Posted by cobra bill

and if that means that top 5 percent of hard working Americans have to pay more, they have benefited more! Over the last 30 years that we have been lowering taxes for them.

Wrong! The taxes on the top earners have been a lot lower than they are now. Just how have the top 5% benefited more? By paying more tax dollars than the bottom 50% of all wage earners? How is that a benefit?

Love your economics ... must be the new math they teach in school, because I have absolutely no idea how the top 5% of the taxpayers have benefited by paying a much higher percent of their income as compared to the other 95% of the population.

Of course, the will benefit even higher % of their income under Obama. No class warfare for him. Attack the rich and all the nasty corporations in the country. Get them all. Round them up and make them benefit by paying higher taxes. Oh, wait a minute ... US corporations pay the second highest tax rate in the world. But when Obama gets elected, we will be #1 in the world! OK, everybody chant. USA, We're #1, USA, USA. But what will the companies do? They will send more jobs overseas because the stupid tax policy favors the company doing business overseas as compared to doing everything here in the USA.

Remember, paying taxes is the patriotic thing to do.

Of course, it might help him get elected by instilling hate in the lower 95%, but it will just make a bad economic situation worse. Most of the stock declines we are seeing now in the last month or so are due to investors not knowing what is going to happen in the future if Obama is elected.

If anyone has any investment that has made a lot of "capital gains", prepare to sell it no matter who is elected. Obama will be raising the cap gains tax rate so you will want to sell it before the increase. But if McCain is elected, he has talked about maybe decreasing the cap gain tax by 50% for a year or so. Again, it would be a perfect time to sell with the lower tax rate.

[DAVID GAGNARD]

I'm from a middle/middle class family with four siblings that grew up in small town America, pop. about 4,000 then, still live there and love it.

According to the papers the United States Social Security Admin. has been sending me for the last few years, I began paying federal income tax, social security tax and whatever else they take out of a check since AGE 14 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and still do to this day, BTW, I'm now 53..........

I had a part time job at T,G&Y (remember those stores) worked every afternoon after school and all day saturdays and volunteered every third sunday to do the floors. By the time I graduted high school, I had bought and payed for a meduim size trailer house and had it set-up on some proerty my dad had, and had about 5 grand in a savings account and money in a checking account. Rode my bicycle to work even as a senior in high school cause that's the only wheels I had.
From 1977 to 1994 I ALWAYS had 2 jobs and my wife worked full time also, even then, I also did small engine and outboard motor repair in my garage at home in the evenings.... In 1994, I went into business for myself and still have the business today, I'm a one-man show, from boss to janitor and everything in-bewteen....
Don't regret a minute of it. I average from 60 to 70 hours a week and I'm not complaining, I love my job and work, but, PLEASE TELL ME WHY I HAVE TO GIVE IT TO THE LESS FORTUNATE, you know, the ones THAT WILL NOT WORK FOR A LIVING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Both my parents worked hard to send their 5 kids to college, 3 finished with honors, one did 2 years and one did one year, not everyone is cut out for it, but they worked their butts off for us, no handouts or anything like that.......

My older sister got married her sophmore year in college, and a year later had a child, her husband spent his summer vacation working offshore in the Gulf Of Mexico in the oil fields so they could go back to college the next fall, my sister and her child lived with us during those summer months and she had a part-time job.
Their senior year in school (LSU) things were hard for them, so, she applied for and got food stamps, did so for a year, then they both graduted with honors (she was a double major), both got very good paying jobs and became model, tax paying citizens and still are doing the same to this day... that's what those programs were designed for, to help needy people, not create a lifestyle!!!!!!!!!

Every Sunday morning you can find me in church at the 8:00am mass (Roman Catholic), after mass I go to the grocery store and get groceries for my family for the week..... It never fails, there will be at least one welfare mother with a herd of kids in tow and 2 or 3 buggies full of food, the kind of food I rarely buy, cuase I can't afford it, then she pulls out the welfare card, swipes it, and goes load her groceries in her Escalade, while I'm loading my measly half a buggy of groceries in my 10 year old Toyota!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AND YOU WANT ME TO HELP RE-DISTRIBUTE THE WEALTH???????? My wealth?????????? Sorry, NO CAN DO...............

How much was your check for the "stimulus package"???????? Mine was half the quoted amount, they sent a letter with it saying it was based on my income and that's all I was allowed, but people that never worked a day in their life got the full amount!!!!!!!!!!

You tax the middle and upper middle class and the top class enough and one day there will be another civil war here....people are quickly getting fed up with the give-a-aways and hand outs and one day there are going to quit paying taxes........enough is enough........

Phew, I know this is long, but, I do feel better now............

David