Alright, I am definitely not at a point in my life where I am paying a mortgage or anything but why is everyone so against a tax increase? I mean it seems as though people would have a conniption if the govt. raised taxes by 25 cents. I'm paying for school/bills by working and I think that I could withstand an extra percent or two. Everyone always wants more for less but how far can that go?

1/31/2010 11:30:22 PM

because we already pay a fuckton of taxes already

1/31/2010 11:32:46 PM

just raise taxes on the rich. they're the ones with all the money and benefiting most from society.

1/31/2010 11:37:50 PM

in 2009, i paid the government $16,421.52 in taxes

all this was taken before i saw the paycheck

luckily my state doesn't tax my income

and fyi this doesn't include the sales tax i (and anyone living in a state w sales tax) pay on everything i buy

i have no problem paying taxes, i do have a problem with wasteful spending and shit like that

and as far as how much i'll get back on my taxes, maybe like $2000 and only because i own a house

oh and speaking of my house, i paid around $2,000 in random taxes for that too, you know sidewalks, schools, the library etc.

so i'd say i'm pretty against a tax increase as i feel like i'm already paying a pretty fair share for ONE person

1/31/2010 11:41:14 PM

because we already pay a fuckton of taxes already


perhaps you'll understand when you earn a salary of $50,000/yr but bring home $37,000/yr. then the next year you get a pay cut and taxes go up. so you are earning a salary of $45,000/yr but bring home $33,000.

1/31/2010 11:41:29 PM

It's not THAT much comparatively. If you want shit to happen, what is an extra % to each individual? I mean I don't understand this attitude that the govt. just takes. Some shit has gotta take place pretty soon that needs to be paid for and its not just something we can all shirk off by saying that we don't agree with someones political platform.

1/31/2010 11:45:30 PM

NCSUWolfy 16.5k in taxes is almost what I make in a year. Im sure if I could take it you could take it. I dunno, I mean, like you said wasteful spending sucks, but it seems like a pretty simple thing to do to raise some national funds.

1/31/2010 11:53:43 PM

ok

how about a lifetime cap on the years you're allowed to be on welfare so people don't use it as a lifestyle

or giving prisoners a bill for their room & board & an opportunity to work it off

i dont think you understand that there are a lot of people out there who don't pay taxes because they don't make enough. but these people get all the benefits the rest of us get (sometimes more)

i say no taxes, no voting rights. fuck, felons aren't allowed to vote [depending on the state] at least we got that one kind of right.

we have a system that works for some people, shuts out others who actually need it and benefits people who know how to abuse it. nothing is perfect but jesus fuck...

the people who actually make money end up spending time figuring out ways to pay less tax or paying someone else to do it for them. and thats a shame too because these "rich" people end up paying very little tax, which isn't fair either.

^ i dont think i understand your statement.. that what i paid in taxes is equal to your income and that if you can take it, i can too?

[Edited on January 31, 2010 at 11:55 PM. Reason : ksjdkjdf]

1/31/2010 11:54:01 PM

1/31/2010 11:54:07 PM

I just think it's hard for us to realize that democracy is a give/take relationship. I don't agree with some of the stuff this pres. is saying....I'm talking in general.

1/31/2010 11:57:23 PM

Quote :

""

1/31/2010 11:58:30 PM

Quote :

""

1/31/2010 11:59:08 PM

Heh sry, it seems like I'm arguing with you but I'm not trying to. I posted this to get some opinions. I completely agree with the bit about rich paying very little. Everyone should punch a billionaire in the eye.

2/1/2010 12:02:09 AM

Need TWWers for the official "Punch a Billionaire in the Eye" movement.

2/1/2010 12:02:49 AM

WHaaaaaaa?
The top 1% pay for nearly half of the total taxes, and have nearly 40% of their income involuntarily removed.

2/1/2010 12:07:36 AM

Quote :

"Alright, I am definitely not at a point in my life where I am paying a mortgage or anything but why is everyone so against a tax increase? ...Everyone always wants more for less but how far can that go?"

Raising taxes hurts individual citizens.
Not everyone wants more. I want less. I want this business of the federal government interfering with the freedom of its people, and the economy, needs to stop.

Quote :

"I just think it's hard for us to realize that democracy is a give/take relationship"

Our government was set up to be a representative republic, not a democracy, and we should strive to keep it a republic.


Also,

Quote :

""

Quote :

"Everyone should punch a billionaire in the eye."

I'd punch you in the eye before a billionaire.

[Edited on February 1, 2010 at 12:09 AM. Reason : -]

2/1/2010 12:08:20 AM

2/1/2010 12:32:34 AM

Quote :

"NCSUWolfy 16.5k in taxes is almost what I make in a year. Im sure if I could take it you could take it. I dunno, I mean, like you said wasteful spending sucks, but it seems like a pretty simple thing to do to raise some national funds."

ninja please, GTFO with stupid shit like that.

2/1/2010 12:41:56 AM

Americans pay next to nothing in taxes. I swear they take away over half your paycheck in Japan

2/1/2010 1:05:43 AM

^ The "it-can-always-be-worse" school of thought has to stop.

2/1/2010 1:15:34 AM

the highest tax rate in the US was >90% until 1964 and it didn't drop below 70% until the reagan years, so bitching about 35% being too high seems a bit silly

[Edited on February 1, 2010 at 1:54 AM. Reason : paging tsb]

2/1/2010 1:53:21 AM

Lots of people getting trolled in this thread

2/1/2010 2:11:08 AM

^^ A graph to illustrate said point:



[Edited on February 1, 2010 at 5:59 AM. Reason : pictourssz!!!!]

2/1/2010 5:59:11 AM

Anyone that replied to this guy seriously after his third or fourth post should be ashamed at falling for this blatant troll baiting. Either that, or you're arguing with a first class moron and should be equally ashamed.

2/1/2010 7:17:31 AM

This is turning too Soap Boxy. Too many statements to refute.

Quote :

"i have no problem paying taxes, i do have a problem with wasteful spending and shit like that"

State governments who have taken the time to comb through their budgets line by line, item by item have done an excellent job with reducing wasteful spending. North Carolina's is here: http://www.osbm.state.nc.us/ncosbm/osbm_library/superpubs/bgt0911.shtm

If you as a citizen have a strong enough concern, go through this and talk to your representative.

Quote :

"Some shit has gotta take place pretty soon that needs to be paid for and its not just something we can all shirk off by saying that we don't agree with someones political platform."

This was actually one of the key points of the State of the Union address, that people have lost faith/trust in the US government due to partylines and special interests, and will take a long while to rebuild. Biggest issue was one of a need for cultural change within politics to make it happen. Good luck with that.

Btw, to the original poster, two things that will make you reconsider taxes:
- If you get to a point in your life where you are living on a shoestring budget and are unsure if you can afford to spend $10 (I was there freshmen year).
- When you do want to start planning long-term, via home or family or whatever.

2/1/2010 7:24:33 AM

The only reason increasing taxes seems necessary is because of out of control government spending. As it stands right now, the government just borrows money. Then, when we're 14 trillion in debt, they want a way out. It would have been better to never dig that hole in the first place. If the federal government stuck to what it's allowed to do, as defined by the constitution, we wouldn't need sky high taxes. We could have a relatively low tax, across the board, that would take care of instructure and national defense.

They could raise taxes to 100% for everyone, and we still wouldn't be able to pay off our debt. It would continue to spiral out of control. In order for the economy to grow, we need to maximize the amount of money that people have to save and invest. Unfortunately, that isn't how our government sees it. When they see increased savings and decreased spending, that screams recession to them. They'll do anything to "jump start" spending again. That's been the intent of the Fed. They keep rates low, which discourages saving and encourages borrowing. This results in a gross misallocation of resources.

During the "boom," the nation as a whole lived big. We spent way more than we should have. It was a big boom, and now we're in the big bust. You can't legislate your way out of a recession/depression. Every time the government throws another stimulus at the recession, it makes things worse.

2/1/2010 8:39:56 AM

dad told me last week that he loses 51% of his income to taxes. that's crap

2/1/2010 8:42:45 AM

Obama's budget that was just sent in calls for payments of $250.00 to all social security recipients

why the fuck should we give them EXTRA money? I didn't get a god damned raise either.

2/1/2010 8:45:12 AM

you can keep increasing income taxes on whoever you think isn't paying their fair share, and the government will find a way to spend more.

Also, the whole bit on increasing income taxes on the wealthy doesn't make any sense. We don't tax wealth. We tax income. Wealth and income are orthogonal concepts, but simpletons like ladysman3621 and mambatroll can't be expected to understand these things.



[Edited on February 1, 2010 at 8:55 AM. Reason : a]

2/1/2010 8:55:12 AM

perhaps wealth should be taxed... to the point where becoming wealthy is no longer an advantage, and we can all live in a happy society where everyone is truly equal.

2/1/2010 8:57:25 AM

I think that's the goal. If there isn't anyone around to stand up for liberty, that's eventually what will happen, with the left hailing it as "a human rights victory."

2/1/2010 8:59:12 AM

IBANIMALFARM

2/1/2010 9:13:48 AM

It's funny how the first thing anyone brings up with regards to "wasteful government spending" is welfare. What about the fucking military?

2/1/2010 9:15:21 AM

Quote :

"people have lost faith/trust in the US government due to partylines and special interests, and will take a long while to rebuild"

This country will completely fail long before the people trust the government again

2/1/2010 9:19:31 AM

^^ agreed.

Since it's a "matter of national security", they don't even have to tell us how the money is spent.

methinks that tag gets applied way more than is necessary to hide what the fuck they are doing whether it has anything to do with national security or not.

2/1/2010 9:20:44 AM

less money for government = less government

2/1/2010 9:48:28 AM

How about we stop exporting so much industry to other countries and coming to the aid of everyone with a problem.

2/1/2010 9:58:22 AM

^

2/1/2010 10:08:05 AM

2/1/2010 10:08:10 AM

It's true that we (U.S. businesses) are exporting industry to other countries. We could make it illegal for them to do that. It wouldn't solve our problems, though. We have to figure out why businesses are choosing to operate overseas, rather than here. It's not coincidence. It's because their operation costs overseas are a fraction of what they would be here. Corporate taxes and regulation compliance costs are so high here that it's pretty difficult to make a profit. If we want businesses to come here and stay here, we should make sure that we have a competitive environment in which to do so.

2/1/2010 10:12:54 AM

^^That.

^That.

and this

Quote :

"How about we stop... ...coming to the aid of everyone with a problem."

[Edited on February 1, 2010 at 10:15 AM. Reason : -]

2/1/2010 10:14:32 AM

Quote :

"It's because their operation costs overseas are a fraction of what they would be here. Corporate taxes and regulation compliance costs are so high here that it's pretty difficult to make a profit. Their people work for $5/day."

2/1/2010 10:18:22 AM

Quote :

"Their people work for $5/day."

Their people are happy as can be about that. What is your point?

2/1/2010 10:21:11 AM

^ That the cost difference is due to the bolded part more than the struck through part. Didn't think it was that complicated to grasp.

2/1/2010 10:23:45 AM

There's lots of low-skilled labor in the United States that would like to find a job working for 5 dollars. By the time the government finishes its screwing over of the economy, the average American will be working for less than that in terms of real wages anyway.

Oops, read that as 5 dollars an/hour. No, no one here would work for 5 dollars a day, because that buys hardly anything here.

[Edited on February 1, 2010 at 10:26 AM. Reason : ]

2/1/2010 10:24:07 AM

and who is to say that $5/day isn't sufficient to some people? do they have food, water, and shelter? probably.

2/1/2010 10:24:20 AM

Quote :

"That the cost difference is due to the bolded part more than the struck through part."

Not quite. If we got rid of minimum wage and some child labor laws (regulation compliance) we could keep some jobs over here instead of exporting them.

2/1/2010 10:27:20 AM

Quote :

"we could keep some jobs over here"

Like?

2/1/2010 10:31:57 AM

Quote :

"Alright, I am definitely not at a point in my life where I am paying a mortgage or anything but why is everyone so against a tax increase? I mean it seems as though people would have a conniption if the govt. raised taxes by 25 cents. I'm paying for school/bills by working and I think that I could withstand an extra percent or two. Everyone always wants more for less but how far can that go?"

because, like the rest of us, the government needs to learn to live WITHIN ITS MEANS. as long as they keep asking for more and we keep giving, blindly, they will always take.

further, the government uses your tax money to fund programs to build their own political base.

I would be a lot more apt to pay an increase if I saw exactly what the money was going for, if the tax increase funded something specific then went back down when it was paid for, and if EVERYONE paid an income tax in the first place.

2/1/2010 10:36:49 AM

I remember not all that long ago when the combined sales tax was something like 5.75%. Now it's pushing what, 8%? How'd the government even function on such a pittance a few years ago? Maybe they raised the rate due to inflation? Oh, wait...

2/1/2010 10:38:27 AM