tax burden lowest since 1958

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rolling7 said:
Oh, I have had plenty of those in my years. It is called a learning experience. I've been down on my luck and learn it was my stupid decisions that cause me to be so. I picked myself up and started over....never once have I had government assistance.....hey, they don't allow a deduction for hearing aid batteries. I have also watch my investments go up and down but made moves to protect myself. Since day one I have carried a heavy load of all insurance necessary. I bet you my last dollar I could spit out my door and hit three people walking around without any insurance at all. The drive cars without, they have babies without, they work but have no disability insurance. they have no home insurance. etc. What they do have is a big fancy car, a large cable bill, several phones and a bunch of over-extended charge cards. That is my rude awakening for YOU. Because these folks excpect YOU , me and everyone else to cover for them.
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Let me tell you a story. My parents came from Cuba to America with nothing to flee from Castro. They worked hard and now have good jobs with respectable salaries. They look down on my uncle who barely works, barely provides for his family, cheats on his taxes, drives up a debt in his family, would rather watch TV all day, and so on. And to be frank, rightly so! But see, I'm not going to let my personal grudges against people I know who don't work and are bums affect my objectivity. I'm not going to reduce the complex inner workings of a whole country to this simplistic sentence: "I don't want to give my hard earned money to the poor!"


PS, do you think they don't have insurance because they don't want to? I have a couple of friends who own their own business but their business is not successful enough for them to get their own private insurance. They are really struggling and really afraid to get hurt or sick.

Let me guess what you are going to say: "They just aren't working hard enough!"

That probably would be true when generally labor = $$, but not in modern times. Sometimes you just need talent or intelligence. Working hard enough sometimes isn't enough.
 
jillio said:
Nope, not my way. The way of the the definition of socialism. I didn't decide what the definition is, I just use it properly.
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Then DO use it properly!!! I have stated here time after time again my definition but you continue to hide behind books.. Well read this and weap.

From Webster New College Dictonary
socialism: any of various theories or systems of social organization in which the means of producing and distributing goods is owned collectively or by a centralized government that oftens plans and controls the economy.
 
Daredevel7 said:
Let me tell you a story. My parents came from Cuba to America with nothing to flee from Castro. They worked hard and now have good jobs with respectable salaries. They look down on my uncle who barely works, barely provides for his family, cheats on his taxes, drives up a debt in his family, would rather watch TV all day, and so on. And to be frank, rightly so! But see, I'm not going to let my personal grudges against people I know who don't work and are bums affect my objectivity. I'm not going to reduce the complex inner workings of a whole country to this simplistic sentence: "I don't want to give my hard earned money to the poor!"


PS, do you think they don't have insurance because they don't want to? I have a couple of friends who own their own business but their business is not successful enough for them to get their own private insurance. They are really struggling and really afraid to get hurt or sick.

Let me guess what you are going to say: "They just aren't working hard enough!"

That probably would be true when generally labor = $$, but not in modern times. Sometimes you just need talent or intelligence. Working hard enough sometimes isn't enough.
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In a way I agree with your statement. But let me ask you this. Your "couple of friends" did they have health and life insurance BEFORE they went into business? If so, do they still have them? If you answer yes, that is great for them. A smart person knows not to expand a business beyond the capability of having that business totally covered by insurance. That is how you lose everything, all of your hard sweat-earned investment. If it is not the time because they have less than the needed funds, they can keep on saving and then in the future they can start their business with a much better chance. Not to put down your couple of friends, but many jump into a realy good business with will planning, the idea is great but the planning stinks, and that is one of the reasons of failure.
 
Banjo said:
Socialism supports capitalism to a certain degree and a lot of corporations receive subsidies. Otherwise, why would they have corporate welfare? Not to mention the fact that the oil, corn and farming industries receive subsidies.
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YOU ARE THE MAN!!!!! Thanks for this post, now how about helping me do away with ALL subsidies. Pretty please.
 
.....hey, they don't allow a deduction for hearing aid batteries.
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A minor point, but yeah, they do, actually, IF your health expenditures (including what you pay for insurance) equal more than 7.5% of your Adjusted Gross Income.

It takes a lot of health-related spending to get to that point, obviously, but keep your receipts; you never know. We hit that mark once during a rough year when I had a couple surgeries, and we tossed in all the receipts for new hearing aids, hearing aid batteries, tube changes, etc. as well. It all counts.
 
So are the numbers you gave really as atrocious as it sounds?
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I never said they were atrocious. I said the tax distribution does not support the idea of an over-burdened working class. I think the distribution is probably more or less ok; I don't have a huge problem with it, honestly. I'm ok with the folks making less than $33,000 not paying much.

I take issue with people who are solidly in the middle class moaning about how much they pay in taxes. No one likes taxes, of course, but that's the price you pay for living here with the advantages we have as Americans. You don't like it; move to Costa Rica or Canada or wherever suits your fancy; people do, all the time.
 
Beach girl said:
I never said they were atrocious. I said the tax distribution does not support the idea of an over-burdened working class. I think the distribution is probably more or less ok; I don't have a huge problem with it, honestly. I'm ok with the folks making less than $33,000 not paying much.

I take issue with people who are solidly in the middle class moaning about how much they pay in taxes. No one likes taxes, of course, but that's the price you pay for living here with the advantages we have as Americans. You don't like it; move to Costa Rica or Canada or wherever suits your fancy; people do, all the time.
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Oh please. Only rich people do that, to get out of even more tax they should pay. :P
 
Beach girl said:
I never said they were atrocious. I said the tax distribution does not support the idea of an over-burdened working class. I think the distribution is probably more or less ok; I don't have a huge problem with it, honestly. I'm ok with the folks making less than $33,000 not paying much.

I take issue with people who are solidly in the middle class moaning about how much they pay in taxes. No one likes taxes, of course, but that's the price you pay for living here with the advantages we have as Americans. You don't like it; move to Costa Rica or Canada or wherever suits your fancy; people do, all the time.
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I see. Status quo is the name of the game in America? I thought democracy is about reserving the right to bitch about your own government?
 
Only rich people do that
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Not true at all. Lots of people in my age group look to retire in Costa Rica and Mexico and other Central American countries because the cost of living is so much lower. Most of them are far from "rich" by U.S. standards, but they can live a very comfortable life south of the border on a modest income.
 
Beach girl said:
Not true at all. Lots of people in my age group look to retire in Costa Rica and Mexico and other Central American countries because the cost of living is so much lower. Most of them are far from "rich" by U.S. standards, but they can live a very comfortable life south of the border on a modest income.
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I hear ya. My brother is buying bit of land near a beach in Nicaragua. He wants me to join him there, but I won't. We are of different mindsets. :lol:
 
rolling7 said:
In a way I agree with your statement. But let me ask you this. Your "couple of friends" did they have health and life insurance BEFORE they went into business? If so, do they still have them? If you answer yes, that is great for them. A smart person knows not to expand a business beyond the capability of having that business totally covered by insurance. That is how you lose everything, all of your hard sweat-earned investment. If it is not the time because they have less than the needed funds, they can keep on saving and then in the future they can start their business with a much better chance. Not to put down your couple of friends, but many jump into a realy good business with will planning, the idea is great but the planning stinks, and that is one of the reasons of failure.
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Nope, my friends are my age (26-30) so they just graduated from college and are no longer under their parents' insurance. I find it interesting that you believed that the reason why they did not do well was because they did something stupid. Isn't that a bit of naive thinking? "If you don't do well, there is ALWAYS a fixable reason."
 
Beowulf said:
I hear ya. My brother is buying bit of land near a beach in Nicaragua. He wants me to join him there, but I won't. We are of different mindsets. :lol:
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Maybe you could take a short vacation to the beach, despite mindset differences?
 
Daredevel7 said:
I have a couple of friends who own their own business but their business is not successful enough for them to get their own private insurance. They are really struggling and really afraid to get hurt or sick.

Let me guess what you are going to say: "They just aren't working hard enough!"

That probably would be true when generally labor = $$, but not in modern times. Sometimes you just need talent or intelligence. Working hard enough sometimes isn't enough.
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Waiting for the "those people made bad choices to have a business that is failing" retort. Let the kid play. This might be the high point of the day, to troll until someone gets stuck in the net.
 
I am gonna make a quick observation here, then I am done before I make a mistake and allow myself to be trolled...

Imagine you are working. You faithfully get up every day for 25 years and report to work. You never complain. You raise a son. Everything is going well. Or so you think...

One day, you receive the news that your company has decided to move overseas to increase profits for the board of directors. There is a small severance package, but that barely equals a month of salary. At the same time, the economy sinks. Your COBRA insurance payments are $1200 a month for your small family. You realize that you cannot make these payments, so you stop. A couple of months after this, while you are pounding the pavement to find a job, any job, you start to have symptoms of colon problems. You cannot afford to have the tests, so you hope your hunch is wrong. However, soon the problems become too much, and you go in to be checked. You receive the verdict: terminal cancer.

Is this poor planning? Laziness? Bad decisions? You feel free to write what it is. You see, the man in the story is my brother in law. He has been married to my sister for nearly 30 years. He is nearing the end of his fight, a fight he has no chance to win. Good luck; with your smug attitude, you'll fool nobody.
 
That's really bad luck. My sympathies to your brother-in-law and his family.
 
Reba said:
Maybe you could take a short vacation to the beach, despite mindset differences?
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I have a feeling he won't move there. Especially since I pointed out how long in the tooth he is getting. :lol:
 
Daredevel7 said:
Nope, my friends are my age (26-30) so they just graduated from college and are no longer under their parents' insurance. I find it interesting that you believed that the reason why they did not do well was because they did something stupid. Isn't that a bit of naive thinking? "If you don't do well, there is ALWAYS a fixable reason."
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I re-read my post and I did not use the word "stupid". I really do feel for them and wish them much success. They are not alone, most folks have to start up 2 or 3 times. Lets remember Bill Gates and how he started but there are very few Bill Gate.
 
saywhatkid said:
I am gonna make a quick observation here, then I am done before I make a mistake and allow myself to be trolled...

... You see, the man in the story is my brother in law. He has been married to my sister for nearly 30 years. He is nearing the end of his fight, a fight he has no chance to win. Good luck; with your smug attitude, you'll fool nobody.
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I'm very sorry. :(
 
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