tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post3407486344126732613..comments2024-03-28T21:41:52.558-04:00Comments on The Elephant Bar: Sarah Palin Signs In.Deuce ☂http://www.blogger.com/profile/13472858446242700869noreply@blogger.comBlogger106125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-20474739565495522682012-01-29T03:06:52.936-05:002012-01-29T03:06:52.936-05:00.
From NYT editorial page,
On Dec. 29, security ....<br /><br />From NYT editorial page,<br /><br /><i>On Dec. 29, security forces raided as many as seven nongovernmental groups in Cairo, including three American-financed democracy-building groups — the International Republican Institute, the National Democratic Institute and Freedom House. Employees were hauled in for questioning in a bogus criminal investigation. <br /><br />On Thursday, the Egyptian government confirmed that it had barred at least six Americans — including I.R.I.’s Egypt director, Sam LaHood, the son of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood — from leaving the country. <br /><br />The generals make the specious charge that recent unrest was caused by “foreign hands.” Outside forces didn’t drive Egyptians to courageously rise up against Hosni Mubarak. And outside forces aren’t driving them to keep pressing the military to keep its promises and move fully to civilian rule. If Egyptians want outside help to make that transition, they should be allowed to accept it. <br /><br />I.R.I.’s president, Lorne Craner, said that in his organization’s 30-year history, it has never been treated like this by any country, including Russia, China and Venezuela...</i><br /><br /><br />.Quirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00272168240606512672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-28204189879018913292012-01-28T20:51:00.983-05:002012-01-28T20:51:00.983-05:00The ethanol subsidy that the Republicans constantl...The ethanol subsidy that the Republicans constantly screamed about was just a "Tax Credit," T.<br /><br />And, it was mostly returned to the consumers through lower prices for E10.Rufus IIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05297231055991566183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-81353640906068576792012-01-28T19:37:23.276-05:002012-01-28T19:37:23.276-05:00Eliminate most all deductions.
To include charity ...Eliminate most all deductions.<br />To include charity and mortgage interest.<br /><br />The government should not be subsidizing charity or home mortgages.<br /><br />Remove the tax code from being an instrument of the Federal's social engineering efforts.desert rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369546288659566961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-61845034234728929042012-01-28T19:34:06.254-05:002012-01-28T19:34:06.254-05:00Treat all income equally, regardless of the source...Treat all income equally, regardless of the source. Labor or capital.desert rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369546288659566961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-71718841153172637142012-01-28T19:27:31.453-05:002012-01-28T19:27:31.453-05:00Define "income tax", AP referencing ano...Define "income tax", AP referencing anoni.desert rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369546288659566961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-27841260836066913182012-01-28T19:26:16.739-05:002012-01-28T19:26:16.739-05:00While the low income of today are paying a tax rat...While the low income of today are paying a tax rate, 4%, that was considered "high", when the rich were being taxed at over 70%.<br /><br />Now those of high "unearned" income are paying less, 15%, the great middle, those that pay FICA and income taxes are paying closer to 30%.<br /><br />FICA should be abolished, the taxes consolidated at progressive but lower rates.<br /><br />From 4% to 25% as per Mr Mellon's program as implemented from 1921 through 1931.<br /><br />With similar results of increased economic activity and debt reduction.desert rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369546288659566961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-77544836756414353912012-01-28T19:19:37.519-05:002012-01-28T19:19:37.519-05:00So, anoni, the poor are paying the "high"...So, anoni, the poor are paying the "high" rate of the pre Mellon Plan days, 4%.<br /><br />While the "super" rich are paying about 15%, re: Mitt Romney.<br />9 points below the Mellon Plan.<br /><br />The Government is going broke.<br />The "rich" have to pay close to 24%, keep the poor at 4% net.<br /><br />The budget would move to surplus, the debt would slowly be paid down.<br /><br />Mr Mellon had it about right.desert rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369546288659566961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-3124444444188781692012-01-28T19:17:11.402-05:002012-01-28T19:17:11.402-05:00AP FACT CHECK: Are rich taxed less than secretarie...<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/fact-check-rich-taxed-less-secretaries-070642868.html" rel="nofollow">AP FACT CHECK: Are rich taxed less than secretaries?</a><br /><br />"The 10 percent of households with the highest incomes pay more than half of all federal taxes. They pay more than 70 percent of federal income taxes, according to the Congressional Budget Office."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-42995930045404233472012-01-28T19:11:44.643-05:002012-01-28T19:11:44.643-05:00The Mellon Plan
Without FICA Taxes
Andrew Mellon&...The Mellon Plan<br />Without FICA Taxes<br /><br /><i>Andrew Mellon's plan had four main points:<br /><br /> Cut the top income tax rate from 77 to 24 percent<br /> Cut taxes on low incomes from 4 to 1/2 percent<br /> Reduce the Federal Estate tax<br /> Efficiency in government<br /><br />Mellon believed that the income tax should remain progressive, but with lower rates than those enacted during World War I. He thought that the top income earners would only willingly pay their taxes if rates were 25% or lower. Mellon proposed tax rate cuts, which Congress enacted in the Revenue Acts of 1921, 1924, and 1926. The top marginal tax rate was cut from 73% to 58% in 1922, 50% in 1923, 46% in 1924, 25% in 1925, and 24% in 1929. Rates in lower brackets were also cut substantially, relieving burdens on the middle-class, working-class, and poor households.<br /><br />By 1926 65% of the income tax revenue came from incomes $300,000 and higher, when five years prior, less than 20% did. During this same period, the overall tax burden on those that earned less than $10,000 dropped from $155 million to $32.5 million.<br />...<br />Mellon's policy reduced the public debt (largely inherited from World War I obligations) from almost $26 billion in 1921 to about $16 billion in 1930, but then the Depression caused it to rise again. By 1935, Franklin Roosevelt had gone back to high tax rates and wiped out Andrew Mellon's initiatives. </i>desert rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369546288659566961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-55490282420664544122012-01-28T19:09:29.518-05:002012-01-28T19:09:29.518-05:00Today's endorser of Obama for President 2012 i...<i>Today's endorser of Obama for President 2012 is Lady Ga-Ga.</i><br /><br />The Elephant Bar's tireless endorser of Sarah Palin is the descendant of a Viking. The Vikings had a good run about a thousand years ago, but they've since mellowed quite a bit, and now send us crap like VOLVOs (Very Odd Looking Vehicular Objects) and "Mamma Mia".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-35095289463328889772012-01-28T19:03:47.986-05:002012-01-28T19:03:47.986-05:00So?
The Congress has decided to provide welfare, ...So?<br /><br />The Congress has decided to provide welfare, not only for senior citizens, but for low income folk, as well. <br /><br />The welfare payments, made through the tax code, merely skew the numbers to maintain those economic distinctions so necessary for "Class Warfare".<br /><br />Two sides of the same coin.<br /><br /><br />Those that earn little, pay little.<br />Those that earn more, pay more.<br /><br />Can't get blood from a turnip.<br />No matter how you cut it.desert rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369546288659566961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-43399742539111700532012-01-28T18:56:49.885-05:002012-01-28T18:56:49.885-05:00This is from a May 2011 article from the Center by...This is from a May 2011 article from the Center by the Policy and Budget Priorities.<br /><br />"Moreover, low-income households as a whole do, in fact, pay federal taxes. Congressional Budget Office data show that the poorest fifth of households as a group paid an average of 4 percent of their incomes in federal taxes in 2007 (the latest year for which these data are available), not an insignificant amount given how modest these households’ incomes are — the poorest fifth of households had average income of $18,400 in 2007. [4] The next-to-the bottom fifth — those with incomes between $20,500 and $34,300 in 2007 — paid an average of 10 percent of their incomes in federal taxes.<br />Even these figures understate low-income households’ total tax burden, because these households also pay substantial state and local taxes. Data from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy show that the poorest fifth of households paid a stunning 12.3 percent of their incomes in state and local taxes in 2010.[5]<br />When all federal, state, and local taxes are taken into account,the bottom fifth of households paid 16.3 percent of their incomes in taxes, on average, in 2010. The second-poorest fifth paid 20.7 percent. [6]"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-78256703358907993662012-01-28T18:49:22.698-05:002012-01-28T18:49:22.698-05:00This is from a 2007 American Enterprise Institute ...This is from a 2007 American Enterprise Institute article:<br /><br />"10. Does the tax distribution look a lot different if we factor in other federal taxes, such as the payroll tax?<br /><br />It’s true that the distribution of taxes is somewhat more equally divided when payroll taxes are accounted for—but the change is surprisingly small. Payroll taxes of 15 percent are charged on the first dollar of income earned by a worker, and most of the tax is capped at an income of just below $100,000. The Tax Policy Center, run by the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, recently studied payroll and income taxes paid by each income group. The richest 1 percent pay 27.5 percent of the combined burden, the top 20 percent pay 72 percent, and the bottom 20 percent pay just 0.4 percent. One reason that the disparity in tax shares is so large is that Americans in the bottom quintile who have jobs get reimbursed for some or all of their 15 percent payroll tax through the earned-income tax credit (EITC), a fairly efficient poverty-abatement program."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-53959751650050957332012-01-28T18:34:12.052-05:002012-01-28T18:34:12.052-05:00Anonymous: Tell that to Rufus next time he starts ...<b>Anonymous:</b> <i>Tell that to Rufus next time he starts his "secretary pays more than boss" schtick.</i><br /><br />An ant can lift forty times her own weight too. Still can't lift a beer.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-39593794371226982972012-01-28T18:31:46.668-05:002012-01-28T18:31:46.668-05:00Rufus: What that means is simply that these subsid...<b>Rufus:</b> <i>What that means is simply that these subsidies, unlike the meager tax credit that helped the ethanol industry for a fraction of that time, are EMBEDDED in our tax code. They are never going to expire.</i><br /><br />The word "subsidies" sounds like there's a transfer of wealth from Uncle Sam to Exxon. Liberals use the same sleight-of-hand when they say tax cuts have to be "paid for" as though there's a sacrosanct baseline.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-81438468692494046672012-01-28T18:02:14.497-05:002012-01-28T18:02:14.497-05:00The Black Bra (as told by a woman)
I had lunch ...The Black Bra (as told by a woman)<br /><br />I had lunch with 2 of my unmarried friends.<br />One is engaged, one is a mistress, and I have been married for 25+ years.<br />We were chatting about our relationships and decided to amaze our men by greeting them at the door Wearing a black bra, stiletto heels and a mask over our eyes. We agreed to meet in a few days to exchange notes..<br /><br />Here's how it all went.<br /><br />My engaged friend:<br /><br />The other night when my boyfriend came over he found me with a black leather bodice, tall stilettos and a mask.<br /><br />He saw me and said, 'You are the woman of my dreams.<br /><br />I love you.' Then we made passionate love.<br /><br />The mistress:<br /><br />Me too! The other night I met my lover at his office and I was wearing a raincoat, under it only the black bra, heels and the<br />Mask over my eyes. When I opened the raincoat he didn't say a word, but he started to tremble and we had wild, sweet sex all night.<br /><br />Then I had to share my story:<br /><br />When my husband came home I was wearing the black bra,<br />Black stockings, stilettos and a mask over my eyes.<br />When he came in the door and saw me he said,<br /><br /><br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> What's for dinner, Zorro?"samhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11856051164644278989noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-60633239654036513412012-01-28T16:45:44.204-05:002012-01-28T16:45:44.204-05:00Being the third richest man in the country, I do n...Being the third richest man in the country, I do not think that Mr Mellon suffered from "class envy".desert rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369546288659566961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-13754249194459100902012-01-28T16:44:47.563-05:002012-01-28T16:44:47.563-05:00While Andrew Mellon, arguably the most successful ...While Andrew Mellon, arguably the most successful Secretary of Treasury in US history thought that income from labor should be taxed at a lower rate than income from capital.<br /><br /><i>The fairness of taxing more lightly income from wages, salaries or from investments is beyond question. <br /><br />In the first case, the income is uncertain and limited in duration; sickness or death destroys it and old age diminishes it; in the other, the source of income continues; the income may be disposed of during a man’s life and it descends to his heirs. <br /><br />Surely we can afford to make a distinction between the people whose only capital is their mettle and physical energy and the people whose income is derived from investments. <br /><br />Such a distinction would mean much to millions of American workers and would be an added inspiration to the man who must provide a competence during his few productive years to care for himself and his family when his earnings capacity is at an end.</i>desert rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369546288659566961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-20835021280154931702012-01-28T16:31:14.763-05:002012-01-28T16:31:14.763-05:00Let's just pretend that 40% of revenues are no...Let's just pretend that 40% of revenues are not taxes based upon income.<br /><br />Let's take that leg, call it a tail.<br /><br />Only then can we begin to debate how much weight each leg should carry...desert rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369546288659566961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-20577930589787183772012-01-28T16:22:45.068-05:002012-01-28T16:22:45.068-05:00.
Someone recently suggested (I assume in jest) t....<br /><br />Someone recently suggested (I assume in jest) that taxes should not be progressive but that everyone should pay the same absolute amount, not based on income but on proportionality.<br /><br />Given the way out government operates, it would only be a short time before half the country was paying more in taxes than they grossed.<br /><br />.Quirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00272168240606512672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-65531908366079073772012-01-28T16:20:29.654-05:002012-01-28T16:20:29.654-05:00“Today the oil industry enjoys billions of dollars...“Today the oil industry enjoys billions of dollars in tax subsidies while the renewable fuels industry has none,” said Shaw, proceeding to name off all of the subsides unique to the oil industry.<br /> <br />It’s a long list that requires a high-price accountant to understand – not a problem for the oil industry! Percentage depletion allowance, marginal oil well incentives, enhanced oil recovery credits, intangible drilling costs expensing, deduction for tertiary injectants, exception from passive loss limitations for oil and gas, etc. According to a DTN analysis, <b>the total comes to about $17.9 billion a year.</b><br /> <br />All of it goes back to the inception of the tax code in 1913. What that means is simply that these subsidies, unlike the meager tax credit that helped the ethanol industry for a fraction of that time, are EMBEDDED in our tax code. They are never going to expire.Rufus IIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05297231055991566183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-61920557121339439672012-01-28T16:16:38.681-05:002012-01-28T16:16:38.681-05:00.
You made a good point regarding the double taxa....<br /><br />You made a good point regarding the double taxation on SS benefits, rat. The class warfare and anti-tax proponents always bring up 'double taxation' on dividends, etc; but they never mention the double taxation on FICA.<br /><br />Federal revenues are divided approximately 42% individual IT, 40% FICA taxes, 9% corporate tax, balance is misc. excise, etc.<br /><br />Who is hurt more by double taxation the guy making in excess of $100k with the fat 401k or the poor smuck making $12 per hour and trying to get by?<br /><br />.Quirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00272168240606512672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-57999243133728408422012-01-28T15:41:47.697-05:002012-01-28T15:41:47.697-05:00Not worthy of worry, rufus.
It is what it is.
A ...Not worthy of worry, rufus.<br /><br />It is what it is.<br /><br />A tail will NEVER be a leg.<br /><br />;-)desert rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369546288659566961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-48090251463934950292012-01-28T15:41:17.488-05:002012-01-28T15:41:17.488-05:00its, not it'sits, not it'sRufus IIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05297231055991566183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-56339679540243721982012-01-28T15:40:43.178-05:002012-01-28T15:40:43.178-05:00Just figured it was another contract. Had it'...Just figured it was another contract. Had it's good points, and it's bad.Rufus IIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05297231055991566183noreply@blogger.com