Buffett and his taxes

[Barb]

What the hell does a corporate executive do? He plans how working people will earn money for him. Have you ever stopped to think what would happen if the ordinary working people all over the world stopped working and went on a hunger strike? Rich people and their antics make my rectum crave buttermilk.

Campy....forgive the second reference to irony....but "What the hell does a corporate executive do?" does imply that you are hardly the one to be judging said execs.

I can tell you what I do.....and whereas I am a small business owner and not one of those corporate "bigwigs"....I do what an executive does...

I refinance my house and use the cash out to invest in my business...not buy a boat or a big screen TV

I am working 24-7 even if I am not in the office

I pay my people salaries even when business is slow as it is now.

I take little out of the company during tough years and live off my savings....even though my employees are not forced to do the same.

I pay to defend myself at a cost of an attorney against terminated employees who sue me for unfair termination even though they were terminated for poor attendene

I pay to defend myself at a cost of an attorney for racial discrimination in my hiring practices even though there is none to be proven

I take the loss due to the errors of an employee.

I pay an accountant to prepare my corporate returns so I can continue to run my company.

Sweetheart, YOU are a small business man. YOU are the heart of this country.

My dad was one, WE ate fried bologna sandwiches when times were tough and business was slow. WE did with less because DAD had to take out a personal loan out to make sure the people who's sweat put the roof over our head and the food on our table were taken care of in kind. HE lost sleep if he thought that the business decisions HE made might deprive ONE of them of the roof over their head or health insurance (fully paid, I was secy treas).

HE identified with what that asshole Ronald Regan said, because he didn't know that when Ronald talked about small businessmen, he wasn't talking about my dad, and when he talked about tax reform, he would actually raise taxes on business owners like my dad to fund the political donor class.

This is all so PERSONAL to all of you. Its personal to me, too. My father was a good and decent man. The people who said all the right things, and pulled all the right strings on him, were and continue to be colossally full of shit. That offends me on the molecular level. The same place it would offend each and every one of you if you were paying the slightest bit of attention to anything other than some loosely held and really questionable set of resentments.

 

[PoliticalChic]

Do you realize that the people who enjoy millions of earnings in this country are riding the backs of ordinary people who can't even find a job? When and where did this feeling of entitlement by the richest 1% come from? Tax rates for the wealthy are at the lowest rate in 50 years. Pay your part or get the fuck out! You might try moving to Maylasia or that Central American country where the company you're invested in is located.

WOW. Riding the backs of ordinary people. What a load of horseshit.

Entitlement?? How bout the poor and downtrodden who suck up entitlements like candy. Entitlments provided by the American taxpayer those who actually pay Fed taxes.

The "evil Rich" pay the lions share of the Fed taxes in this country already and anyone who invests is taking the RISK with their money. If they happen to make money on that RISK they pay again. Way more than the poor and downtrodden in this country will ever pay for anything.

Just think If there were no rich the rest of us would be paying all of the Fed taxes because the poor and downtrodden would still be paying nada.

As for pay your part there bud if you feel others should pay more then you should contribute. Whip out your checkbook and stroke a check to the IRS I'm sure they will take it.

Save your histrionics for someone you might impress.

Jesus. The whole system is rigged so that those who have money don't pay for the pile they sit on and profit from, and the highest paid among those that HOLD a paid position can DEFER their pay for thirty years into the future. This saves their employers tax, doesn't add to the actual bottom line, does not add to the company budget (and so must be made up by lowering wages, benefits, and hiring), and as the money is invested, it works to increase their wealth, and the do re mi THEY pay in the future costs them much less in real dollars than it would have had they had to pony up like the rest of us, AT the time we are paid. Meanwhile, CURRENT bills have to be paid, by greater government borrowing, and HIGHER TAXES ON THE REST OF US.

Good lord. You're so many of you like the stereotypical blonde walking into the stereotypical garage. They see you coming. A few well placed placebos and you simply hand over the bank book.

"The whole system is rigged so that those who have money don't pay for the pile they sit on and profit from,..."

Think about what you are saying...there is a kernel of truth in there:

Folks don't pay (federal) tax on what they own.

One only pays said taxes on earnings....

So, what is he greatest barrier to becoming wealthy?

Taxes.

Tell that to the Democrat.

 

[PoliticalChic]

Campy....forgive the second reference to irony....but "What the hell does a corporate executive do?" does imply that you are hardly the one to be judging said execs.

I can tell you what I do.....and whereas I am a small business owner and not one of those corporate "bigwigs"....I do what an executive does...

I refinance my house and use the cash out to invest in my business...not buy a boat or a big screen TV

I am working 24-7 even if I am not in the office

I pay my people salaries even when business is slow as it is now.

I take little out of the company during tough years and live off my savings....even though my employees are not forced to do the same.

I pay to defend myself at a cost of an attorney against terminated employees who sue me for unfair termination even though they were terminated for poor attendene

I pay to defend myself at a cost of an attorney for racial discrimination in my hiring practices even though there is none to be proven

I take the loss due to the errors of an employee.

I pay an accountant to prepare my corporate returns so I can continue to run my company.

Sweetheart, YOU are a small business man. YOU are the heart of this country.

My dad was one, WE ate fried bologna sandwiches when times were tough and business was slow. WE did with less because DAD had to take out a personal loan out to make sure the people who's sweat put the roof over our head and the food on our table were taken care of in kind. HE lost sleep if he thought that the business decisions HE made might deprive ONE of them of the roof over their head or health insurance (fully paid, I was secy treas).

HE identified with what that asshole Ronald Regan said, because he didn't know that when Ronald talked about small businessmen, he wasn't talking about my dad, and when he talked about tax reform, he would actually raise taxes on business owners like my dad to fund the political donor class.

This is all so PERSONAL to all of you. Its personal to me, too. My father was a good and decent man. The people who said all the right things, and pulled all the right strings on him, were and continue to be colossally full of shit. That offends me on the molecular level. The same place it would offend each and every one of you if you were paying the slightest bit of attention to anything other than some loosely held and really questionable set of resentments.

You are such an angry person....
...would hate to be you.


But since you mentioned the great Ronald Reagan...
...today, October 13th, is an annivesary of sorts:
On this day, in 1986 Reykjavik, Iceland: in the last great battle of the Cold War, President Reagan refused to accede to Mikhail Gorbachev’s demand to abandon the Strategic Defense Initiative, “Star Wars,”and four years later the USSR was formally dissolved!

What a wonderful gift he gave to humanity.

Don't you agree?

 

[DaGoose]

You think that possibly everyone benefits from infrastructure???

You think that maybe we could upkeep things like public roads (most of which are state, not federal by the way) if so much were not spent on bullshit entitlements and handout to a large % of people who DO NOT PAY IN TO THE SYSTEM LIKE OTHERS DO??? The thing is that a large # of people in the population ARE NOT NORMAL TAXPAYERS...

Hmmmm....entitlements and handouts.

Entitlements are called as such because people ARE "entitled" to receive the benefits that they've paid their whole lives into.

Handouts (and I'm guessing you mean welfare) eats up less than 1/2 of 1% of tax dollars.

So what's your point again?

And what do you consider a "large number" of "not normal" taxpayers? What's "not normal"?

the exact definition of entitlements is not relevant.

The term "entitlements" refers to the recipient of anything....be it welfare, food stamps, unemployment, etc as the recipient beleives they are entitled to them for being a US citizen...not for paying into the system..

For as we all know, a good portion do not pay into anything except FICA...and not suprisingly (from a mathematical standpoint) that good portion that do not pay into the system make up the majority of those that get the entitlements.

So they are not entitled to it in return for paying into the system. They are entitled to it (in their eyes) for being a citizen.

Now, that being said, the only ones in MY eyes that are entitled to "entitlements" are those that wish they could, but cant...not those that can, but glad they dont have to.

Wow. You are either thoroughly confused or thoroughly full of shit.

People pay into FICA, yes. But they also pay into road construction, police and fire protection. And they also pay into unemployment insurance (assuming that companies would pay their workers more money if they didn't have to pay it).

So YOU, my friend right now receive entitlements that you are entitled to and have paid for, right?

Welfare is no different. YOU pay into a system that provides a hand up for those who need it. But guess what? YOU are entitled to it to if you're ever in a position where you need it.

But please don't say that you'll NEVER need welfare. Many, many people have said that only to be proven wrong.

 

[PoliticalChic]

Ok...then let's tax ALL earnings at the same rate then whether it be through payroll or investment income.

Time for a lesson in economics.

Don't you wish to encourage investment? The NYTimes does.


"A basic tenet of American capitalism is that supply precedes demand, as can be see in the case of all airports being closed down: the long lines of people unable to get to their destinations is the demand that cannot be fulfilled. This is why entrepreneurs must be given a free hand to produce, to speculate, as the building of more and more airports will lower prices, increasing demand. This is especially true in the case of new technologies.

Both high taxation and over regulation place a damper on this freedom.

“The proceeds from these speculations? the capital paid for stocks and bonds ? may seem misspent. In the long run, the results are called infrastructure, and they are what economies are built on.”

“Many European postal systems, telegraph lines and railroads were built with government money, and sometimes with insufficient capacity. But in the United States, instead of burdening taxpayers, we sell investors the equivalent of high-priced lottery tickets each time one of these technologies arrives.”
On the Contrary - In Technology, Supply Precedes Demand - NYTimes.com

Want to withdraw your post?

Time for a lesson in human nature.

Do you really believe that someone will refuse to invest and make millions just because they have to pay a little higher percentage on the income that they earn from their investments?

I thought not. You may now alter or withdraw YOUR post....

Spoken like a true non-investor!

Neither have you taken any cousese in economics....am I right?

"will refuse to invest and make millions..."


Make millions?

What about the lose millions?

Of haven't you noticed that aspect?

This is the danger of thinking in class warfare terms.

 

[Barb]

1. Are you supporting the idea of raising capital gains taxes?

2. Do you realize that the money invested in stocks has already been taxed when generated from earnings....and will now be taxed a second time when an investment profit is realized?

You do realize that the 2nd time tax on stock investments is utter bullshit, right? especially where it comes to 401k, which are PRE tax investments.

Post #57, Daffy.


About half of working families have 401k's, but that doesn't mean that half of all investments are via same.
Further, there are limits on how much can be contributed to these vehicles, and time restraints and mandates on withdrawl.

In short, with reference to your "You do realize that the 2nd time tax on stock investments is utter bullshit, right?", it seems it applies more to your post.

nope. most stock investments made beyond the 401k investments are corporate. THEY sit on them for years, where the EARNINGS of the rest of us are taxed immediately, letting their piles of money earn piles of more money without being taxed while the rest of us pick up the tab, and while the actual value of the money they eventually owe is much lower in the future than it would have been in the present, increasing the cost to the rest of us.

 

[Barb]

I can tell you what I do.....and whereas I am a small business owner and not one of those corporate "bigwigs"....I do what an executive does...

I refinance my house and use the cash out to invest in my business...not buy a boat or a big screen TV

I am working 24-7 even if I am not in the office

I pay my people salaries even when business is slow as it is now.

I take little out of the company during tough years and live off my savings....even though my employees are not forced to do the same.

I pay to defend myself at a cost of an attorney against terminated employees who sue me for unfair termination even though they were terminated for poor attendene

I pay to defend myself at a cost of an attorney for racial discrimination in my hiring practices even though there is none to be proven

I take the loss due to the errors of an employee.

I pay an accountant to prepare my corporate returns so I can continue to run my company.

Sweetheart, YOU are a small business man. YOU are the heart of this country.

My dad was one, WE ate fried bologna sandwiches when times were tough and business was slow. WE did with less because DAD had to take out a personal loan out to make sure the people who's sweat put the roof over our head and the food on our table were taken care of in kind. HE lost sleep if he thought that the business decisions HE made might deprive ONE of them of the roof over their head or health insurance (fully paid, I was secy treas).

HE identified with what that asshole Ronald Regan said, because he didn't know that when Ronald talked about small businessmen, he wasn't talking about my dad, and when he talked about tax reform, he would actually raise taxes on business owners like my dad to fund the political donor class.

This is all so PERSONAL to all of you. Its personal to me, too. My father was a good and decent man. The people who said all the right things, and pulled all the right strings on him, were and continue to be colossally full of shit. That offends me on the molecular level. The same place it would offend each and every one of you if you were paying the slightest bit of attention to anything other than some loosely held and really questionable set of resentments.

You are such an angry person....
...would hate to be you.


But since you mentioned the great Ronald Reagan...
...today, October 13th, is an annivesary of sorts:
On this day, in 1986 Reykjavik, Iceland: in the last great battle of the Cold War, President Reagan refused to accede to Mikhail Gorbachev’s demand to abandon the Strategic Defense Initiative, “Star Wars,”and four years later the USSR was formally dissolved!

What a wonderful gift he gave to humanity.

Don't you agree?

Oh, for fuck sake. Really? Read a book. ANY book.

 

[Claudette]

Time for a lesson in economics.

Don't you wish to encourage investment? The NYTimes does.


"A basic tenet of American capitalism is that supply precedes demand, as can be see in the case of all airports being closed down: the long lines of people unable to get to their destinations is the demand that cannot be fulfilled. This is why entrepreneurs must be given a free hand to produce, to speculate, as the building of more and more airports will lower prices, increasing demand. This is especially true in the case of new technologies.

Both high taxation and over regulation place a damper on this freedom.

“The proceeds from these speculations? the capital paid for stocks and bonds ? may seem misspent. In the long run, the results are called infrastructure, and they are what economies are built on.”

“Many European postal systems, telegraph lines and railroads were built with government money, and sometimes with insufficient capacity. But in the United States, instead of burdening taxpayers, we sell investors the equivalent of high-priced lottery tickets each time one of these technologies arrives.”
On the Contrary - In Technology, Supply Precedes Demand - NYTimes.com

Want to withdraw your post?

Time for a lesson in human nature.

Do you really believe that someone will refuse to invest and make millions just because they have to pay a little higher percentage on the income that they earn from their investments?

I thought not. You may now alter or withdraw YOUR post....

Spoken like a true non-investor!

Neither have you taken any cousese in economics....am I right?

"will refuse to invest and make millions..."


Make millions?

What about the lose millions?

Of haven't you noticed that aspect?

This is the danger of thinking in class warfare terms.

Amen. They don't think about the fact that you can lose your shirt on investments. You can lose your shirt just as easily as make money. Thats why its called a RISK. Your RISKING your money.

Don't see the Govt standing in line to reimburse anyone that loses. They are only interested in the winners so they can take a little more or their money.

 

[PoliticalChic]

Sweetheart, YOU are a small business man. YOU are the heart of this country.

My dad was one, WE ate fried bologna sandwiches when times were tough and business was slow. WE did with less because DAD had to take out a personal loan out to make sure the people who's sweat put the roof over our head and the food on our table were taken care of in kind. HE lost sleep if he thought that the business decisions HE made might deprive ONE of them of the roof over their head or health insurance (fully paid, I was secy treas).

HE identified with what that asshole Ronald Regan said, because he didn't know that when Ronald talked about small businessmen, he wasn't talking about my dad, and when he talked about tax reform, he would actually raise taxes on business owners like my dad to fund the political donor class.

This is all so PERSONAL to all of you. Its personal to me, too. My father was a good and decent man. The people who said all the right things, and pulled all the right strings on him, were and continue to be colossally full of shit. That offends me on the molecular level. The same place it would offend each and every one of you if you were paying the slightest bit of attention to anything other than some loosely held and really questionable set of resentments.

You are such an angry person....
...would hate to be you.


But since you mentioned the great Ronald Reagan...
...today, October 13th, is an annivesary of sorts:
On this day, in 1986 Reykjavik, Iceland: in the last great battle of the Cold War, President Reagan refused to accede to Mikhail Gorbachev’s demand to abandon the Strategic Defense Initiative, “Star Wars,”and four years later the USSR was formally dissolved!

What a wonderful gift he gave to humanity.

Don't you agree?

Oh, for fuck sake. Really? Read a book. ANY book.

Let me know when you're finished with the coloring books.

 

[DaGoose]

Time for a lesson in economics.

Don't you wish to encourage investment? The NYTimes does.


"A basic tenet of American capitalism is that supply precedes demand, as can be see in the case of all airports being closed down: the long lines of people unable to get to their destinations is the demand that cannot be fulfilled. This is why entrepreneurs must be given a free hand to produce, to speculate, as the building of more and more airports will lower prices, increasing demand. This is especially true in the case of new technologies.

Both high taxation and over regulation place a damper on this freedom.

“The proceeds from these speculations? the capital paid for stocks and bonds ? may seem misspent. In the long run, the results are called infrastructure, and they are what economies are built on.”

“Many European postal systems, telegraph lines and railroads were built with government money, and sometimes with insufficient capacity. But in the United States, instead of burdening taxpayers, we sell investors the equivalent of high-priced lottery tickets each time one of these technologies arrives.”
On the Contrary - In Technology, Supply Precedes Demand - NYTimes.com

Want to withdraw your post?

Time for a lesson in human nature.

Do you really believe that someone will refuse to invest and make millions just because they have to pay a little higher percentage on the income that they earn from their investments?

I thought not. You may now alter or withdraw YOUR post....

Spoken like a true non-investor!

Neither have you taken any cousese in economics....am I right?

"will refuse to invest and make millions..."


Make millions?

What about the lose millions?

Of haven't you noticed that aspect?

This is the danger of thinking in class warfare terms.

I have lost nearly $100,000 dollars in my 401k since 2000. In the 90's it was making more money than I was. I have also recently moved nearly 1/4 million out of stocks and into bonds due to the volatility in the stock market (and because I'm nearing retirement). So yes, I am a HEAVY investor.

And if the tax rate on my earnings was increased I would still invest at the same rate that I do now. I'm kinda greedy that way.

And anyone who would not invest and make money even at a higher tax rate is no investor. And anyone who says that others won't invest because of it doesn't know investors.

 

[Care4all]

I have a question....

I am not at retirement age, but when I reach it and I start withdrawing from my 401k, is this taxed at marginal rates or is it taxed at the capital gains rate? I am presuming that it is taxed at the marginal rates...right?

 

[DaGoose]

Time for a lesson in human nature.

Do you really believe that someone will refuse to invest and make millions just because they have to pay a little higher percentage on the income that they earn from their investments?

I thought not. You may now alter or withdraw YOUR post....

Spoken like a true non-investor!

Neither have you taken any cousese in economics....am I right?

"will refuse to invest and make millions..."


Make millions?

What about the lose millions?

Of haven't you noticed that aspect?

This is the danger of thinking in class warfare terms.

Amen. They don't think about the fact that you can lose your shirt on investments. You can lose your shirt just as easily as make money. Thats why its called a RISK. Your RISKING your money.

Don't see the Govt standing in line to reimburse anyone that loses. They are only interested in the winners so they can take a little more or their money.

How much have you been "reimbursed" on lottery losses? There's not much difference. You take the risk and suffer the losses. But if you earn money you should pay a fair tax on it just like it was a paycheck. Nobody's going to stop investing or buying lottery tickets just because they have to pay a little more percentage in taxes.

 

[Barb]

You are such an angry person....
...would hate to be you.


But since you mentioned the great Ronald Reagan...
...today, October 13th, is an annivesary of sorts:
On this day, in 1986 Reykjavik, Iceland: in the last great battle of the Cold War, President Reagan refused to accede to Mikhail Gorbachev’s demand to abandon the Strategic Defense Initiative, “Star Wars,”and four years later the USSR was formally dissolved!

What a wonderful gift he gave to humanity.

Don't you agree?

Oh, for fuck sake. Really? Read a book. ANY book.

Let me know when you're finished with the coloring books.

 

[Jarhead]

I have a question....

I am not at retirement age, but when I reach it and I start withdrawing from my 401k, is this taxed at marginal rates or is it taxed at the capital gains rate? I am presuming that it is taxed at the marginal rates...right?

It will be taxed based on your income tax rate....not as capital gains.
But bear in mind.....you were not taxed on the income to begin with as it was "tax deferred".

 

[flacaltenn]

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Billionaire investor Warren Buffett this week showed a little more leg in his campaign to get Congress to raise taxes on the uber-rich.

In a letter to Republican Rep. Tim Huelskamp Tuesday, Buffett revealed that his adjusted gross income last year was $62,855,038 and that his taxable income was $39,814,784. Buffett said he paid $15,300 in payroll taxes.

Buffett also said his federal income tax bill came to $6,923,494, or 17.4% of his taxable income -- two points he revealed in a New York Times op-ed in August urging Congress to tax the wealthy more.

Buffett provided a copy of his correspondence with Huelskamp to CNNMoney's Poppy Harlow.

He said in an interview that the roughly $23 million difference between his AGI and taxable income was due largely to deductions he took for charitable giving and local taxes.

Two key reasons he only paid 17.4%, however, is because a lot of his income came from investments, which are taxed at a lower rate than wages, and because payroll taxes are assessed only on the first $106,800 of wages.

"People who make money with money are getting taxed at a far lower rate than people who make money by their own labor," Buffett told CNNMoney.

Warren Buffett made $62,855,038 last year - Oct. 12, 2011

He reports his income as capital gains. If he wants to pay more on it all he has to do is report it as income and not take the many deductions he takes. The fact that he chooses to do this, and then complains about how little he pays, proves he is posturing.

I heard him defend against this very charge.. He's NEVER proposed an increase in the Income brackets or EVEN in the Cap Gains tax.. His thinking is more like a "Millionaires Alternative Tax" that just kicks in regardless of source of income. Leave the bracket crap for the "little people"..

 

[Claudette]

Spoken like a true non-investor!

Neither have you taken any cousese in economics....am I right?

"will refuse to invest and make millions..."


Make millions?

What about the lose millions?

Of haven't you noticed that aspect?

This is the danger of thinking in class warfare terms.

Amen. They don't think about the fact that you can lose your shirt on investments. You can lose your shirt just as easily as make money. Thats why its called a RISK. Your RISKING your money.

Don't see the Govt standing in line to reimburse anyone that loses. They are only interested in the winners so they can take a little more or their money.

How much have you been "reimbursed" on lottery losses? There's not much difference. You take the risk and suffer the losses. But if you earn money you should pay a fair tax on it just like it was a paycheck. Nobody's going to stop investing or buying lottery tickets just because they have to pay a little more percentage in taxes.

I see what your saying but my question is what the Govt had to do with you RISKING your money on investments??

Why in hell should they get any part of the proceeds on your RISK?? You, with your money, not taxpayer money, took the risk and either came out ahead or didn't.

I know its income but it wasn't earned on any job. Why should the Govt get a slice of your good judgment and luck??

 

[DaGoose]

Amen. They don't think about the fact that you can lose your shirt on investments. You can lose your shirt just as easily as make money. Thats why its called a RISK. Your RISKING your money.

Don't see the Govt standing in line to reimburse anyone that loses. They are only interested in the winners so they can take a little more or their money.

How much have you been "reimbursed" on lottery losses? There's not much difference. You take the risk and suffer the losses. But if you earn money you should pay a fair tax on it just like it was a paycheck. Nobody's going to stop investing or buying lottery tickets just because they have to pay a little more percentage in taxes.

I see what your saying but my question is what the Govt had to do with you RISKING your money on investments??

Why in hell should they get any part of the proceeds on your RISK?? You, with your money, not taxpayer money, took the risk and either came out ahead or didn't.

I know its income but it wasn't earned on any job. Why should the Govt get a slice of your good judgment and luck??

Don't lose sight of WHY one takes the risk. And if you have to pay taxes that means you're doing well with your investments. And if you pay a LOT in taxes that means you're doing GREAT with your investments.

But guess what? Either way you're making money. How can that be a bad thing?

 

[Barb]

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Billionaire investor Warren Buffett this week showed a little more leg in his campaign to get Congress to raise taxes on the uber-rich.

In a letter to Republican Rep. Tim Huelskamp Tuesday, Buffett revealed that his adjusted gross income last year was $62,855,038 and that his taxable income was $39,814,784. Buffett said he paid $15,300 in payroll taxes.

Buffett also said his federal income tax bill came to $6,923,494, or 17.4% of his taxable income -- two points he revealed in a New York Times op-ed in August urging Congress to tax the wealthy more.

Buffett provided a copy of his correspondence with Huelskamp to CNNMoney's Poppy Harlow.

He said in an interview that the roughly $23 million difference between his AGI and taxable income was due largely to deductions he took for charitable giving and local taxes.

Two key reasons he only paid 17.4%, however, is because a lot of his income came from investments, which are taxed at a lower rate than wages, and because payroll taxes are assessed only on the first $106,800 of wages.

"People who make money with money are getting taxed at a far lower rate than people who make money by their own labor," Buffett told CNNMoney.

Warren Buffett made $62,855,038 last year - Oct. 12, 2011

He reports his income as capital gains. If he wants to pay more on it all he has to do is report it as income and not take the many deductions he takes. The fact that he chooses to do this, and then complains about how little he pays, proves he is posturing.

I heard him defend against this very charge.. He's NEVER proposed an increase in the Income brackets or EVEN in the Cap Gains tax.. His thinking is more like a "Millionaires Alternative Tax" that just kicks in regardless of source of income. Leave the bracket crap for the "little people"..

Most millionaires' taxes wouldn't be on "income," as you and I experience it. That is exactly where our tax code favors the rich. WE pay income taxes as we earn it. THEY pay wealth and investment taxes as they access it. They can afford to defer it, where the majority of the rest of us have to accept (and pay taxes on) it AS it comes in. We have to pay those taxes at current rates on today's dollar value. They pay later, when the dollar value of those rates go down, and AFTER amassing huge profits off of the interest that money earned, without ever paying taxes on it. They have more money to earn interest because they don't have to pay taxes on money they don't need for basic living expenses.

 

[Cecilie1200]

Do you realize that the people who enjoy millions of earnings in this country are riding the backs of ordinary people who can't even find a job? When and where did this feeling of entitlement by the richest 1% come from? Tax rates for the wealthy are at the lowest rate in 50 years. Pay your part or get the fuck out! You might try moving to Maylasia or that Central American country where the company you're invested in is located.

Doesn't it irritate your nasal passages, you know, the way the Left pulls you around by that ring in your nose???

Let's begin with this, and dispell the idea that the Left lives on: the rich.

There is no perpetual class known as 'the rich.' Doesn't exist outside of a snapshot in time. Rich today are not the rich tomorrow. Same with poor. That is the magnificence of America.
Opportunity.

Again:

There is no perpetual 'Elite Wealthy Class' in America.

There is no 'Rich Class.'

The hypostetical construct is a useful image ginned up by the Left.
You seem to have fallen for it.

"Intellectuals often make the mistake of basing political analysis on clichés that misrepresent reality. Sowell shows, for instance, how debates about income distribution in the United States have been distorted by a preoccupation with statistical categories.

a. Journalists and academics alike endlessly repeat that the rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer. What these discussions ignore is that people move with some frequency from category to category over time. Only 5 percent of Americans who were in the bottom quintile of income earners in 1975 were still there in 1991. Only 25 percent of the “super-rich” in 1996 (the top 1/100th of 1 percent of income earners) remained in that category in 2005.

b. Over half of the poor earning at or near the minimum wage are between the ages of 16 and 24. As Sowell wryly notes, “these individuals cannot remain from 16 to 24 years of age indefinitely, though that age category can of course continue indefinitely, providing many intellectuals with data to fit their preconceptions.”

c. Abstract talk about “inequities” in income distribution presupposes a social problem, where strictly speaking one may not exist at all. Sowell’s analysis helps us understand why intellectuals so often call for government to promote economic redistribution."
An Independent Mind by Daniel J. Mahoney, City Journal 18 June 2010



Now, don't you feel smarter?

The United States is the only industrialized country in the world where more than 500 companies make money off of sick people. Even after that we rank 37th in the world in general health and longevity. Wealthy people have continued to isolate themselves into an elite group which supports reps and senators who go to bat for their desires and have gathered at the top to collect their money. During my lifetime this country has done a 180 degree flip from what they were. 'Course I'm just 77.

It's a goddamned good thing they ARE "making money off of sick people". Otherwise, there'd be no medical breakthroughs for all those proud socialist countries to buy. I realize you think such things just appear out of nowhere, or are all given to us by the all-powerful, benevolent government, but they actually come from the research and development dollars of those "eeevil" corporations.

As for "health and longevity", that bullshit lie has been debunked numerous times in numerous places on this board. The fact that you're a bloviating 'tard who would never bother to research before shooting off his mouth does not mean I have any intention of repeating myself for your benefit. Go look it up, shitstain, and stop bothering everyone with pathetically out-of-date propaganda.

Of course wealthy people isolate themselves. If money can't buy a person distance from asshats like you, what's the point in having it?

 

[Cecilie1200]

1. Are you supporting the idea of raising capital gains taxes?

2. Do you realize that the money invested in stocks has already been taxed when generated from earnings....and will now be taxed a second time when an investment profit is realized?

Do you realize that the people who enjoy millions of earnings in this country are riding the backs of ordinary people who can't even find a job? When and where did this feeling of entitlement by the richest 1% come from? Tax rates for the wealthy are at the lowest rate in 50 years. Pay your part or get the fuck out! You might try moving to Maylasia or that Central American country where the company you're invested in is located.

please do me a favor and explain what you mean by this (in red)....exactly how are the wealthiest riding the backs of the ordinary people?

Bastards make money off of selling people things they want, instead of just giving it away for free or letting them do without. Damn them all!