Taxing just the rich is a futile effort.

[Remodeling Maidiac]

It would barely raise enough money to get FEMA out of its deficit. If they want to raise taxes I say let all the cuts expire. Fair is fair

 

[occupied]

I've said all along that if anyone was really so serious about deficit reduction to make it the central plank of their platform then there would be no sacred cows.

 

[Wolfsister77]

I agree, let them all expire and also look at spending cuts too.

A balanced approach.

 

[The Rabbi]

I agree, let them all expire and also look at spending cuts too.

A balanced approach.

OK, so you definitely want taxes to go up but you only want to look at cuts.
Yeah, that's balanced. If you're drunk.

Let the budget deal kick in. Sequestration, baby. The Dems can run on the resulting chaos.

 

[occupied]

None of them in Washington really care about the deficit that much, democrats have never made a big deal over it and republicans are just using it as safe cover to attack the welfare state for the poor since they seem to forget all about their distaste of big spending when they get in power.

 

[Remodeling Maidiac]

Tax everyone or tax no one. Stop playing favorites and dividing the people against each other.

 

[Wry Catcher]

Everyone will continue to get the tax cut on the first $250,000 of their income. Why is that so difficult for those on the right to understand? Eliminating the tax cuts to everyone is sure to slow the economy. That is so self evident only the willfully ignorant and the mendacious will question its veracity.

That is the first step on the road to deficit reduction.

Next, cut the home mortgage deduction on all but the primary residence;

Next, add a fee to all stock transactions of .10 cents;

next; eliminate the practice of 'riders' and make all bills to come out of the Congress and sent to the President's desk a single issue bill.

next; replace all federal fleets with hybrid or all electric vehicles by attrition; require all federal buildings to replace or upgrade roofs with solar panels; purchases of made in America units only.

next, invest in the repair, replacement and upgrade of our electrical grid;

next; take Marijuana off the Schedule I list and allow each state to regulate or outlaw it as they see fit. Doing so will allow for a reduction in the costs to the Criminal Justice System and provide a massive influx of revenue to the states currently going to the criminal enterprise - both foreign and domestic.

 

[mudwhistle]

It would barely raise enough money to get FEMA out of its deficit. If they want to raise taxes I say let all the cuts expire. Fair is fair

Yeah, but is sure sounds great to the folks that hate others for what they have.

"Tax the rich" works when your ideology breeds poverty and racism.

 

[occupied]

It would barely raise enough money to get FEMA out of its deficit. If they want to raise taxes I say let all the cuts expire. Fair is fair

Yeah, but is sure sounds great to the folks that hate others for what they have.

"Tax the rich" sounds great when your ideology breeds poverty and racism.

It sounds awesome when these people who have tremendous control of our economy are the only tax brackets who have seen their inflation adjusted incomes rise in thirty years.

 

[mudwhistle]

It would barely raise enough money to get FEMA out of its deficit. If they want to raise taxes I say let all the cuts expire. Fair is fair

Yeah, but is sure sounds great to the folks that hate others for what they have.

"Tax the rich" sounds great when your ideology breeds poverty and racism.

It sounds awesome when these people who have tremendous control of our economy are the only tax brackets who have seen their inflation adjusted incomes rise in thirty years.

Who's been in the White House for 4 years????

Don't you think if Obama intended to reverse that he would have?

The market is the only thing up in this economy.......other than excise taxes and inflation.

 

[Wry Catcher]

It would barely raise enough money to get FEMA out of its deficit. If they want to raise taxes I say let all the cuts expire. Fair is fair

Yeah, but is sure sounds great to the folks that hate others for what they have.

"Tax the rich" works when your ideology breeds poverty and racism.

Yep, the mendacious and willfully ignorant will never get it. Simply keep repeating the talking point like the parrots they are ("hate others for what they have") is one of many bullshit phrases invented by the propaganda machine.

 

[Katzndogz]

Make the 1% completely responsible for the cradle to grave retirement system of the 99%.

Make the majority of the nation drug addicts.

Punish anyone who objects as racists.

 

[Annie]

Everyone will continue to get the tax cut on the first $250,000 of their income. Why is that so difficult for those on the right to understand? Eliminating the tax cuts to everyone is sure to slow the economy. That is so self evident only the willfully ignorant and the mendacious will question its veracity.

That is the first step on the road to deficit reduction.

Next, cut the home mortgage deduction on all but the primary residence;

Next, add a fee to all stock transactions of .10 cents;

next; eliminate the practice of 'riders' and make all bills to come out of the Congress and sent to the President's desk a single issue bill.

next; replace all federal fleets with hybrid or all electric vehicles by attrition; require all federal buildings to replace or upgrade roofs with solar panels; purchases of made in America units only.

next, invest in the repair, replacement and upgrade of our electrical grid;

next; take Marijuana off the Schedule I list and allow each state to regulate or outlaw it as they see fit. Doing so will allow for a reduction in the costs to the Criminal Justice System and provide a massive influx of revenue to the states currently going to the criminal enterprise - both foreign and domestic.

Really?

Should People Who Make $250,000 a Year Worry About Obama's Tax Proposals? - The Daily Beast

Megan McArdle is a special correspondent for Newsweek and The Daily Beast covering business, economics, and public policy. A former senior editor at The Atlantic and writer for The Economist, Megan has a diverse work history including three small startups and a disaster recovery firm at Ground Zero.

Should People Who Make $250,000 a Year Worry About Obama's Tax Proposals?
by Megan McArdle Nov 20, 2012 11:51 AM EST
There are more wrinkles in the tax code than you think

Kevin Drum and Dave Weigel take off after rich people who don't understand that they only pay marginal tax rates on the extra dollars they earn above taxation thresholds. "This isn't true, of course. Obama is only proposing to raise tax rates on income over $250,000, so if your income goes up to $251,000, you only pay the higher rate on the extra $1,000. The tax bill on your first $250,000 stays exactly the same."

Their analysis is basically sound, except for the fact that it is not quite true. They have forgotten to look at deduction phaseouts, surtaxes, and the AMT, which are not taxes on marginal income.*

No matter what you have heard on the internet, there are in fact a lot of sizeable marginal inflection points for high earners. There are the Pease deduction phaseouts, temporarily abated by the Bush tax cuts but scheduled to go back into effect in 2013, which can eliminate up to 80% of deductions for couples who make more than about $175,000 (the number is indexed for inflation, so it changes every year): your deductions are reduced by 3% of the amount by which your income exceeds the threshhold. The student loan interest deduction phases out at $150,000 ($75,000 for singles). And a lot of tax-free savings opportunities disappear: educational savings accounts and IRAs have income limits, so your ability to use them starts phasing out in the low-six-figure income range. So do various educational and child tax credits. These things obviously aren't a huge deal for people who make $1,000,000 a year but they can be a huge tax hit for couples in the $150,000 to $300,000 range. Come 2013, they will be an even bigger hit.

And we haven't even discussed the AMT, which virtually eliminates deductions for couples who make the mistake of doing things like buying a house, having children, or living in a high tax state.

...

Links at site
Anecdotal, but these ideas do tend to take root:

Instapundit » Blog Archive » RESPONDING TO MARGINAL TAX RATES: Reader Alex Clay writes: After the election, my wife and I are…

November 25, 2012

RESPONDING TO MARGINAL TAX RATES: Reader Alex Clay writes:

After the election, my wife and I are going partial Galt. We’re in California, so our state income tax went up in addition to what’s sure to come out of Washington.

My wife quit her job last week. I increased my participation in a tax deferment plan offered by my employer to bring my taxable income as close to $250K as possible. We’ll be cutting back a little, but the government is going to getting a whole lot less.

My wife’s entire salary barely covered our tax bill – she was 100% slave to the government, while I was a 10% slave. Now she is 100% free, and I’ll be a ~35% slave As a couple, 17.5% of our time is slaving on the government plantation from an astounding 55% previously.

My wife is deliriously happy, our children are delighted to have mom home, the dog gets more walks, and I find not spending money rapturously satisfying.​

I think we’ll see a lot of this. Whether it will add up to “Irish Democracy” or not, well, we’ll see.

Just think of how Obamacare has already led to entire industries moving employees from full-time to part-time. This week there's also been discussion of the disincentives for business with fewer than 50 employees to grow beyond 49, costs are prohibitive.

 

[occupied]

Yeah, but is sure sounds great to the folks that hate others for what they have.

"Tax the rich" sounds great when your ideology breeds poverty and racism.

It sounds awesome when these people who have tremendous control of our economy are the only tax brackets who have seen their inflation adjusted incomes rise in thirty years.

Who's been in the White House for 4 years????

Don't you think if Obama intended to reverse that he would have?

The market is the only thing up in this economy.......other than excise taxes and inflation.

Even as a perhaps futile deficit reduction measure it has symbolic value as a message that we are not going to run the country solely for their benefit anymore. America is the greatest country in the world to be wealthy, it's about time we upped the greens fees at this country club.

 

[Wry Catcher]

Make the 1% completely responsible for the cradle to grave retirement system of the 99%.

Make the majority of the nation drug addicts.

Punish anyone who objects as racists.

Idiotgrams are not constructive. If we taxed you alone for making stupid comments we would be well on our way to debt reduction.

 

[Decus]

The call to tax the rich is to divert attention from the real issue - the incompetence and corruption of our politicians.

The tax is however guaranteed to make the terminally stupid piss their pants with joy.

 

[blackhawk]

It would barely raise enough money to get FEMA out of its deficit. If they want to raise taxes I say let all the cuts expire. Fair is fair

Yeah, but is sure sounds great to the folks that hate others for what they have.

"Tax the rich" works when your ideology breeds poverty and racism.

Yep, the mendacious and willfully ignorant will never get it. Simply keep repeating the talking point like the parrots they are ("hate others for what they have") is one of many bullshit phrases invented by the propaganda machine.

Where as tax the rich and pay their for share is what if not a B.S. propaganda phrase?

 

[Wry Catcher]

It's unfortunate the self defined conservatives, aka the echo chamber, are so ignorant. Of course there is a cure for simple ignorance; sadly the echo chamber's ignorance is willful (in some cases based on a lack of intellectual ability) and no amount of information can cure their malady.

 

[Wry Catcher]

Yeah, but is sure sounds great to the folks that hate others for what they have.

"Tax the rich" works when your ideology breeds poverty and racism.

Yep, the mendacious and willfully ignorant will never get it. Simply keep repeating the talking point like the parrots they are ("hate others for what they have") is one of many bullshit phrases invented by the propaganda machine.

Where as tax the rich and pay their for share is what if not a B.S. propaganda phrase?

You don't see a distinction? Wow. The former is bullshit, the latter is a call for action.

 

[Antares]

These folks, the leftwing "little people" simply parrot what they've been told by their "leaders".

You could seize the wealth of ALL the "rich people" and not make a dent in the debt.