How to Save the Rich!

The richest of us pay a third of what they used to pay in taxes and we can't afford to repair the bridges we built from scratch when they paid more.

The USA Had a Perfect Economy 1940-1980

We can try to cut our way to prosperity or grow our way to prosperity...here's how we have grown and can grow again...

The USA has, in the past, attained the 'perfect social formula'.
 It was a formula of taxation and investment which created a rising tide for all citizen/boats, so to speak. Higher taxes on the wealthy invested in modern infrastructure made more money for the rich while affording better jobs and a stronger social safety net for society as a whole. Everyone was wealthier in every way and the rich weren't forced to live in gated communities to protect themselves from the 'desperate poor'.

 During what years was the USA at our economic peak? 1940-80. The tax rates on the wealthy from 1940-80  were double to triple today's rates, no coincidence. And don't say 'the rich didn't really pay them'. There's no way our economy grew so much and we did so much with such low debt without vastly more revenue. From 1940-80 we paid for WWII, Korean War, Vietnam war, Republican Eisenhower built our Entire Interstate Expressway system and we went to the moon-manned 6 times! Kennedy only lowered the upper rate a little, but Reagan decimated it and America has gone into debt and disrepair since then. Sad...When will we learn?

Thank God For Elizabeth Warren!

"Coming out of the Great Depression, our country was at a crossroads. We made the decision together to invest in ourselves, in our kids, and in our future – and for nearly 50 years, it worked. And then in the 1980s, our country moved in another direction, and we found ourselves living in a very different world – one where the rich just got richer, and everyone else was left behind. No one spoke more powerfully about what was happening to America’s struggling middle class than Governor Mario Cuomo. We will miss his voice, we will miss his heart, and we will miss his passionate fight for working families."
Senator Elizabeth Warren
https://www.facebook.com/ElizabethWarren

When Will We Learn?

During what years was the USA at our economic peak? 1940-80. The tax rates on the wealthy from 1940-80  were double to triple today's rates, no coincidence. And don't say 'the rich didn't really pay them'. There's no way our economy grew so much and we did so much with such low debt without vastly more revenue. From 1940-80 we paid for WWII, Korean War, Vietnam war, Republican Eisenhower built our Entire entire Interstate Expressways system and we went to the moon-manned 6 times! Kennedy only lowered the upper rate a little, but Reagan decimated it and America has gone into debt and disrepair since then. Sad...When will we learn?

Huey Long Quote-

"According to the tables which we have assembled, it is our estimate that 4 percent of the American people own 85 percent of the wealth of America, and that over 70 percent of the people of America don't own enough to pay for the debts that they owe."-
"How many men ever went to a Barbecue and would let one man take off the table what's intended for 9/10ths of the people to eat?
The only way you'll be able to feed the balance of the people is to make that man come back and bring back some of that grub he ain't got no business with."

Lower Tax Rates Bring in More Revenue-Not Really...

'It works every time it's been tried' blares the conservative radio host of your choice. But not so fast...here's how that myth breaks down. If an economy is growing at a very fast clip and increasing in size year after year, that is one thing. Under that circumstance (as was the case in 1965 when our upper rate was lowered from 91% to 70%) then it is indeed possible to garner more tax revenue at a lower rate of taxation because you are, in effect, taking a smaller bite of a bigger pie. But this is a temporary result and depends on the economy continuing to expand. And since a prime factor in the continuing growth of any economy is that a nation stay up to date on modernization and maintenance of its infrastructure, that means this formula for increasing revenue by lowering taxes must inevitably be reversed if a nations economy is to stay strong. Nothing is static in economics!
Chip Shirley

Why Shouldn't We All Pay The Same Rate?

Well, we could reinvent the wheel while we're at it.
Long before there was any federal income tax or payroll tax there was a thing called TARIFFS .
These tariffs were paid 100% by the richest and most wealthy early Americans, and if not glad to do it, THEY DID IT.
And they built this country. Roads, Ports, Armies, Buildings, Our Capitol. God bless'em. 

Chip Shirley

RightWing Unemployment Ploys

1. Obama Cheats on How Unemployment is Calculated.
NO-The way the unemployment rate is calculated was most recently changed by the REAGAN and CLINTON administrations so that it no longer reflects those who have dropped out of the job market HOWEVER this point was never mentioned by conservatives until President Obama came into office and now when Fox etc. does mention that fact they don't put it in context and thereby insinuate that this is a new way of calculating the unemployment rate which was begun by the Obama administration but IT WAS NOT. The unemployment rate today is calculated in the exact same fashion it was during the W Bush administration.

2. How Can We Have More People Not Working, But Lower Unemployment?

Simple, with baby boomers retiring the US now has a the highest % of retired people we've ever had and it's rising! That is how we can have more people not working and lower unemployment.
Chip Shirley

Our Tax History

The fact is that the rich and poor got richer from 1940-80 when we had far higher tax rates on the wealthy BECAUSE we invested in roads and rail and communications and we MADE A BETTER MOUSE TRAP (so to speak). 

We made a stronger nation with a stronger economy and we all profited from it!

A Richer Nation

We Liberals fall into a trap when we tell the rich they are addicted to money...

The fact is that the rich and poor got richer from 1940-80 when we had far higher tax rates on the wealthy BECAUSE we invested in roads and rail and communications and we MADE A BETTER MOUSE TRAP (so to speak). 

We made a stronger nation with a stronger economy and we all profited from it!

Internet Sales Should Pay State Tax!

No matter how much somebody hates taxes it is not fair for a business to go out of state (or out of nation) and ship their products back into that state (using its roads, rail, mail and airports and police for security) but not help in paying the taxes that everyone in the state pays to maintain those things.

They are ripping us off by using our stuff and not paying their fair share.

If they want to start delivering by helicopter and not impact our roads etc. then fine. Let's see them try to price that in!

And you ask, won't they pass that on to us? NO is the answer. In Free Market Capitalism some companies will accept the tax and not pass it on in order to gain a higher market share and equal or more profits as their competitors raise prices. This is what separates the good from the bad, the better company from the worse. In the end gain enough market share to lower their overhead and pass on savings and if we still have a WELL REGULATED FMC system in place we will make sure that even that 'winner' still must leave the door open for competition. No Monopolies Allowed in true Free Market Capitalism. That's what makes it a good thing, like evolution. Survival of the fittest, but the contest never ends.
Chip Shirley

TAXES

HOW DO THEY WORK IN OUR SOCIETY, RICH VERSUS POOR. YOU'LL LEARN ABOUT IT HERE.
FACTS ARE WHAT WE NEED AND I GOT 'EM.!

Since everybody on the Right and Left describe our economic troubles today as like the 'Great Depression' then why don't we see any stories recounting how we got out of the Great Depression? Here's how we did it!
After the stock market crash in 1929, when our tax rates on the most wealthy were similar to today's rates, we raised the rates on the richest Americans to double or triple what they are today.
From 1930-80 the wealthiest Americans paid between 70% to 90% federal income tax and that's what allowed us to build the American Dream. How else could we afford it? Between 1930-80 we fought and paid for WWII, the Korean War and Vietnam War, we built our entire US Interstate Expressway System, Roads, Electrical Grid, Telephone, our main Bridges and Tunnels-We Made every Car we Drove and we wore just the Clothes we Sewed and WE WENT TO THE MOON SIX TIMES-AND WE PAID FOR IT ALL!
Here's the link. Go to section 21.5 and Get out ye encyclopedias... TRUTH LINK:
AND DON'T EVEN TRY TO SAY...'But there were many deductions that made it so the richest didn't pay all those higher tax rates.'
Really? I am listing the formal tax tables here, no one who makes this argument, that deductions negated the higher rates, has even begun to account for me what these many mysterious deductions were AND WHAT'S MORE if you add up the price of all these mega-accomplishments we made during those fifty years you will see that we would indeed need far more tax revenue from the rich to pay for them! The Hoover Dam! The Golden Gate Bridge! We can't touch this long list of national accomplishments today, we can't afford it! Because the Rich are not paying the 'fair share' they did when we built this country!
So to the rich I say, these numbers below are high, but this is what we did before to make our country strong and great!
Chip Shirley 

What is My Fair Share of Taxation?

Ayn Randians love to ask this question concerning tax rates. They know that there can be no innately perfect answer, so they gleefully pose it in the hopes that the conundrum will show Liberals that taxation its self is illogical. But wait a second. I say the fair tax rate for any individual should be based on the idea of what is best for society as a whole. Not simply to redistribute wealth, but taking into account how much government revenue is necessary to keep law and order and help the nation thrive through investments in infrastructure and modernization. And we must consider who profits most from these investments and is in the best position to contribute. This answer will always be in flux and should be based on our analysis of history, what worked and what didn't.

Life is full of questions which don't have perfect answers, but which we must make our best effort to deal with for society is to function. What is a 'fair price' for anything? In our free market the answer is 'whatever the market will bear', but we all agree that price gouging during a natural disaster should be prohibited and no one would want that to be the guideline for our government in setting fees for licenses (driving or marriage, or business) or penalties for crimes committed. None of these questions have perfect answers, but we all know they must be answered.

During the Great Depression we raised the upper tax rates on the most prosperous citizens to double or triple what they are today. That led to the USA having 45 years of unprecedented growth and prosperity. I say that today we need to learn from that lesson. I am not in favor of taking the rates back up to those levels on the wealthy, but it seems very clear that the 'fair share' the wealthy should pay needs to be moved somewhat back in that direction. Taking the upper rate back to half of what it was during our hey days, 45%,  would be a very wise and modest move in the right direction.

Corporations Don't Pay Taxes (they pass them on) Debunked:

This particular truthy-ism of conservatism really galls me. It's as if they are saying, 'Corporations are more powerful than our democratic system of government, they are above us and can't be touched and can do whatever they want.' This line of trash shows that modern conservatives virtually worship corporations and the super-rich.
Do they not know the philosophical underpinnings of Free Market Capitalism? If an individual thinks that they might be able to demand a higher salary from their employer, they do. And they can consider taking their service to another employer if they don't get what they want, if they can. Likewise a business or corporation will charge as much as the market will bear for their goods or services. The flip-side of this formula is that any individual or business or corporation might make more money by underpricing their competition and therefore getting more and better job offers or customers. A corporation who is taxed more, can try to recoup that loss and raise prices on their customers, but if their competitor chooses to accept a smaller profit margin and thereby gains a higher volume of the market. then they can actually make more money by charging less than the competition.
Here is the perfect test-tube example of what I'm talking about...Last year after the Dodd-Frank bill was set to limit the predatory fees banks charged at ATMs this was briefly the news of the day...

The changes come at a time of big upheaval in the banking industry. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, passed by Congress last year, imposes new compliance requirements that could be costly for banks. It included the Durbin amendment, which would limit banks’ income from debit card fees.

Source: Credit.com (http://s.tt/15DKH)

Banks Jack Up ATM Fees, Blame Regulations

The changes come at a time of big upheaval in the banking industry. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, passed by Congress last year, imposes new compliance requirements that could be costly for banks. It included the Durbin amendment, which would limit banks’ income from debit card fees.

Source: Credit.com (http://s.tt/15DKH)

http://www.credit.com/blog/2011/03/banks-jack-up-atm-fees-blame-regulations/

This story explained how the big banks were going to show the government that they were untouchable. The only thing is, it turned out to be wrong, because this is what actually happened...

Bank of America dumps debit card fees
http://sundial.csun.edu/2011/11/bank-of-america-dumps-debit-card-fees/

Bank of America has abandoned a monthly $5 debit card fee, which was scheduled to begin in early 2012.The announcement came after competitors, namely Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase, announced they were no longer going to exact similar fees.The bank cited customer feedback and a changing competitive marketplace as the reason for the bank’s “change of heart,” according to a Nov. 1 statement.“We have listened to our customers very closely over the last few weeks and recognize their concern with our proposed debit usage fee,” David Darnell, co-chief operating officer, said in the statement. “Our customers’ voices are most important to us. As a result, we are not currently charging the fee and will not be moving forward with any additional plans to do so.”
It's called Free Market Capitalism in a Democratic Republic...BABY!

GREAT DEPRESSION LESSON

Since everybody on the Right and Left describe our economic troubles today as like the 'Great Depression' then why don't we see any stories recounting how we got out of the Great Depression? Here's how we did it!
After the stock market crash in 1929, when our tax rates on the most wealthy were similar to today's rates, we raised the rates on the richest Americans to double or triple what they are today.
From 1930-80 the wealthiest Americans paid between 70% to 90% federal income tax and that's what allowed us to build the American Dream. How else could we afford it? Between 1930-80 we fought and paid for WWII, the Korean War and Vietnam War, we built our entire US Interstate Expressway System, Roads, Electrical Grid, Telephone, our main Bridges and Tunnels-We Made every Car we Drove and we wore just the Clothes we Sewed and WE WENT TO THE MOON SIX TIMES-AND WE PAID FOR IT ALL!
Here's the link. Go to section 21.5 and Get out ye encyclopedias... TRUTH LINK:
AND DON'T EVEN TRY TO SAY...'But there were many deductions that made it so the richest didn't pay all those higher tax rates.'
Really? I am listing the formal tax tables here, no one who makes this argument, that deductions negated the higher rates, has even begun to account for me what these many mysterious deductions were AND WHAT'S MORE if you add up the price of all these mega-accomplishments we made during those fifty years you will see that we would indeed need far more tax revenue from the rich to pay for them! The Hoover Dam! The Golden Gate Bridge! We can't touch this long list of national accomplishments today, we can't afford it! Because the Rich are not paying the 'fair share' they did when we built this country!
So to the rich I say, these numbers below are high, but this is what we did before to make our country strong and great!

Reagan's Rule Led to Mandate!

Ronald Reagan asked for and signed legislation REQUIRING hospitals to accept indigent people for treatment. THAT is what inevitably led to this healthcare mandate requiring those who can afford it, to pay for healthcare. Simple, sorry if you don't like it.
SALON.COM LINK

DIVISION OF WEALTH