The obvious question to close off this series is “How can Sweden afford those benefits?” Of course a part of that answer it through relatively high taxes. But how high is that? Sweden does have the highest top marginal rate … Continue reading InDepth – US vs Sweden Post #6 – Taxes & Closing Thoughts
Forty years ago, Ronald Reagan made the comment “Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem.” I didn’t agree with that then but by adding two words I agree with it now. My slightly revised quote … Continue reading Government Wasn’t The Problem
Now that we are closing this current period of political idiocy, it’s time to start talking about things that have been put on the back burner. I know government dysfunction will not immediately end when he is finally out of … Continue reading Guaranteed Income
I know there are very basic differences in how people look at the world. I personally get much of my worldview from the words of Jesus and that certainly includes his very obvious stands on empathy and wealth. One of the things I love about Jesus is that he led by example. How many changes of clothes did Jesus have? How many castles? How many servants? I don’t think there is anyone who can’t answer these questions. He led a life of poverty. He led by example. Did he hate the rich? Well, no not really but he did have … Continue reading Looking At The World…
But since Piotrowski describes property taxes as “unethical, unchristian-like” and a form of “financial slavery,” he decided to make a statement. “Since I’m being forced to pay for something against my own will, I’m paying in pennies,” he told The Philadelphia Inquirer. SOURCE: This man collected 50,000 pennies to make a statement about paying his property taxes – Yahoo Finance. I don’t know about you but these sort of stories get on my nerves but kind of like a train wreck I just can’t seem to look away. This guy claims paying taxes is “unethical, unchristian-like and a form of financial slavery”. … Continue reading Something For Nothing…
I see where the Greeks elected a new government this week to help them reduce austerity that was forced upon them by the European Union bailout. This reminded me of a book I read a few years ago entitled “Boomerang” by Michael Lewis. One chapter in the book was about Greece. The book is very enlightening and well written. Here are some selected snippets about Greece. The average government job pays almost three times the average private-sector job. The national railroad has annual revenues of 100 million euros against an annual wage bill of 400 million, plus 300 million euros … Continue reading About Those Greeks…
Despite a wide coalition of business, labor, religious groups, farmers and others pushing for an immigration overhaul, many individual Republican House members who represent largely white districts have been unmoved. SOURCE: Republican leaders to block US immigration measure – Yahoo News. After so many years of a stalemated government there are so many things that need changes. We are stuck in the 20th century practices due to a small number of our congressional representative being frozen with the fear of change? There are just too many of us old white folks who are trying to hold back the tide of … Continue reading Republican leaders to block US immigration measure
On top of that, higher-income taxpayers could see their itemized deductions and personal exemptions phased out and pay higher capital gains taxes — 20 percent for some taxpayers. And there are new taxes for them to help pay for health care reform. There are different income thresholds for each of these new taxes. An additional 0.9 percent Medicare tax, for example, kicks in on earnings over $250,000 for married couples filing jointly and $200,000 for singles and heads of household. Same for a 3.8 percent tax on investment income. But the phase-out of personal exemptions and deductions doesn’t begin until … Continue reading Tax code changes will hit high-income Americans hardest
“The Republican Party is not really a party. It doesn’t stand for anything except re-electing itself,” Stockman, who directed the Office of Management and Budget under President Ronald Reagan, tells Newsmax. “The neocons are only oriented to an aggressive, imperialistic foreign policy of big defense establishment and suppression of our civil liberties. That’s bad. “The tax cons want to just cut taxes — any time, any day — regardless of the fiscal situation,” Stockman adds. “That has gone to an absurd length. The social cons, social policy people — the right-to-life issue and gay marriage and all of that — … Continue reading GOP Is Not A Real Party…
The U.S. government and Switzerland have reached an agreement that could expose Americans who have used Swiss banks to avoid paying taxes…. The crackdown began in 2009 after a whistleblower notified U.S. authorities that UBS, the largest Swiss bank, was enabling Americans to evade taxes. UBS settled the case later that year. It turned over account records on 4,500 U.S. customers and paid a $780 million fine SOURCE: Swiss, U.S. reach deal on outing tax evaders – CBS News. I have absolutely no sympathy for those caught trying to hide their wealth in swiss banks in order to avoid paying … Continue reading Swiss, U.S. reach deal on outing tax evaders
A Senate panel late Monday accused Apple (AAPL) of using what it called a “complex web of offshore entities” to dodge billions of dollars in U.S. income taxes. Source: Lawmakers say Apple dodged billions in taxes – CBS News. If we could just manage to get a Centrist party in control of those folks in Washington one of the first things I would want them to attack is our bloated tax code. The 10,000 plus pages of rules are at the core of the above article. Of course businesses want to minimize their tax load in order to increase their profits. … Continue reading Lawmakers say Apple dodged billions in taxes…
I am totally sick of the “slippery slope” that my conservative friends so often cling to!!
If I hear another person give me a slippery slope story I just might punch them. The idea of the slippery slope consumes so much of their lives. It is the center point for their current stands against gun regulation. It is the center point for their current stands of excluding anyone from their religious circles who don’t totally align with them. It is the center point of their current stands on taxes.
Source: Most Americans Face Lower Tax Burden Than in the 80s – NYTimes.com. But in fact, most Americans in 2010 paid far less in total taxes — federal, state and local — than they would have paid 30 years ago. According to an analysis by The New York Times, the combination of all income taxes, sales taxes and property taxes took a smaller share of their income than it took from households with the same inflation-adjusted income in 1980. Households earning more than $200,000 benefited from the largest percentage declines in total taxation as a share of income. Middle-income households benefited, … Continue reading Taxes, Its All Relative…..
Source: Churches and Taxes – ProCon.org.
US churches received an official federal income tax exemption in 1894, and they have been unofficially tax-exempt since the country’s founding. All 50 US states and the District of Columbia exempt churches from paying property tax. Donations to churches are tax-deductible. The debate continues over whether or not these tax benefits should be retained.
Proponents argue that a tax exemption keeps the government out of church finances and thus upholds the separation of church and state. They say that churches deserve a tax break because they provide crucial social services, and that church tax exemptions have been in place for over 200 years without turning America into a theocracy.
Opponents argue that giving churches special tax exemptions violates the separation of church and state, and that tax exemptions are a privilege, not a right guaranteed by the US Constitution. They say that in tough economic times the government cannot afford what amounts to a subsidy worth billions of dollars every year.
But every one of us write our own history. If it sounds better the way we want it than the way it might have been why that don’t stop us any more than an amber light. – September17, 1933 Will Rogers Will’s quote here is still pretty much true today except to maybe change the word amber to red. The number one cause of accidents now are people running red lights. Being a senior citizen I have lived in historical times. I personally saw the Civil Rights marches not in person but on TV. I was a naive teen … Continue reading Amber Lights…
RJ's Corner - Having My Say 