Should the United States go back to a top federal tax rate of 70%?

[kyzr]

No...The 16th Amendment, income tax, and IRS should be abolished outright.

How do you propose paying for the $4T Federal Budget?

 

[Lesh]

Well you ain't getting Pay Go from Republicans. We had it in the Dem congress in the 90s and they just approved it in this one.

Otherwise...not so much

 

[leftwinger]

A flat tax that applied to all income is the fairest kind of tax, all income, no deductions, applies to everyone. Make it 5% or 20%, but apply it equally to everyone and every penny of income. You could even have a floor below which no tax would be due in order to help low income people. But the floor should be quite low, maybe 10K/year.

A revenue neutral flat tax would be a MASSIVE tax cut for the rich and a hefty tax INCREASE for everyone else.

No thanks

They have yet to provide a tax rate that does not result in the rich paying much less and the poor and working class paying more

If the top tax rate was raised to about 45% and then they added a 3% Fed sales tax, that would cover spending and start to pay down the Debt. Until they can actually cut spending we need pay-go to stop borrowing and adding to the $22T Debt, or the interest on the Debt will crowd out all discretionary spending.

Pay go?

So you're a Dem?

Nope. I'm a fiscal conservative. Look at the 2019 Budget below, especially interest on the Debt, and as interest rates rise, so will it

2019 Federal Budget
Mandatory spending $2.74T
Social Security $878b
Medicare $625b
Medicaid $412b
Welfare $462b
Interest on the Debt $363b

Discretionary spending $1.3T
Defense $893.0
HHS $70.0
Education $59.9
VA $83.1
Homeland $52.7
Energy Dept $29.2
NNSA $15.1
HUD $29.2
State Dept $40.3
NASA $19.0
All Other Agencies $133.1

Eliminate many bottom depts. consolidate. There is no easy answer. Pain will be required somewhere. We do it at home every lay-off, recession. They keep increasing. Adding onto catastrophic situation.

 

[G.T.]

cost of living should probably go down

food is easier to get to market than ever..

media/entertainment is easier to get to market than ever

autos are easier to get to market than ever

communication is faster and cheaper than ever..

Cost of Living is artificially high right now. Especially in terms of health-care.

 

[kyzr]

A flat tax that applied to all income is the fairest kind of tax, all income, no deductions, applies to everyone. Make it 5% or 20%, but apply it equally to everyone and every penny of income. You could even have a floor below which no tax would be due in order to help low income people. But the floor should be quite low, maybe 10K/year.

A revenue neutral flat tax would be a MASSIVE tax cut for the rich and a hefty tax INCREASE for everyone else.

No thanks

They have yet to provide a tax rate that does not result in the rich paying much less and the poor and working class paying more

If the top tax rate was raised to about 45% and then they added a 3% Fed sales tax, that would cover spending and start to pay down the Debt. Until they can actually cut spending we need pay-go to stop borrowing and adding to the $22T Debt, or the interest on the Debt will crowd out all discretionary spending.

But the experts knew this 30 years ago and have done nothing about it. Frustrating.

It appears to be a conspiracy to bankrupt both SS & Medicare by running up the Debt until the US can't pay for entitlements.
SS recipients will only get 70% of what they are owed, and I have no clue what will happen to Medicare after it goes bankrupt?? Everyone pays cash for healthcare??

 

[U2Edge]

A flat tax that applied to all income is the fairest kind of tax, all income, no deductions, applies to everyone. Make it 5% or 20%, but apply it equally to everyone and every penny of income. You could even have a floor below which no tax would be due in order to help low income people. But the floor should be quite low, maybe 10K/year.

A revenue neutral flat tax would be a MASSIVE tax cut for the rich and a hefty tax INCREASE for everyone else.

No thanks

They have yet to provide a tax rate that does not result in the rich paying much less and the poor and working class paying more

If the top tax rate was raised to about 45% and then they added a 3% Fed sales tax, that would cover spending and start to pay down the Debt. Until they can actually cut spending we need pay-go to stop borrowing and adding to the $22T Debt, or the interest on the Debt will crowd out all discretionary spending.

Pay go?

So you're a Dem?

Nope. I'm a fiscal conservative. Look at the 2019 Budget below, especially interest on the Debt, and as interest rates rise, so will it

2019 Federal Budget
Mandatory spending $2.74T
Social Security $878b
Medicare $625b
Medicaid $412b
Welfare $462b
Interest on the Debt $363b

Discretionary spending $1.3T
Defense $893.0
HHS $70.0
Education $59.9
VA $83.1
Homeland $52.7
Energy Dept $29.2
NNSA $15.1
HUD $29.2
State Dept $40.3
NASA $19.0
All Other Agencies $133.1

Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and welfare are labeled mandatory spending, but it is possible to cut spending in those areas. During a national crises or another World War, the government would definitely not be funding those spending areas and would be focusing nearly all of its resources on defense and security.

 

[U2Edge]

I believe in reducing the tax burdens on the lower and middle classes because doing so translates into increase consumer spending which helps the economy. The problems is with income and wealth above 100,000 dollars. Rates for them should stay the same and then gradually increase as you go up the economic later with the top rate needing to be increased from 39% to 70%.

$100,000 isn't that much income depending on where you live, and if you have a family, or not. Higher tax RATES will only translate into a slower economy. It acts as anchor on people, and higher rates do NOT translate into higher REVENUE as the Economy SLOWS. We need economic expansion to increase Tax Revenue. That is why we are currently seeing RECORD FEDERAL INCOME TAX REVENUE.

Have you any experience, or education in business, finance, or economics?

Most expensive place to live in the United States is Manhattan Island. In 2015, median household in come on Manhattan Island was $72,000 dollars a year. That means half of the households living in Manhattan were actually making less than $72,000 dollars a year, the other half above that. This is from the bureau of labor statistics. So $100,000 dollars were more the enough money to live in the most expensive place in the country, which means is way more than enough throughout most of the United States. If your struggling on $100,000 dollars, then its because you don't know how to manage money. Some people don't which means its unwise for them to have children or engage in other types of spending.

AKA I want to steal their money because I know better than they do how much they "deserve" to keep.

Piss off communist!

I don't think you understand the term communist. Do you consider the United States of the 1950s to have been a communist country? Nope, that was the Soviet Union, our enemy. The average top federal tax rate during the 1950s was 90% in the United States. But we were still a Capitalist democracy locked in confrontation with the Communist Soviet Bloc. Elvis Presley was still rich when he was paying 90% of his income in taxes.

 

[leftwinger]

Say 20% below $101K, $70% above. How many would quit work at $100K till next calendar year (if the could easily do that, like GrandmaforkeU construction business perhaps).

If he made another $100K but only kept $30K is it worth it? This before state taxes too.

..

Something seems wrong? $80K takehome + $30K = $110K correct?

Good point that is a 30/80 increase for 50% extra work.

Is it worth it? Can he make similar staying out?

 

[Oddball]

No...The 16th Amendment, income tax, and IRS should be abolished outright.

How do you propose paying for the $4T Federal Budget?

By cutting spending.

Beside that, the income tax was never enacted to run the gubmint...It was set up as a way to deliver interest on the Fed funny money.

 

[U2Edge]

Why do liberals look at Venezuela and see success?

I'm a Republican by the way. I look at the United States from 1945 to 1980 when the top federal tax rate was never below 70% and I see success!

 

[Slyhunter]

Say 20% below $101K, $70% above. How many would quit work at $100K till next calendar year (if the could easily do that, like GrandmaforkeU construction business perhaps).

If he made another $100K but only kept $30K is it worth it? This before state taxes too.

Its always worth it to make more income, that's a bad argument. A 99% tax on one dollar is more net income than zero dollars and zero cents.

But is that penny worth getting out of bed for?
Nope.

 

[G.T.]

Say 20% below $101K, $70% above. How many would quit work at $100K till next calendar year (if the could easily do that, like GrandmaforkeU construction business perhaps).

If he made another $100K but only kept $30K is it worth it? This before state taxes too.

..

Something seems wrong? $80K takehome + $30K = $110K correct?

Good point that is a 30/80 increase for 50% extra work.

Is it worth it? Can he make similar staying out?

it was wrong - i did the math wrong on the go, later I just wiped the post Sir

 

[G.T.]

Say 20% below $101K, $70% above. How many would quit work at $100K till next calendar year (if the could easily do that, like GrandmaforkeU construction business perhaps).

If he made another $100K but only kept $30K is it worth it? This before state taxes too.

Its always worth it to make more income, that's a bad argument. A 99% tax on one dollar is more net income than zero dollars and zero cents.

But is that penny worth getting out of bed for?
Nope.

Well, to begin with - 99% tax rates were just hyperbolic.

 

[U2Edge]

No...The 16th Amendment, income tax, and IRS should be abolished outright.

View attachment 238551

Well, there is only one country in the world where that is possible. Somalia. There is no government there. If you don't want to pay taxes, move to Somalia. I'm sure you'll love it there.

 

[Oddball]

I don't think you understand the term communist. Do you consider the United States of the 1950s to have been a communist country? Nope, that was the Soviet Union, our enemy. The average top federal tax rate during the 1950s was 90% in the United States. But we were still a Capitalist democracy locked in confrontation with the Communist Soviet Bloc. Elvis Presley was still rich when he was paying 90% of his income in taxes.

It's you who dosen't understand the term communist....The base premise of any income tax is that ALL of your earnings belong to The State first, and what you take home is what they've allowed you to keep.

 

[Oddball]

No...The 16th Amendment, income tax, and IRS should be abolished outright.

View attachment 238551

Well, there is only one country in the world where that is possible. Somalia. There is no government there. If you don't want to pay taxes, move to Somalia. I'm sure you'll love it there.

There was no federal income tax in Murica until 1913, ignoramus....So take your stale reducto ad-Somalia and stuff it where the sun don't shine.

 

[Oddball]

No...The 16th Amendment, income tax, and IRS should be abolished outright.

View attachment 238551

Well, there is only one country in the world where that is possible. Somalia. There is no government there. If you don't want to pay taxes, move to Somalia. I'm sure you'll love it there.

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

The rich will leave because they have the means to do so.

Is that so? So the rich people all left before 1980? Come on.

 

[kyzr]

No...The 16th Amendment, income tax, and IRS should be abolished outright.

How do you propose paying for the $4T Federal Budget?

By cutting spending.

Beside that, the income tax was never enacted to run the gubmint...It was set up as a way to deliver interest on the Fed funny money.

What part of they never cut spending don't you understand? With China threatening war, and the entitlements being the "3rd rail" of politics, defense and entitlements need to be funded. The only way to fund the government is via taxes, that is the simple reality. So please put up a realistic solution, not garbage.

 

[U2Edge]

I don't think you understand the term communist. Do you consider the United States of the 1950s to have been a communist country? Nope, that was the Soviet Union, our enemy. The average top federal tax rate during the 1950s was 90% in the United States. But we were still a Capitalist democracy locked in confrontation with the Communist Soviet Bloc. Elvis Presley was still rich when he was paying 90% of his income in taxes.

It's you who dosen't understand the term communist....The base premise of any income tax is that ALL of your earnings belong to The State first, and what you take home is what they've allowed you to keep.

Communism is an economic system where there is no private ownership of anything. That's not what the United States was from 1945 to 1980 when the top federal tax rate was never below 70%.