Seems there's a lot of folks here suddenly worried about tax rates. Here's some advice ...

[Scuba]

If you're worried about raising taxes ...

1. Do not use Medicare.
2. Do not use Social Security
3. Do not become a member of the US military, who are paid with tax dollars.
4. Do not ask the National Guard to help you after a disaster.
5. Do not call 911 when you get hurt.
6. Do not call the police to stop intruders in you’re home.
7. Do not summon the fire department to save your burning home.
8. Do not drive on any paved road, highway, and interstate or drive on any bridge.
9. Do not use public restrooms.
10. Do not send your kids to public schools.
11. Do not put your trash out for city garbage collectors.
12. Do not live in areas with clean air.
13. Do not drink clean water.
14. Do not visit National Parks.
15. Do not visit public museums, zoos, and monuments.
16. Do not eat or use FDA inspected food and medicines.
17. Do not bring your kids to public playgrounds.
18. Do not walk or run on sidewalks.
19. Do not use public recreational facilities such as basketball and tennis courts.
20. Do not seek shelter facilities or food in soup kitchens when you are homeless and hungry.
21. Do not apply for educational or job training assistance when you lose your job.
22. Do not apply for food stamps when you can’t feed your children.
23. Do not use the judiciary system for any reason.
24. Do not ask for an attorney when you are arrested and do not ask for one to be assigned to you by the court.
25. Do not apply for any Pell Grants.
26. Do not use cures that were discovered by labs using federal dollars.
27. Do not fly on federally regulated airplanes.
28. Do not use any product that can trace its development back to NASA.
29. Do not watch the weather provided by the National Weather Service.
30. Do not listen to severe weather warnings from the National Weather Service.
31. Do not listen to tsunami, hurricane, or earthquake alert systems.
32. Do not apply for federal housing.
33. Do not use the internet, which was developed by the military.
34. Do not swim in clean rivers.
35. Do not allow your child to eat school lunches or breakfasts.
36. Do not ask for FEMA assistance when everything you own gets wiped out by disaster.
37. Do not ask the military to defend your life and home in the event of a foreign invasion.
38. Do not use your cell phone or home telephone.
39. Do not buy firearms that wouldn’t have been developed without the support of the US Government and military. That includes most of them.
40. Do not eat USDA inspected produce and meat.
41. Do not apply for government grants to start your own business.
42. Do not apply to win a government contract.
43. Do not buy any vehicle that has been inspected by government safety agencies.
44. Do not buy any product that is protected from poisons, toxins, etc…by the Consumer Protection Agency.
45. Do not save your money in a bank that is FDIC insured.
46. Do not use Veterans benefits or military health care.
47. Do not use the G.I. Bill to go to college.
48. Do not apply for unemployment benefits.
49. Do not use any electricity from companies regulated by the Department of Energy.
50. Do not live in homes that are built to code.
51. Do not run for public office. Politicians are paid with taxpayer dollars.
52. Do not ask for help from the FBI, S.W.A.T, the bomb squad, Homeland Security, State troopers, etc…
53. Do not apply for any government job whatsoever as all state and federal employees are paid with tax dollars.
54. Do not use public libraries.
55. Do not use the US Postal Service.
56. Do not visit the National Archives.
57. Do not visit Presidential Libraries.
58. Do not use airports that are secured by the federal government.
59. Do not apply for loans from any bank that is FDIC insured.
60. Do not ask the government to help you clean up after a tornado.
61. Do not ask the Department of Agriculture to provide a subsidy to help you run your farm.
62. Do not take walks in National Forests.
63. Do not ask for taxpayer dollars for your oil company.
64. Do not ask the federal government to bail your company out during recessions.
65. Do not seek medical care from places that use federal dollars.
66. Do not use Medicaid.
67. Do not use WIC.
68. Do not use electricity generated by Hoover Dam.
69. Do not use electricity or any service provided by the Tennessee Valley Authority.
70. Do not ask the Army Corps of Engineers to rebuild levees when they break.
71. Do not let the Coast Guard save you from drowning when your boat capsizes at sea.
72. Do not ask the government to help evacuate you when all hell breaks loose in the country you are in.
73. Do not visit historic landmarks.
74. Do not visit fisheries.
75. Do not expect to see animals that are federally protected because of the Endangered Species List.
76. Do not expect plows to clear roads of snow and ice so your kids can go to school and so you can get to work.
77. Do not hunt or camp on federal land.
78. Do not work anywhere that has a safe workplace because of government regulations.
79. Do not use public transportation.
80. Do not drink water from public water fountains.
81. Do not whine when someone copies your work and sells it as their own. Government enforces copyright laws.
82. Do not expect to own your home, car, or boat. Government organizes and keeps all titles.
83. Do not expect convicted felons to remain off the streets.
84. Do not eat in restaurants that are regulated by food quality and safety standards.
85. Do not seek help from the US Embassy if you need assistance in a foreign nation.
86. Do not apply for a passport to travel outside of the United States.
87. Do not apply for a patent when you invent something.
88. Do not adopt a child through your local, state, or federal governments.
89.Do not use elevators that have been inspected by federal or state safety regulators.
90. Do not use any resource that was discovered by the USGS.
91. Do not ask for energy assistance from the government.
92. Do not move to any other developed nation, because the taxes are much higher.
93. Do not go to a beach that is kept clean by the state.
94. Do not use money printed by the US Treasury.
95. Do not complain when millions more illegal immigrants cross the border because there are no more border patrol agents.
96. Do not attend a state university.
97. Do not see any doctor that is licensed through the state.
98. Do not use any water from municipal water systems.
99. Do not complain when diseases and viruses, that were once fought around the globe by the US government and CDC, reach your house.
100. Do not work for any company that is required to pay it’s workers a livable wage, provide them sick days, vacation days, and benefits.
101. Do not expect to be able to vote on election days. Government provides voting booths, election day officials, and voting machines which are paid for with taxes.
102. Do not ride trains. The railroad was built with government financial assistance.

The fact is, we pay for the lifestyle we expect. Without taxes, our lifestyles would be totally different and much harder. America would be a third world country. The less we pay, the less we get in return. Americans pay less in taxes today than in 1958 and we are ranked 32nd out of 34 of the top tax paying countries. Chile and Mexico are 33rd and 34th.

So the next time somebody says they don't want to raise taxes just to give people free stuff, tell them to stuff it.

“I like to pay taxes. With them, I buy civilization.” ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

[world wide wally]

1. Sage advice ^

[Rex]

2. Well ya see, all the mega wealthy rats just got caught inside the cookie jar.

So now minimum wage and taxes are all the concern trolling outrage! It follows a pattern.

[tosh]

3. Add:

"Do not work for a government contractor."

That's what my libertarian neighbor does.

And, FFS, he commutes 40 miles each way on US98 to and from the Air Force Base.

[JDPriestly]

4. I once worked with some right-wing Republican types who sought and were paid

from government contracts.

I could never understand how they reconciled their dislike of government from the work they did. Very strange.

[IronLionZion]

49. Government contracting is VERY Republican

They know that Republican politicians like to give sweetheart deals to their buddies in contracting.

Republican politicians know that work has to be done, but hiring contractors can let them claim that they are not increasing the size of government and that private companies are more efficient and easy to fire without notice.

Large defense contractors are some of the whitest most openly racially segregated employers in America and use security clearances as a way to block out Americans who look like the enemy.

People who do this work think they are getting back what they have paid in taxes and that it's more noble somehow than a tiny fraction of a percent that goes towards feeding the hungry children in America.

Many government employees (not contractors) are Republicans or even Libertarians and think Trump is going to merely purge this great country of the foreigners and not actually cut government jobs. Jobs might be created and contracts might be awarded to do the purging and build the damn wall. Trump supporters are really scary people, especially if you encounter any female or minority Trumpers.

Once in a while you'll see contractors straight up say that if the government is corrupt enough to give them all this money, then they don't want to pay taxes because of all the other greedy contractors getting what they don't deserve.

But mostly it's a case of gimme mine, but screw all those other people.

[annabanana]

5. You should have notated it:

(* partial list)

[gordianot]

6. I would add one more.

Do not complain your 1st world country has embraced Socialism.

[grahamhgreen]

7. updoot!

[n2doc]

8. Ponder this

[Enthusiast]

12. Huge +1!

[LiberalArkie]

22. Which side has better pavement?

[Dustlawyer]

52. There is a big patch job in the foreground that covers both sides of the border.

Who paid for the patch job accross the border? Looks like this crossing is not an impressive sight visually, but in the fact that where is all security? Try a border crossing from Texas to Mexico and back!

[think]

27. This^^

[IronLionZion]

50. Their tax rates

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/fq/txrts-eng.html

Federal tax rates for 2016
15% on the first $45,282 of taxable income, +
20.5% on the next $45,281 of taxable income (on the portion of taxable income over $45,282 up to $90,563), +
26% on the next $49,825 of taxable income (on the portion of taxable income over $90,563 up to $140,388), +
29% on the next $59,612 of taxable income (on the portion of taxable income over $140,388 up to $200,000), +
33% of taxable income over $200,000.

scroll down on their site to get the provincial tax rate as well. It looks reasonable. Their economy recovered much faster than the US in the great recession.

[n2doc]

64. Yep. It isn't like you go to Canada and notice how bad off the average citizen is

Quite the opposite.

[secondwind]

9. HUGE K&R!

[ancianita]

10. k & r

[Enthusiast]

11. K&R! This post deserves hundreds of recommendations.

“I like to pay taxes. With them, I buy civilization.” ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

[Johonny]

13. I use this kind of list on RW Libertarians

It pisses them off. They like to pretend they don't need a government besides the police.

[appalachiablue]

14. +1,000 Thank You!! Somalia works if people want to avoid taxes.

[n2doc]

15. One more thing- there is no need to raise taxes to pay for what others take for granted

What we have to do is break ourselves from being controlled by the Military-Industrial-Congressional Cartel. There is plenty of money to go around if we were to stop trying to blow up rocks in far-away countries.


We could cut spending 60% and still spend more than any other country on Earth.

[actslikeacarrot]

35. That would require disengagement...

...and it appears it's not going to happen this election, nor is it very popular.

[n2doc]

42. It is popular to deport all illegal immigrants

Should that happen?

Popularity is not a reason to do stupid things. The Iraq war should have taught us that.

And why would we need to 'disengage' when we STILL would have the LARGEST MILITARY ON EARTH?

And yes, we appear to be headed in exactly the wrong way. Not that people really had a choice in the matter.

[Dont call me Shirley]

37. Thanks for the graphic, n2doc!

[CharlotteVale]

16. K&R

[hughee99]

17. Well said. People who support the things on your list should be okay with 100% taxation!

[mountain grammy]

18. K & R

[ErikJ]

19. 33. Do not use the internet, which was developed by the military.

But I thought Gore invented it. lol.

[wendylaroux]

28. we pay for the military,why should we have to pay for internet at all?

[OrwellwasRight]

53. Because our lovely neoliberal government

put it in private hands. They could have made it a public service offered by the Post Office, thus controlling ISP rates, improving quality, and saving the post office at the same time.

[ieoeja]

69. Gore pretty much did.

DARPANET was for the Defense Department and related entities. In Congress Gore led the fight to create a similar network called ARAPNET for non-DoD related public universities.

As Vice-President he tried to persuade the NSA to give up the patent on TCP/IP. They refused. Then Newt Gingrich joined him, and the NSA agreed because Republican**.

Gore went on to persuade various telecom and computer companies to setup the W3C. I was rather shocked that IBM and Microsoft went along with it. Both are known for preferring proprietary software to lock in their customers. But they did, and thus was the INTERNET born.



**Do I need to point out that we have a really serious problem when the NSA refuses orders from a Democratic White House, but readily accepts them from a freshman Republican congressman?

[tecelote]

20. I agree but...

We could lower our taxes if the wealthy paid their fair share.
We could lower our taxes if corporations paid their fair share.
We could lower our taxes if we ended the wars.

I'm sure there re more ways to finance a better America without raising taxes on the poor and middle class.

[Blanks]

29. What's odd is that the top rate is so low...

It stops at 39.4%. If we returned to the income tax rates of the 1950's (adjusted for inflation) there would be a disincentive to pay people at the top more.

People say that it's wrong to take their money, but the tax only just comes out as it becomes their money. If income tax rates were higher companies would invest in the business more and pay people at the bottom more.

[SoapBox]

21. +1,000,000

[JHB]

23. 103. If you "want your country back", pay attention to what Postwar taxes were like

[Travis_0004]

30. That chart is largely misleading

I dont disagree that tax rates were once that high, but nobody ever paid those rates. Pull up some 50's tax retur s, they deducted everything. I would be in jail if I tried to get away with those deductions today.

And lets not forget that we just finished destroying all of Europe. They had to rebuild everything and had no manufacturing base, so it was pretty much necessary to buy US goods.

Also, the economy was great if the 50's. If you were a white male. Its a good way to keep wages up when you exclude half the workforce.

In short the 50's is not the same as today, and that chart mmeans nothing.

[JHB]

44. Except it doesn't show rates, it shows brackets...

...it shows the taxable income levels where different rates applied. It doesn't even purport to show the rates (either raw or effective).

It shows how the basic structure of the income tax system has radically changed, and how all income tax progressivity on very high incomes (e.g., over $500K) was eliminated under Reagan and has never been restored, even under Clinton and Obama.

It's a tool to ask a teabagger why the little blip of an extra bracket that was added under Obama is "socialism", but those relative towers during the Cold War was "capitalism".

In an age when people ask "should taxes on people making over $250K be raised? Are people making $250K 'rich'?", it's a visual aid for pointing out the flaw in focusing on one particular dividing point. In 1955 2/3s of the brackets kicked in at taxable income levels above the equivalent of $250K in today's dollars, and 40% kicked in at levels over $500K.

Rates too high back then? Fine! We can have lower base rates and fewer loopholes, but why is it verboten to argue for restoring progressivity at higher levels?

[OrwellwasRight]

54. Not exactly correct

Many of the bullshit deductions, exemptions, and refundable and non-refundable credits of today didn't even exist in the 1950s.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

60. What people don't get is the top bracket is on everything you make AFTER the top rate....

If you make a million dollars and the top rate of 90% kicked in at a million dollars the government didn't take 90% of your million leaving you with $10,000.

That's what the Right wants you to believe so it sounds unfair.

In actuality if you make $1,000,001.00 it's only the last $1 that's subjected to the 90% tax.

Ike wanted it to be 100% which would cap wages.

He wanted the rich to pay for WWII.

[pansypoo53219]

24. civilization is not FREE OR on lay-away.

[onecaliberal]

25. She will get to say that republicans wouldn't pass it, truth be told, she wasn't for it either.

200,000 a speech is fine for her, but $15.00 bucks an hour for the peasants is far too much!

[Jackie Wilson Said]

26. The tax increases under Bernie proposals would be MORE, WAY MORE than offset by the

benefits, single payer alone.

Rich people maybe not, maybe they end up paying more, but then they should be paying more.



Once you take stuff like HC (and many others could qualify, actually) out of the hands of for profit, you would be amazed how inexpensive, relatively speaking, they get.

[Dont call me Shirley]

38. ...

[Jackie Wilson Said]

39. THe only thing here that pisses me off more than Bernie or Bust are democrats

who poo poo Bernie's slight increase in taxes so we can have HC that doesnt bankrupt us.

So thanks...

[Dont call me Shirley]

40. ...

[hueymahl]

63. Your cogent and intelligent contribution to this post is noted.

[Dont call me Shirley]

86. Tax the uber-rich, make them pay for the messes they have created. Tax their tax havens. Tax

their kingdoms (mega-corporations).

Change structure of economics: Worker owned cooperatives, democratic workplaces, disicentivize profit only motive of business, get money out of politics, close down war industry, create jobs by investing in clean infrastructure of all kinds.

[hueymahl]

89. I agree 100%

Perhaps I misread the ?

Regardless, that is exactly what needs to happen.

[Greybnk48]

31. I would like to share this!

People just don't think about what we can have IFF we cooperate and pool our money vs. what life would be like if we were all on our own. Hobbes said without cooperation, life would be "nasty, brutish and short."

[cachukis]

32. One of the best posts ever.

[emulatorloo]

33. Kick & Rec

[nenagh]

34. K&R

[Dont call me Shirley]

36. Such a large Democratic Socialist list, Scuba! Yes the USA is Democratic Socialist nation, get

over it Neo-Cons!

[Fantastic Anarchist]

74. I wish we were, but we're not.

That list is just common sense, but doesn't rise to the standard of meeting core tenets of socialist philosophy.

[Dont call me Shirley]

87. Democratic Socialist

[gelatinous cube]

41. K&R

Fantastic list, thank you!

[allan01]

43. dear scuba. thank you thank you thank you .

can we hit this one out of the park? i have som r friends who live in the same federaly owned apartment complex where i live ,who are on public assistance of whatever means , they feel that they are immune from cuts if and when they come . i have news for them.

[Hydra]

45. +100,000,000

The whole reason we have a society is so we can do things that would couldn't ourselves.

It seems like the 1% are either overstuffed with the money they stole or they want us to devolve.

[jtuck004]

46. And no sugar in your tea.

Unless you like the fact that your labor/taxes go to keeping sugar cheaper while the percentages of us with adult diabetes continues to increase, as do the tragedies and costs for all of us

...
The Post's View
U.S. sugar subsidies need to be rolled back
By Editorial Board November 25, 2013
FEDERAL POLICY coddles the U.S. sugar industry through import controls, soft loans and price targets. The result is higher consumer prices — and fewer jobs in the U.S. food industry. Still, for many years Big Sugar and its defenders could claim that the program was designed to avoid any direct expenditure of taxpayer funds and that it had, in fact, achieved that goal.

Not anymore. The Agriculture Department lost $280 million on the sugar program in fiscal year 2013, with more losses expected next year. A surge of imports from Mexico has driven down U.S. sugar prices — to the point where it’s profitable for processors to take advantage of a U.S. law that lets them forfeit the sugar they posted as collateral for government loans and keep the cash. Stuck with mountains of excess sweetener, the government has two choices: hoard it until prices go up or sell it at a huge loss to the few ethanol makers willing to take it.
...

Here.

[FairWinds]

47. Sorry, but that is peanuts compared to . .

the billions in PROFITS (ie., revenue after all expenses)
that our gummint makes on educational loans to our
young 'uns.

Un-Flippin- Believable

[jtuck004]

48. The hundreds of billions in health care expenditures from cases of diabetes which

didn't need to happen are a huge profit center. But that's not all about you, is it, Windy?



Cute, how you stand up and preach that because you are, apparently, unaware and uneducated about the issue, that you have any opinion. There is a real estate swindler in new york, running for pres. He says the same sorts of things.

Think I will block both of you.

[FairWinds]

65. you exaggerate . .

Here are the facts . .

The feds made $41.3 billion profit on student loans for the 2013 fiscal year.

Your original point was entirely valid. I was merely pointing out that in dollar terms
there are abuses that cost more of our tax dollars.

Corrupt military spending is even worse.

Have an excellent day !!

[OrwellwasRight]

55. Actually they go to subsidizing corn sugar (e.g., high fructose corn syrup) and beet sugar

while keeping most cane sugar out of the country through a strict quota system. It's an ancient system that, like most policies, benefits the already rich, but harms countries like the Mexico and the DR that could stand to have more customers to sell their commodities to.

Believe it or not, sugar would be FAR cheaper if we didn't have import quotas.

[jtuck004]

57. Correct. And they can turn off that particular corporate welfare anytime. n/t

[MADem]

79. Now that we're getting chummy w/Cuba, that could change.

Years ago, there was a spike in sugar prices ... in the 70s, I think. When I would go down to Jamaica, I'd bring an extra suitcase and stuff it with very cheap Jamaican sugar to hand out to the family. The stuff is beautiful, it sparkles in the light. Once I got stopped and my bag checked in customs--the inspector almost shit when he saw what was in the bag...I had some 'splainin' to do to make him understand it was sugar. I even invited him (and the five guys with guns who surrounded me) to taste the stuff, but insisted they bring tape to re-seal the clear plastic bags the stuff came in. They tasted a few, said "Yep...it's sugar!" and that was that.

I actually had a receipt for it, and had declared it, but back in the day, "cash register receipts" were just lists of numbers and a total--there was no line item identification via barcode back then. I don't think I paid three or four dollars for a whole suitcase of the stuff--but that was long ago.

[mwooldri]

51. TL;DR version: quit eating, breathing and doing things.

We all are a beneficiary of tax revenue being used.

[OrwellwasRight]

56. Anti-Taxers need to grow up!

The Road Fairy didn't build that road connecting your house to your work! Taxes did.

[Silver_Witch]

58. Thank you Scuba!

I stand with Bernie

[anigbrowl]

59. Sigh...

You could think taxes are well worth paying in return for the public goods they provide and still have n opinion about the appropriate tax rate. I hate posts like this, it's like they're designed to shut down any discussion whatosever by suggesting that if you have an opinion about taxation you must be against paying tax altogether, which is total bullshit. and we have way too much bullshit in our political discourse already.

I'm from Ireland, which is much more socialist than the US. I have paid tax rates of up to 65% on what were very modest earnings by American standards - an approximate equivalent when you think about currencies and inflation would be maybe $150k in today's money.

65% means you get to keep 1/3 of your nice but not exactly lavish earnings. I'm willing to bet that nobody here has any idea what that's like. Yeah tax rates matter quite a lot; I think they could be a bit higher without causing too much economic pain but anyone who thinks you can just jack them up is living in la-la land.

[mdbl]

61. No one said we should just jack them up

Last edited Thu Apr 28, 2016, 06:23 AM - Edit history (1)

I agree you were paying a much higher rate for your income than here in the US. We don't even come close to that for our billionaires. Repugs in the US have used this tax crap argument to usurp all the power and keep any taxes they can for themselves leaving worthy programs in the dust which helped a lot of people. There's nothing wrong with being discerning about where the taxes go, but our current congress takes everything to the extreme, including their own greed.

[Uncle Joe]

62. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Scuba.

[myrna minx]

66. K&R!

[DLevine]

67. K&R. nt

[raouldukelives]

68. K&R! nt

[angrychair]

70. Truism

HRC supporters and teapublicans hate taxes and poor people getting "free stuff"....I have been told by many a Clinton supporter...over and over again. Hope them and their teapublican buddies will be happy in the world they creating.

[nini]

71. Oh bullshit

comparing Hillary supporters to the Tea party is disgusting.

[angrychair]

80. As a generic statement

Many, many times I have engaged in conversations with HRC supporters that have railed against their taxes going up and have used every "free stuff" meme I have ever seen from a teapublican to and some I have not.

[marmar]

72. Awesome

K/R

[Fantastic Anarchist]

73. Taxes are investments.

Just wish I had a little more to say about what we invest in, otherwise great post!

[MadDAsHell]

75. DUers seem to always be in favor of raising taxes, they just don't want THEIR taxes raised.

It's easy to say everything should be paid for by the 1% (they certainly aren't paying their fair share), but all the things we want are going to cost a hell of a lot more money than everything the 1% has combined.

It seems a lot of folks want to benefit from a ton of services, but want to have absolutely no personal skin in the game; why shouldn't all of us have some skin in the game?

[Scuba]

76. "... all the things we want are going to cost ... a lot more money than everything the 1% has..."

This is false. Start with Medicare for All; we already pay for it, we just don't get it. Then consider ...

Some $32 trillion has been hidden in small island banking hubs which host a bevy of trust funds, shell corporations and other tax havens, the Tax Justice Network estimates.

Source


That's trillion, with a "T".

[whatthehey]

81. I'm fine with my taxes going up

I'd start with getting rid of the 6pc raise I get every Q4 because of the silly SSI cap. Preventing grannies from starving is a bit more important than that. I'd add a tax to my day trading too. I already decide when to sell based on net gains after fees. Just add an extra $1 per trade and I'll never notice it, but it would raise billions nationally. Let's start also by phasing out deductions for people like me earning over the median. Nothing abusive, maybe just lose 1% of your deductions for every $10,000 over median income you make. The point is not to absolve comfortable folks like me of tax increases entirely but to set tax increases that are truly progressive in that the higher the income the higher the increase. A little bit more from me; a lot more from billionaires. I shouldn't pay the same tax rate as a fast food cashier, but I shouldn't pay the same as a hedge fund CEO either.

[BKH70041]

77. Meh. If someone doesn't know how to use the tax code...

If someone doesn't know how to use the tax code to their own favor, then that's their problem.

[MADem]

78. Tell that to the Republicans. See, their attitude is this:

Those who are rich are the FEW. Those who are the POOR are the MANY. The MANY use that shit more than the FEW, ergo, THEY should pay for most of it!

They don't think the whole "percentage of income" thing applies to them. That's why Mitt Romney took heat for paying only 14 percent taxes which I think somehow got offset to be no taxes.

The fact is, though, that people on both sides of the party divide object to taxes when they see how Congress squanders them on stupid shit. One of the things McCain used to do to great fanfare (and is the reason that he, as a Republican, got a "pass" even though his wife is INSANELY rich) was that PORK list he came out with every year--it's getting less notice in recent years, I will have to google to see if he even does it anymore....

Now, it seems, he's calling it "America's Most Wasted" -- and his list is way less compelling than in years past:

http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/capitol-hill/2016/02/06/pentagon-puppy-project-criticism/79453716/


See, it's not just "the taxes." It's who is PAYING those taxes. The element of regressive taxation is a large factor in all this--if you are paying twenty percent of ten million dollars, that's not going to impact you as much as twenty percent of $40K.

[SalviaBlue]

82. Great post!! Thom Hartmann is reading it on his show!!

[Scuba]

84. Yes, many DU member have followed the Third Way over the conservative cliff.

[taught_me_patience]

88. Do you want your tax rates to go up?

or is that only for the rich to pay more?

[theSleeper]

90. Minus one/ plus more

55. USPS since 1973 is self funded (no tax $$).
102+. Do not fly in air space regulated by air traffic controllers
102+. Do not hire people for your business who use the commons to commute.
102+. Do not use the consumer.gov website or the Consumer Action Handbook.
102+. Do not ride bikes in separate bike lanes.
102+. Do not read or obey sidewalk/parking/street signs or lights, or use them for directions.
102+. Do not expect protection for transporting your goods across the oceans.



And thank you for this post.