Why Bill Gates has so much Money to Attack Teachers & Unions

[Hannah Bell]

http://gfbrandenburg.wordpress.com/2011/01/02/no-wonder-bill-gates-can-afford-to-meddle-with-us-education/

[jeanpalmer]

1. KO said Microsoft would get $6 billion

in tax credits under Obama's tax deal.

[Hannah Bell]

2. oh, good, more money for bill's hobbyhorses.

[snagglepuss]

3. Your OP should be a permanent fixture on the home page.

:kick:

[rpannier]

5. That's the truth nt

[rpannier]

4. K&R so I can get it at a later time

Thanks

[dkf]

6. So you ought to be supporting Obama's attempt to review the tax code for exemptions and loopholes.

Your text shows the opportunity for raising revenue simply by streamlining the tax code. This is the key.

[proud2BlibKansan]

11. And do you really believe the billionaire boys will lie back and let that happen?

:rofl:

[dkf]

13. Obviously it has to be folded into a bigger package.

In the end we will probably need to serve the ideological left and right to get something done. That is one good thing about the tea party. They aren't indebted to the corps yet.

[proud2BlibKansan]

16. The tea party is indebted to the billionaires who fund them

I live in Kansas. The Koch brothers will never let the tea party they finance lobby for tax reform.

[dkf]

19. Well might as well give up then.

Wow we suck at advancing our causes.

[proud2BlibKansan]

24. Which is exactly what I said!

:sarcasm:

Seriously, the fastest growing caucus in Kansas is the Progressive Caucus. We have twice yearly standing room only meetings. Many of the 'moderate' republicans in the state have switched to the Democratic party. In spite of the recent election results, the Democratic party in Kansas has gained more new members than the state GOP. We also had bigger numbers in the most recent primary.

As the Kochs become more well known, the Democrats in Kansas benefit.

So I would argue that we don't suck at advancing our cause here in red state hell.

[tblue37]

31. Of course, numbers don't matter as long as they can arrange to hack the

electronic voting machines to ensure that the "right" people get elected (pun intended).

[xchrom]

17. the tea party is corporate sponsored

http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/massey-energy-don-blankenship-million-dolla

Here's something else about Don Blankenship and Massey Energy Company: Blankenship spent over $1 million dollars along with other US Chamber buddies like Verizon to sponsor last year's Labor Day Tea Party, also known as the "Friends of America Rally." Here's Massey's pitch. Note how he makes it sound like he isn't one of the corporate enemies of America.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/29/opinion/29rich.html

All three tycoons are the latest incarnation of what the historian Kim Phillips-Fein labeled “Invisible Hands” in her prescient 2009 book of that title: those corporate players who have financed the far right ever since the du Pont brothers spawned the American Liberty League in 1934 to bring down F.D.R. You can draw a straight line from the Liberty League’s crusade against the New Deal “socialism” of Social Security, the Securities and Exchange Commission and child labor laws to the John Birch Society-Barry Goldwater assault on J.F.K. and Medicare to the Koch-Murdoch-backed juggernaut against our “socialist” president.

[dkf]

20. Well they seem Loonie enough to go off the reservation.

[grahamhgreen]

12. Reduction of loopholes is critical, as is a return to the 90+% tax rate of the Greatest Generation

on the ultra-rich.

With it, we can eliminate the debt and deficit in 10 years:

According to the President, eliminating the Bush tax cut (4% increase) will raise 700 billion in revenues in 10 years. (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/11/us/polit ... ... )

Which means a 40% increase on the top tax rate to a rate similar to the pre-Reagan rate of 79.6% would yield 7 trillion in 10 years.

A 58% increase to 94% would yield over 10 trillion dollars over the next 10 years.

So our deficit of 1.3 trillion would be gone in a little over a year and our DEBT would be gone in under 10 years (as we pay it down).

Simple! Done and done - and we haven't added the critical taxes to investment income yet!

2010 Y1: 14T - 3T (2T normal revenues plus additional 1T from tax on ultra-rich) = 11T debt
2011 Y2: 11T(debt) + 1T(deficit) - 3T = 9T debt
2012 Y3: 9T(debt) + 600B(deficit) - 3T = 6.6T debt
2013 Y4: 6.6T(debt) + 700T(deficit) - 3T = 4.3T debt
2014 Y4: 4.3T(debt) + 800T(deficit) - 3T = 2.1T debt
2015 Y5: 2.1T(debt) + 800T(deficit) - 3T = .1T debt
2016 Y6: .1T(debt) + 900T(deficit) - 3T = +2 Trillion SURPLUS!!!

[Statistical]

21. Your math is off.

In each year you show deficit amount and then add back in 2T in general revenue. The deficit already accounted for the 2T in revenue. Deficit = Total Revenue - Total Spending

Still raising rates on rich is important but even a 40% hike wouldn't do as much as you think.

1) As you raise rates you increase incentive to avoid those rate via either legal or illegal methods. With taxes 10x as high revenue won't be 10x as high. Still for the sake of argument we will pretend it is.

2) Current national debt is $14.4 trillion and is projected to grow to by about $10T over the next decade. So we are looking at roughly a $24T national debt in 2020 if spending & revenue remains the same.

3) Those projections include the expiration of Bush tax cuts. Thus raising taxes 40% = $7T already includes the $0.7T in Bush tax cuts expiring. Thus net-net it is a $6.3T boost in revenue.

Conclusion: Even IF we raised marginal rates of "rich" (>$250K) by 40% we are looking at a $24T - $6T = $18T national debt in 2020. If you raised it to 95% it would net another roughly $2T leaving us with a $16T national debt. If you taxed all income >$250K at 100% we are still looking at roughly a $14T national debt.


You very well show the scope of the problem (although it is hidden by $18T in mistaken revenue). Either spending must decline or taxes will need to go up for everyone.

[dkf]

25. Why would anyone work extra if they keep only 6%?

Back in the pre reagan days it made sense to do so because you put whatever you want into a retirement savings account and escaped all taxes for years and years.

Besides it sounds like the venture cap is going to investments out of this country. With these kinds of taxes people may leave with their money. The talent that we attract will have even less incentive to come after they get their great early educations in other countries. Or once they do get them they will leave for sure.

Do we want our entrepreneurs leaving the country instead of keeping them to grow jobs? It may be too late for that anyway. I'm not hopeful we have much to offer after we lose our edge in science and technology.

Yeah tax what the rich have because it's our last pools of wealth before we succumb to competition.

[grahamhgreen]

28. Because 6% of 1 billion is 60 million. If that's not enough they should leave.

[dkf]

29. What about state taxes? Won't that take the rest?

Aren't you basically capping earnings?

[grahamhgreen]

34. Really,

I would settle for the PRE-Reagan rate of 70%....

[JackRiddler]

33. Alice in Wonderland answer, given immediate wake of a deal to cut these guys' taxes even more!

Sure, I support such efforts. Hooray!

[katnapped]

7. But....but....but...that's IMPOSSIBLE

FOX News says companies pay over 99.44% in taxes every year! You mean THEY'RE LYING? :sarcasm:

[slipslidingaway]

8. knr - Tax Holiday For Huge Corporations? - Cenk on MSNBC

"Cenk Uygur (host of The Young Turks) filling in for Ed Schultz on MSNBC on huge corporations asking for a tax holiday."

Thread in PV
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=385&topic_id=539769&mesg_id=539769

Direct youtube link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aj8pE9CK5k

[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[GeorgeGist]

10. Only fools believe that crime ...

doesn't pay. Especially when it's legal.

[Reader Rabbit]

14. These money-hoarders won't be happy until they have it *all*.

Seriously, hoarding is a mental illness. If Gates and these other money-grubbers were hoarding animals or books, we'd see them on reality TV. Sadly, in America, hoarding wealth is not just acceptable, it is encouraged!

[sarcasmo]

18. Great idea for a TV show, money hoarders.

[Statistical]

22. You are aware Bill Gates has given away 50% of his net worth right?

He plans to give away 90% by the end of his life.

[proud2BlibKansan]

23. Good for Bill

Now let's hope he gives even more to cure malaria and leaves our schools alone.

[Hannah Bell]

26. you are aware that's a crap number, right? since both bg's net worth & his foundation's net worth

have continued to grow yearly.

what that number means is he put it into his tax-exempt investment vehicle called a "charitable foundation" which he controls.

which is only obliged to disburse 5% of net worth yearly, much less than the average growth of assets.

[xchrom]

15. recommend

[Starry Messenger]

27. Shit howdy, that's a keeper.

k&r And he has the unmitigated gall to point fingers at *us* for failing schools? That tax money could have gone *into* schools. But no! Then he and his cronies couldn't plan to divert a lucrative source of tax money into their coffers via privatization.

[Nye Bevan]

30. When did Bill Gates "attack teachers"?

I know he has said that good teachers should be rewarded. Which I, Obama, and many DUers agree with. But when did he "attack teachers"?

[Hawkeye-X]

32. NO MORE TAX BREAKS FOR THE RICH UNTIL THEY START CHURNING JOBS OUT OF THEIR ASSES

RIGHT THE HELL NOW!