Real-life stories save Michael Moore's 'Capitalism'

[Ignorance is Rampant]

BBB wrote:

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So what is fair? I understand your comparison, but does it merit a higher taxation. If so, how much. Where does it end? Will taxing the rich, REALLY help the poor? If so, how. Is it not true that American already has one of the higher tax rates of all countries. When will liberals be happy, when its 50 or 60%? Would you and your wife be comfortable if you were getting taxed 50%? Some countries have that and more.

Actually, it is NOT true that the U.S. has some of the highest taxes. The Netherlands have the highest tax rates, some as high as 70%. Ironically, survey after survey shows that the Netherlands also has the happiest most content people. I don't know if I'd be too happy paying 70%, but people in the Netherlands do have a very high standard of living (very low unemployment, universal healthcare, very clean cities, very low crime rates, highly educated populace, etc.). The top tax bracket in the U.S. is still only about 34%, much less than under Reagan.

The problem is that the rich pay FOX News to tell the middle-class that they need to get angry at the poor. The politicians on the right have done an excellent job at convincing people that they are getting taxed to death and that the rich need more tax breaks so that they can invest more and trickle down, blah blah blah. On paper that looks great, in practice it's a failure. It didn't work under Reagan and and didn't work under Bush. Don't misunderstand what I'm trying to say. I'm not saying we should tax the hell out of the rich, but the rich must pay their FAIR SHARE of taxes. They are the biggest beneficiaries of our system, yet they pay no more than your typical middle-class family.

Most of the income the very wealthy make is unearned income, that is, they didn't have to work at all for it. This income came in the form of returns on investments. You work your butt of and get taxed at twice the rate of someone who sat around the pool at the country club collecting a check. Then there's the Estate Tax, what the right-wing likes to spin as the "Death Tax". I find it very interesting that the righties have convinced so many people that they should fight tooth and nail and do away with the Estate Tax, a tax that impacts only 5,000 people per year. Thank of all the people who die every year in this country. According to the CDC, there are over 2.5 million deaths in the U.S. annually, yet the righties want us to fight a tax that affects only 0.2% of those deaths. These are the richest of the rich who are getting taxed. This tax will not affect 99.8% of us. The righties also want you to believe that they're getting taxed twice. WRONG AND FALSE. Just about all of the income has been tax-deferred. They haven't paid taxes once, much less twice. Example, when the founder of BET Black Entertainment Television sold his network, he made $5 Billion yet did not pay a single penny in taxes. Why? Because he got paid in stocks and options and had not "cashed in" on it. When he dies and leaves it all to his children, taxes will not have been paid on any of the capital gains. Hence, the Estate Tax. Unless you are worth $5 million, you have nothing to worry about paying this tax. That's 99.8% of us.

You are more likely to get audited by the IRS if you make $150,000 than if you make $1.5 million. What's wrong with that picture?

[BBB]

Ignorance is Rampant wrote:

<quoted text>
Actually, it is NOT true that the U.S. has some of the highest taxes. The Netherlands have the highest tax rates, some as high as 70%. Ironically, survey after survey shows that the Netherlands also has the happiest most content people. I don't know if I'd be too happy paying 70%, but people in the Netherlands do have a very high standard of living (very low unemployment, universal healthcare, very clean cities, very low crime rates, highly educated populace, etc.). The top tax bracket in the U.S. is still only about 34%, much less than under Reagan.
The problem is that the rich pay FOX News to tell the middle-class that they need to get angry at the poor. The politicians on the right have done an excellent job at convincing people that they are getting taxed to death and that the rich need more tax breaks so that they can invest more and trickle down, blah blah blah. On paper that looks great, in practice it's a failure. It didn't work under Reagan and and didn't work under Bush. Don't misunderstand what I'm trying to say. I'm not saying we should tax the hell out of the rich, but the rich must pay their FAIR SHARE of taxes. They are the biggest beneficiaries of our system, yet they pay no more than your typical middle-class family.
Most of the income the very wealthy make is unearned income, that is, they didn't have to work at all for it. This income came in the form of returns on investments. You work your butt of and get taxed at twice the rate of someone who sat around the pool at the country club collecting a check. Then there's the Estate Tax, what the right-wing likes to spin as the "Death Tax". I find it very interesting that the righties have convinced so many people that they should fight tooth and nail and do away with the Estate Tax, a tax that impacts only 5,000 people per year. Thank of all the people who die every year in this country. According to the CDC, there are over 2.5 million deaths in the U.S. annually, yet the righties want us to fight a tax that affects only 0.2% of those deaths. These are the richest of the rich who are getting taxed. This tax will not affect 99.8% of us. The righties also want you to believe that they're getting taxed twice. WRONG AND FALSE. Just about all of the income has been tax-deferred. They haven't paid taxes once, much less twice. Example, when the founder of BET Black Entertainment Television sold his network, he made $5 Billion yet did not pay a single penny in taxes. Why? Because he got paid in stocks and options and had not "cashed in" on it. When he dies and leaves it all to his children, taxes will not have been paid on any of the capital gains. Hence, the Estate Tax. Unless you are worth $5 million, you have nothing to worry about paying this tax. That's 99.8% of us.
You are more likely to get audited by the IRS if you make $150,000 than if you make $1.5 million. What's wrong with that picture?

Does the netherlands have other taxes, such as sales tax/property tax/death tax, etc.