I originally wrote this here, Link as a reply all the excess drama over Bush and Cheney saving money as a result of their tax cuts. However, largely because of length, (and laziness), I decided to delete my reply and repost it here instead.

Apparently the far (and I do mean far) side of the left seems to think that this was implemented by Bush to save himself a (to him) insignificant amount of money, at the cost of devestating the poor and middle class. Well, I feel devestated, don't you?

Meh. Tax changes affect me little to none. I'm military reporting a gross income of 32 grand a year, and I end up paying 1700 in taxes. If it goes up, goes down, I make a couple of grand higher or lower, it affects me what, a couple of hundred dollars if anywhere near that? Not enough to pay one electric bill in a hot Texas summer.

I'm not poor, but I've got a lot of debt. For here, I'm lower middle class, and I don't see that lowering the taxes on the wealthy hurts me particularly unless it seriously hurts the economy, which I doubt, and then not much.

Good grief, I pay far more taxes in the form of sales tax, luxury tax (well, at least in gasoline, higher prices through tariffs, etc.), property tax, utilities taxes, social security, Medicare, et cetera than income tax could ever amount to. Something like three times as much. These taxes are ever made nearly as much fuss over, aren't for the most part progressive in any way, yet account for at least twenty percent of my income, before income tax ever comes into the picture.

Before income tax could represent serious amounts of money, my income would be far to high for those large amounts to really hurt me. (Which is of course the idea behind progressive taxes) If they want to lower some taxes, and it doesn't make a serious dent in the economy, I say lassez faire (which being this tired, I undoubtedly mispelled). Or to quote Jefferson out of context, it neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg. It's not hurting me.

Comments (Page 1)
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on Apr 16, 2005
Lowering taxes is a terribly moronic idea right now, considering the national debt is currently $7.7 trillion. We should be cutting spending, not taxes.
on Apr 16, 2005
Lowering taxes is a terribly moronic idea right now, considering the national debt is currently $7.7 trillion. We should be cutting spending, not taxes.


Cutting excess spending I can see, but then the taxes affect me how again exactly? Barring the deficit causing a depression so large, that it deserves capital letters and it's own adjective at the beginning, they won't affect my life, or the lives of those around me at the bottom of the food chain much at all.

If one really wanted to play devil's advocate, you could even make the old trickle down economics argument, that the tax cuts at top will increase spending, investment in industry, etc., encouraging an improvement in the economy.
on Apr 17, 2005
Now I'm just a dumb college kid who doesn't have any money to speak of, but it's 2am, I'm poking around joeuser, and I feel talkative. So much of the money that the government takes in is flat-out wasted that if they cut out all the crap they could Pork Barrel spending. You know what that is. And there's that stadium that they're planning to build in New York City. It infuriates me that they would ever consider spending public money on that. And of course there's
on Apr 17, 2005
"Tax cuts happen, why all the fuss?"


Because robin hood types don't feel like the world is in order unless someone is sticking it to the wealthy, and wealthy Liberals keep up the facade and get "creative" accountants...
on Apr 17, 2005
Heh, maybe this makes me evil or a moocher or something, but...I love tax time. Tax time is happy time. Thanks to our breeding ways (and whatever else that I don't know about that contributes to our tax return) we generally get about $5K back. Yeeeeeaaaah, baby.

It's extra money that we don't plan on having, so like you've said, if it changed, I don't suppose it would have all that much of an impact (but I might have to wait for my elliptical trainer, which would be a bummer). We've yet to have to pay in, but I'm sure that's coming in the years ahead.

Should we get a trampoline?
on Apr 17, 2005
we generally get about $5K back. Yeeeeeaaaah, baby.


I don't have the kids you do, so we only get back part of what we put in, and really, I'd rather have had the excess money back when I earned it, rather than let the government hang on to it all year. Still, it's awfully nice around rebate time.

Or (and I'll give an insightful to the first person to spot the quote), "Liberatin', idn' it?"

Should we get a trampoline?


Oh yeah, a big bouncy one, with ummm.......a coke holder, and a massage chamber, and umm, padded rails even! Hard to move, being military, but the kids (even the ones ages 18 - 58) will love it.

unless someone is sticking it to the wealthy


They say that revolution is for equality and fraternity, I find that it's usually about role reversal between the economic classes.
I like Nietsche's version better, He said that the quickest way to fraternity and equality is exhaustion.

And of course there's


Sorry, the page that linked to isn't working right, something about the quakers?
on Apr 17, 2005

Heh, maybe this makes me evil or a moocher or something, but...I love tax time. Tax time is happy time. Thanks to our breeding ways (and whatever else that I don't know about that contributes to our tax return) we generally get about $5K back. Yeeeeeaaaah, baby.

Thanks to GW Bush!  Welcome to the dark side!

on Apr 17, 2005
The problem is, taxes are far less a matter of revenue as they are a matter of social engineering. Class warfare warriors whine and moan that "the rich" aren't paying their fair share, "the poor" whine and moan that they aren't being given enough of other people's money, and "the rich" whine and moan that "the poor" are too lazy to earn money the old fashioned way.

All it really amounts too is a bunch of whining and moaning that someone else is the problem.

For me, I wish they would all just shut up and actually think about what they are saying before they accomplish looking more foolish than they already do.

Tax revenues were never meant to "even the playing field", they were meant to fund the government according to the Constitution of the U.S., the States, or the Local municipalities. Social Engineering through taxation is nothing more than robbing Peter to pay Paul. In the end, neither Peter or Paul are any better off for all the whining and moaning.
on Apr 17, 2005

Tax revenues were never meant to "even the playing field"

Unfortunately, that is what the left has come to think of them as.  Just listen to them.

on Apr 18, 2005
ParaTed2K

Our problem is that we are robbing Peter to pay part of what we owe Paul and then borrowing the balance from Sam. Sone day Sam will want to be paid and he will also want the interest which we do not have.
on Apr 18, 2005

Our problem is that we are robbing Peter to pay part of what we owe Paul and then borrowing the balance from Sam. Sone day Sam will want to be paid and he will also want the interest which we do not have.

Fine.  But look at it this way.  If you are living beyong your means, do you stomp into the bosses office and demand a raise? (You can, but that does not happen often), or do you cut expenses?  If you dont like the interest of the debt, reduce spending!  It has never been tried, and who knows, it might just work for a change.

on Apr 19, 2005
If cutting spending will not solve the problem you seek a higher paying job or get a second job. What you do not do is just keep adding the shortfall to the credit card. That is the policy we have been and are following. In addition, that is the policy we plan to follow in the future under Bush and the conservatives in Congress because they will not get a part-time job (tax increase).
on Apr 19, 2005
If you are spending more than you make, how could cutting spending NOT solve the problem? You're a broken record Col.
on Apr 19, 2005
BakerStreet

Very simple- If you look at your spending and find you CAN cut $100 per month out of your expenses and you were $600 out of balance, even after you cut the $100 you still have a $500 per month problem. We could cut spending- get out of Iraq, end pork. Would that save enough- HELL NO. I think we should do those two things as a start and then restore tax rates on the trop 5% to per 2000 rates. That would move us closer to a balanced budget. We should try and collect more of the taxes that people and corporations are not paying. Than look at the remaining inbalance, if any, and find other cuts or revenue to finish the job!
on Apr 19, 2005

Again, Col Gene, raising taxes won't come close to eliminating the deficit. This has been explained to you over and over. This isn't a matter of opinion, this is a matter of statistical fact.  Raising taxes alone won't come close to eliminating the deficit.  Moreover, you don't even propose a fair tax increase, just a partial one on those damn rich people (i.e. people other than you) which would be a drop in the bucket.

The coruse congress is taking already (which makes this all pointless) is to try to decrease the rate of spending growth so that natural growth in tax receipts due to economic growth.  This in turn will lower the deficit and hopefully eventually eliminate it. 

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