This is how the media is bought

Ron Mehico

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I get your point about the millionaire paying 10x what someone earning 60k does. But when you see things like Elon Musk paying $0 in federal income tax in 2018 does that not bother you? Does that seem like he might be avoiding paying his fair share? Or do you just think tax is inherently bad and any avoidance is justified?

In 2007, Jeff Bezos, then a multibillionaire and now the world’s richest man, did not pay a penny in federal income taxes. He achieved the feat again in 2011. In 2018, Tesla founder Elon Musk, the second-richest person in the world, also paid no federal income taxes.

Michael Bloomberg managed to do the same in recent years. Billionaire investor Carl Icahn did it twice. George Soros paid no federal income tax three years in a row.

Those are really unique and incredibly rare circumstances
I get your point about the millionaire paying 10x what someone earning 60k does. But when you see things like Elon Musk paying $0 in federal income tax in 2018 does that not bother you? Does that seem like he might be avoiding paying his fair share? Or do you just think tax is inherently bad and any avoidance is justified?

In 2007, Jeff Bezos, then a multibillionaire and now the world’s richest man, did not pay a penny in federal income taxes. He achieved the feat again in 2011. In 2018, Tesla founder Elon Musk, the second-richest person in the world, also paid no federal income taxes.

Michael Bloomberg managed to do the same in recent years. Billionaire investor Carl Icahn did it twice. George Soros paid no federal income tax three years in a row.


well let me come up with a hypothetical: let’s say a Jeff Bezos came up to the US Govt 20 years ago and said: “Hey guys, I’m going to start a corporation that’s going to employee hundreds of thousands of employees who in turn are going to pay billions in taxes over the next several decades, contribute billions in social security benefits, the company itself will pay billions in payroll and associated taxes, I’m going to give hundreds of millions to the postal service, and I’m going to invest billions in infrastructure and property taxes, but me personally as one single individual I want to pay minimal taxes if any”. Do you think the government will take that deal?

What if Elon musk said the same thing but in addition to they said he would make electric cars a viable alternative and would spend billions on creating a nationwide charging network. Do you think the government would think that’s fair?

I personally think there should be a cap on how much someone pays at 5 million. No matter how much they make they don’t pay more than 5 million. I
Think this not because of “fairness” but because the more government gets the more bloated and inefficient and the worse for society. Do you think the US government doesn’t have enough money to be a good government? I sure don’t.
 

Ron Mehico

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Why do people want government money (or cheese? or education? or etc?)? It is low-rent, hoodrat ****.

Unfortunately there is no shame in our society anymore. People used to be ashamed to be obese or on unemployment. Now you’re literally supposed to shame the people that want you to be ashamed. But that’s a tangent that is entirely different
 

chroix

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Those are really unique and incredibly rare circumstances



well let me come up with a hypothetical: let’s say a Jeff Bezos came up to the US Govt 20 years ago and said: “Hey guys, I’m going to start a corporation that’s going to employee hundreds of thousands of employees who in turn are going to pay billions in taxes over the next several decades, contribute billions in social security benefits, the company itself will pay billions in payroll and associated taxes, I’m going to give hundreds of millions to the postal service, and I’m going to invest billions in infrastructure and property taxes, but me personally as one single individual I want to pay minimal taxes if any”. Do you think the government will take that deal?

What if Elon musk said the same thing but in addition to they said he would make electric cars a viable alternative and would spend billions on creating a nationwide charging network. Do you think the government would think that’s fair?

I personally think there should be a cap on how much someone pays at 5 million. No matter how much they make they don’t pay more than 5 million. I
Think this not because of “fairness” but because the more government gets the more bloated and inefficient and the worse for society. Do you think the US government doesn’t have enough money to be a good government? I sure don’t.
I’m cool with everything you’ve said as long as we eliminate the unique and incredibly rare exceptions.
 
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Aug 14, 2001
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Things Angry White men are more likely to do than terrorize:

Fertilize their lawn.

Homebrew

Complain about their spouse

Back into parking spaces

Dress badly

Talk about escrow

Metal Detect





Angry white man doesn't have the time to go on a killing spree. He's too worried about that troublesome hitch that's popped up lately with his short irons. Because the member/guest tourney is fast approaching.
 
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It all goes back to media matters and the poynter institute. They slowly took over the media from the ground up via education and funding. Of course it's gone better than any of the stakeholders could've ever dreamed.
 
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CastleRubric

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Things Angry White men are more likely to do than terrorize:

Fertilize their lawn.

Homebrew

Complain about their spouse

Back into parking spaces

Dress badly

Talk about escrow

Metal Detect





Angry white man doesn't have the time to go on a killing spree. He's too worried about that troublesome hitch that's popped up lately with his short irons. Because the member/guest tourney is fast approaching.

Loxism
 

vhcat70

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The problem is that the super wealthy aren't getting much of their money in the form of earned income subject to income tax. And we treat income from capital preferentially to income from labor.
A way to "correct" this is to end step-up basis cost at death for the very wealthy, say like $50M+ in cap gains. And to prevent avoiding these taxes through creating their own "charity" foundation, require that donors & their family have no say in the selection of the charity officers & how the money is used. Gates Foundation is the perfect example.
 
Aug 14, 2001
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Let the rich be, and concentrate on incentivizing the return of heavy manufacturing back to this country. 0 percent corporate tax rates, for any company that pays a a competitive/living wage. Sufficient to raise a typical family of four on one and a half incomes. You could probably lower the tax rate on the middle class and see a net gain in tax revenues.



Any other problems you all need solved?

Maintaining a robust economy in the United States does NOT have to be that hard. I mean, we are the ONLY economy in the world that can weather a global downturn w/o having folks in soup and employment lines (not forever of course, but for long enough)
 
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Lexie's Dad

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Taxation is theft.

Well, to an extent. The government, be it federal, state, or local needs to learn one one thing - it's OUR money, not their money.

They should be frugal stewards of taxpayer funds. They should focus on providing public goods - defense, fire, police, judicial, etc.

When my wife picks up a part-time job, I shouldn't have to have her withhold an assload extra per pay period just to avoid a huge tax bill. Hell, I work 2 part-time jobs on top of my regular job and I have an assload withheld from them.

To summarize - I agree with Ron & the clown.
 

P19978

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Fair share of taxes is an insane thought process. This country started because of opposition to tax, and when tax was introduced in the 30’s it was 1% of income for the top 5%. Currently like 55% of people don’t even pay income tax because they don’t make enough money either. But now the wealthy are expected to pay 30% or whatever of their income so it’s “fair”? What? The whole concept of tax is ridiculous and now we’re acting like the government imposing a tax and someone want to pay as little as possible is a fundamental of morals now? Ridiculous.
"Fair share" as interpreted by any liberal, is bullshite.

Actually, ANYTHING interpreted by a liberal is bullshite.
 

Fact_Checker

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Well, to an extent. The government, be it federal, state, or local needs to learn one one thing - it's OUR money, not their money
The government is ours. We created it. We aren't run by some nefarious power. We are run by democratically elected politicians operating under a Constitution we wrote. It's all OURS. It is not separate from us.
 
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cat_in_the_hat

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I’m not making a moral judgement. Just stating facts. I don’t like taxes either but I really don’t like the idea that someone that makes a ton of money pays less than most middle class folks do proportionally. Bezos Musk all of them do the same thing. Hide billions and then make a hundred million dollar donation to your pet cause and get headlines.

As part of the 45% that does pay taxes I’d like for it to be consistently applied to all citizens.
If you really want that then in all likelihood your taxes would go up. The top one percent earned approximately 21% of the income but paid over 35% of income taxes. They paid an average rate over 6 times higher than the bottom 50% paid. The bottom 50% paid something like 3% of taxes. It doesn’t sound fair to me either but not in the way you mentioned.
 

Lexie's Dad

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The government is ours. We created it. We aren't run by some nefarious power. We are run by democratically elected politicians operating under a Constitution we wrote. It's all OURS. It is not separate from us.
15 or so years ago the city in which I live raised payroll tax by 0.5%.

A) It affected anyone who worked in the city, regardless of where they lived or if they could vote in city elections.

B) A prominent councilman said "It's only half a cent." Very dismissively and condescendingly. Someone earning $30,000 a year got to pay any extra $150 per year.

C) I only have the ability to vote for 2 senators and 1 representative. Not much different on the state level. I have ZERO ability to affect the government.
 

Cleisthenes

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Nothing sells without a willing consumer. The "news" is a reflection of popular destinations, not a projection with the power to lead you through difficult circumstances. It will bend and lead only those too weak or too naive to plot their own course or those swimming downstream by their own volition requiring only slight adjustments to where they were already headed. Might as well call it religion. A determined man is not swayed by the chattering of fools. History is full of such men. Those that conquered sweltering jungles and frozen uninhabited tundra. Our problem is the dearth of real men. So much so that they decorate themselves with firearms and clamber about in camouflage for a trip to the grocery store. A real man would stand out like a unicorn in this effeminate world stood on its head.
 
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I agree with most of what you say, but is one of your points that if a man carries a concealed firearm (discreetly because, that is kind of the entire point) that he isn't a real man? IOW, does carrying a weapon revoke your "real man" card, with all of the rights and privileges that come with it?
 
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Cleisthenes

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I agree with most of what you say, but is one of your points that if a man carries a concealed firearm (discreetly because, that is kind of the entire point) that he isn't a real man? IOW, does carrying a weapon revoke your "real man" card, with all of the rights and privileges that come with it?
A man is a man without accessorizing like a girl going to the roller skating rink. A gun is a tool for a man. No different than a shovel or a hammer. If you use it like anything other than a tool... a decoration like a peacock strutting its feathers for instance... then you might as well prance around in purple leotards as well. You are advertising your weakness by making a spectacle of your weaponry if it makes you feel more confident and gloat about knowing it is there even if hidden from plain view.

Does a man need a hidden gun on the off-chance he encounters some villainous hooded menace? Where a man decides he needs to wear such things says as much about a man as where he brings his tool box. Every man should have the right to own and carry his gun to protect himself and his family as he sees fit, but where a man does so should be a direct reflection of the environment as the man has evaluated it no different than choosing a spot to pitch his tent or saw a tree down. "Better to have it and not need..." blah, blah, blah... that can be claimed about virtually anything.

A skilled carpenter might always carry his tools in his truck. Handy because his skills may randomly be required whereas a weekend handyman who is as likely to drive a nail into his hand as he is the wall would not be served similarly. Therefore it is dependent upon a man's judgment as to how he utilizes his tools and as such will be a reflection upon his character in the decisions he makes accordingly.
 

precipitance

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Let the rich be, and concentrate on incentivizing the return of heavy manufacturing back to this country. 0 percent corporate tax rates, for any company that pays a a competitive/living wage. Sufficient to raise a typical family of four on one and a half incomes. You could probably lower the tax rate on the middle class and see a net gain in tax revenues.



Any other problems you all need solved?

Maintaining a robust economy in the United States does NOT have to be that hard. I mean, we are the ONLY economy in the world that can weather a global downturn w/o having folks in soup and employment lines (not forever of course, but for long enough)

We can talk taxes if you want, but I'd rather talk about making corporations pay a living wage. The government should not have to supplement businesses that don't pay a living wage. We could reduce welfare by large numbers if they were good corporate citizens. Try convincing our politicians, I mean their politicians to make them. If the average American looked down the supply chain of Amazon and seen that we weren't supplementing their low pay and poor benefits they wouldn't care if bezos played in space.
 

Lexie's Dad

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We can talk taxes if you want, but I'd rather talk about making corporations pay a living wage. The government should not have to supplement businesses that don't pay a living wage. We could reduce welfare by large numbers if they were good corporate citizens. Try convincing our politicians, I mean their politicians to make them. If the average American looked down the supply chain of Amazon and seen that we weren't supplementing their low pay and poor benefits they wouldn't care if bezos played in space.
Labor will be paid up to its marginal revenue product. Make labor more productive with better training and job skills. Make labor markets more competitive by reducing barriers to entry on both the labor supply and labor demand sides.

It's not my employer's responsibility to pay me, it's my responsibility to be enough of an asset that they pay me or I find someone who will.
 

BigSexyCat

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Labor will be paid up to its marginal revenue product. Make labor more productive with better training and job skills. Make labor markets more competitive by reducing barriers to entry on both the labor supply and labor demand sides.

It's not my employer's responsibility to pay me, it's my responsibility to be enough of an asset that they pay me or I find someone who will.
As long as I can get you for the same rate I can get Jose then I might consider you.
 
Apr 13, 2002
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Let the rich be, and concentrate on incentivizing the return of heavy manufacturing back to this country. 0 percent corporate tax rates, for any company

Manufacturing won't even include humans for much longer. I agree we need all the domestic production we can to avoid supply chain issues, but this won't effect employment issues down the line

Also automation and ai will eliminate lower level data entry type jobs.

In 5-10 years our labor market potential will be bleak and looking worse. Rather than tax the rich, they should put restrictions on automation. That's much more productive because it'll pump more tax dollars in due to more employment. Otherwise a frightening amount of people are about to be automated out of the work force for good
 

Fact_Checker

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15 or so years ago the city in which I live raised payroll tax by 0.5%.

A) It affected anyone who worked in the city, regardless of where they lived or if they could vote in city elections.

B) A prominent councilman said "It's only half a cent." Very dismissively and condescendingly. Someone earning $30,000 a year got to pay any extra $150 per year.

C) I only have the ability to vote for 2 senators and 1 representative. Not much different on the state level. I have ZERO ability to affect the government.
Well IMO you have 2 options. Change the Constitution or go live somewhere else because that is how it works in America. Thank your stars you live in a small state. Your vote counts for more than those in CA, NY, TX, and FL do. They only get 2 Senators and have several millions of more people than KY does.