I posted last week some new statistics from the Tax Policy Center showing that 47% of Americans pay no income tax and that 40% actually receive more in "refunds" than they paid into the system in the first place.
Over the weekend, a new CBS poll came out asking Americans if they feel they are paying their fair share of income taxes. The results:
Do You Pay Your Fair Share Of Income Taxes?
2010
About right amount 50%
More than fair share 43
Less than fair share 1
I will assume that the 1% who feel they pay less than their fair share comes from the 40% who profit from the income tax system. That still means that out there, living amongst us, is 39% of the population that receives free money every tax system yet still believe they pay to much in taxes!!
The sad part for me personally is that I was so outraged over the numbers last week, that I just don't have any additional outrage left for this. Have we as a society become really become this damn selfish?
Monday, April 12, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Virtual Zeppelin
Ten Years Gone is a freaking awesome Zeppelin tune that I had been dying to play for about 25 years now. So I hit the interwebs to find some instruction and came across this video.
These guys are from all over the world. They all recorded their parts separately and shared the files back and forth until they finished this absolutely dead-on cover version. Now, I'm not big into playing things exactly as the original band did. That said, this is still a hell of an accomplishment.
First, Virtual Zeppelin's cover
Now, the real deal.
How freakin' cool is that!!
These guys are from all over the world. They all recorded their parts separately and shared the files back and forth until they finished this absolutely dead-on cover version. Now, I'm not big into playing things exactly as the original band did. That said, this is still a hell of an accomplishment.
First, Virtual Zeppelin's cover
Now, the real deal.
How freakin' cool is that!!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
The New Economic Model
There is much debate regarding whether or not our nation has become a European style social democracy. At the risk of being called an ignorant, racist "Tea Bagger," I would assert it undoubtedly has. In defense of this position, I would like to bring your attention to stories that made news today.
The first is a report from the Tax Policy Center that finds 47% of Americans will pay NO INCOME TAX to the treasury to help cover the costs of national defense, maintenance of infrastructure and the billions in necessary pork to pay off members of congress so the President can pass his agenda. That's right, a full 47% don't pay a dime in income tax.
Although that is pretty bad, it is not the end of the story. There are millions of Americans (the bottom 40% of income earners) who actually get back more in a tax "refund" than they paid into the system in the first place. To me, that isn't a tax refund, it's a wealth transfer. Only a politician could call that a tax refund.
The other story comes from the Wall Street Journal. Current White House Economic Advisor Paul Volcker has given the first signal of the Obama Administrations intention to add a Value Added Tax (VAT) on top of our current income tax. For those who don't know what a VAT is, it is like a national sales tax. The difference is the VAT is applied at every stop in the economy. It is paid by suppliers, manufacturers, wholesalers, brokers, retailers and consumers. Basically, every level of production is taxed.
The VAT is almost a foregone conclusion at this point. The only real question is how high the tax will be. The number being guessed at is 10% as this will yield about a trillion dollars, or 2/3 the current deficit, annually.
So in conclusion: Almost half of our "taxpayers" don't actually pay income taxes. Forty percent of our tax payers actually receive more in tax refunds than they paid in the first place. And the federal government is going to tax every level of production in the economy at about 10%. (Don't believe me on this one.....I'll write about it later.)
Sure sounds like a European style Social Democracy to me.
the only good news is that with the VAT at least all the free loaders that make money off the income tax will be helping me in paying the taxes.....did I just say that out loud??
The first is a report from the Tax Policy Center that finds 47% of Americans will pay NO INCOME TAX to the treasury to help cover the costs of national defense, maintenance of infrastructure and the billions in necessary pork to pay off members of congress so the President can pass his agenda. That's right, a full 47% don't pay a dime in income tax.
Although that is pretty bad, it is not the end of the story. There are millions of Americans (the bottom 40% of income earners) who actually get back more in a tax "refund" than they paid into the system in the first place. To me, that isn't a tax refund, it's a wealth transfer. Only a politician could call that a tax refund.
The other story comes from the Wall Street Journal. Current White House Economic Advisor Paul Volcker has given the first signal of the Obama Administrations intention to add a Value Added Tax (VAT) on top of our current income tax. For those who don't know what a VAT is, it is like a national sales tax. The difference is the VAT is applied at every stop in the economy. It is paid by suppliers, manufacturers, wholesalers, brokers, retailers and consumers. Basically, every level of production is taxed.
The VAT is almost a foregone conclusion at this point. The only real question is how high the tax will be. The number being guessed at is 10% as this will yield about a trillion dollars, or 2/3 the current deficit, annually.
So in conclusion: Almost half of our "taxpayers" don't actually pay income taxes. Forty percent of our tax payers actually receive more in tax refunds than they paid in the first place. And the federal government is going to tax every level of production in the economy at about 10%. (Don't believe me on this one.....I'll write about it later.)
Sure sounds like a European style Social Democracy to me.
the only good news is that with the VAT at least all the free loaders that make money off the income tax will be helping me in paying the taxes.....did I just say that out loud??
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