What I want to know is why do Democrats generally take the position that tax cuts = bad for America? I never understood that. I have been reading Franken’s book (still) and he brings that up several times � essentially that those idiotic Republicans keep cutting taxes every time you turn around. Of course, Arnold is getting criticized for cutting taxes in CA, and any time a conservative mentions cutting taxes, Democrats have a conniption. Now, I am not an economist, but here are my (possibly misguided) thoughts on it…
Lower taxes for me (average joe American) = more money in my pockets
More money in my pocket = feeling of security
Feeling of security = I go out and buy stuff
Buying stuff = stimulate economy, create jobs, new business, etc.
Conversely …
Higher taxes = less money for me, less chance for me to buy stuff, fewer jobs created, etc etc.
Now I am not schooled in this stuff like these guys supposedly are and I just figured that out. I guess I am just tired of having so much of my paycheck taken away by people a bazillion miles away who just like to spend the tiny amount of money that I do earn. (And that mean Elephants and Donkeys alike.) So get a clue guys. You can run the country by cutting taxes. It has been done before and works… and people even get a good feeling about having more spending power.
That is so great that your uncle has made it up to being a millionaire, but that wasn’t my point.
It just seems that the middle class and the poor especially the poor get the shaft in this country. I’m sure your uncle pays his fair taxes as well as I but it seems to go to the MARTHA STEWART’S and KEN LAYS of this world etc.
And by the way, MY UNCLE worked his way out of poverty into being wealthy. He was and is Joe American.
(that was to uncle kevin)
The wealthy are just as entitled to keeping their own money in their pocket as you and I. Look at what tax bracket my millionaire uncle is in, and I bet you’d say he deserves the first cut. You’re analysis is far too relative. Just cause I make 200 grand a year doesn’t mean that 62% of that should go to the government. He would covet my parents’ 37% tax bracket.
Let’s put tax cuts in terms everyone can understand. Suppose that every day, ten men go out for dinner. The bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this.
The first four men — the poorest — would pay nothing;
The fifth would pay $1:
The sixth would pay $3;
The seventh $7;
The eighth $12;
The ninth $18.
The tenth man — the richest — would pay $59.
That’s what they decided to do.
The ten men ate dinner in the restaurant every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement — until one day, the owner threw them a curve. “Since you are all such good customers,” he said, “I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily meal by $20.”
So now dinner for the ten only cost $80.
The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes. So the first four men were unaffected. They would still eat for free. But what about the other six — the paying customers? How could they divvy up the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his “fair share?”
The six men realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody’s share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would end up being *paid* to eat their meal.
So the restaurant owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay. And so the fifth man paid nothing, the sixth pitched in $2, the seventh paid $5, the eighth paid $9, the ninth paid $12, leaving the tenth man with a bill of $52 instead of his earlier $59.
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to eat for free.
But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings. “I only got a dollar out of the $20,” declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth. “But he got $7!” “Yeah, that’s right,” exclaimed the fifth man. “I only saved a dollar, too. It’s unfair that he got seven times more than me!” “That’s true!” shouted the seventh man.
“Why should he get $7 back when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!” “Wait a minute,” yelled the first four men in unison. “We didn’t get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!”
The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up. The next night he didn’t show up for dinner, so the nine sat down and ate without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They were $52 short!
And that, boys and girls, journalists and college instructors, is how the tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up at the table anymore.
This was posted at http://www.youdebate.com/cgi-bin/scarecrow/topic.cgi?forum=16&topic=6
But Josh how much of the recent tax cuts that BUSH has put thru has actually benefited you and I. Those tax cuts went to the wealthy who make over 200,000 a year and not to JOE AMERICAN, Your right on Democrats wanting more taxes then reps , but everytime reps get in the wealthy get wealthier and not average AMericans who have to usually work 2 jobs or live paycheck to paycheck.
Uncle Kev
i really, really enjoy not having money taken out of my checks. if only i had a job…
I agree with you. I’ve been thinking about this for a while and I just can’t understand why it doesn’t happen all that often. It makes sense to me.