By Scott_Adams on General Nonsense What if the government could give something of value to the rich in return for paying higher taxes? It would have to be something that didn’t cost the government or its citizens any real money. How about extra rights? For example, let’s say the super rich are granted the right to use the carpool lane even if no one else is in the car. They’d need special stickers on their cars so they didn’t get pulled over. It wouldn’t clog the car pool lane because there are so few super rich people, and half of them have chauffeurs, so they use the carpool lane already. Society wouldn’t notice the difference. And what if we allowed the super rich to park in front of fire hydrants? Then they’d always have a parking place, and being rich, they wouldn’t mind so much in the unlikely event the fire department had to smash all their windows to run a hose. How about giving the super rich five votes in each election? Their extra votes would have almost no impact compared to the large amounts of money they already donate to candidates. Again, society wouldn’t even notice. How about letting the super rich have DVDs of movies while the film is still in theaters? The super rich could watch the movies in their own home theaters, and even pay $1,000 per copy so the movie studio makes a profit. The super rich probably don’t like going to public theaters, and the public isn’t hurt if a few people see a movie at home ahead of schedule. Let’s also say the super rich are exempt from jury duty. Realistically, they probably get out of serving now if they want, but it saves them the hassle of making up an excuse. Throw that extra right on the list. No one would notice. We could also relax drug laws for the super rich. Let them drink, snort, inject, and pop anything they want, so long as they don’t operate a motor vehicle. The super rich can afford to have someone else do the driving. They can also afford an addiction without becoming burglars to pay for the habit. Society loses nothing if a billionaire gets high. Maybe we could also let the super rich name new streets and government buildings. They could name them after themselves, or use it as an opportunity for revenge, e.g. Carlisaputz Avenue. It wouldn’t cost the poor anything, and it might make life more interesting. Can you think of more rights that can be granted to the super rich in return for their tax money? The key is that those extra rights have to have no significant impact on other people. Go.
When you have people in the projects that "rent to own" rims for their cars... I think many poor just do it to themselves.
I'm in favor of a progressive tax. If you earn more than 2 million dollars a year, your tax rate should be 75-90%.
In a perfect world filled with honest, well meaning elites with a true sense of philanthropy and social responsibility Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! It doesn't work in the real world they just move to tax paradises' or disguise thier income. I know I wouldn't want to pay 75% of my income no matter how much I made. It also creates more Bureaucracy.
Why must you punish people that work hard for their money? I mean, if I made 50,000$ in a year and I was taxed 50% because of it, I wouldn't want to work extra hard for just a small increase in money. Is the goal to keep everyone poor?
Because it's no punishment. High income earners use more of the infrastructure of our society, so they should pay for it. Once you get to those levels, a little more or less doesn't really affect your day-to-day life, but it can be used to disproportionally effect politics. Rich people shouldn't be able to buy more democracy than you and I. The goal is to keep most people middle class (which helps them buy more things and sustain those few rich). Path, those loopholes need to be closed.
I agree with what spidergoat is saying here (I may also fear him cuz he's a spider + goat) and I would like to mention I support his ideas. I wish we could find a way to make everyone happy, but logic tells us the only way someone can be happy is in a small group where there are set parameters for development + work. In society now there is no happiness because there is basically telecommunications.
I "can be", yes, but that's not always the case. So "punishing" all of the rich for the actions of a few rich people isn't very nice, is it? I think if you checked, you'd find that it's already true ....that most people are, in fact, middle class. So if that's the goal, ....? Baron Max
Huh? Which "society"? I think most of the world is NOT connected to any such "telecommunications" as you suggest. And more to the point, why would "telecommunictions" be directly connected to "happiness"? Baron Max
We're already paying out the @ss. What do you want? Our firstborns? Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Many of us are paying up to 70% after all taxes. (State, fed, self-employed, soc sec, etc...) The top 25% of all wage earners pay 85% of all taxes! The top 50% pay 97%! The top 1% pay 37% of all taxes! http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/57xx/doc5746/08-13-EffectiveFedTaxRates.pdf http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/menu/nyt.guest.html http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/today.guest.html
Anyone that pays over 50 percent in taxes should get rid of their accountant really fast for they are cheating their clients out of their money.
I've become convinced that the majority of wasted resource consumption is in the US is incurred by the supposed "middle class." I put that in quotes, because our middle class is actually the upper class if you expand your perspective beyond the borders of the United States. For instance, average U.S. homes have increased in size almost 50% in just the last 30 years. That brings with it an increased per-capita consumption of energy for heating and cooling, natural resources spent on maintenance, not to mention all the useless material goods that are needed to fill the space. If that's not bad enough, there's the disruption of the environment resulting from urban sprawl. This sort of effect is not caused by the upper echelons of our society - far from it! It's commited by a huge segment of the population, and so the damaging effects are that much greater. If anything, the middle class should be taxed more. Let the people find ways to do more with less - that's what I do, and it's a rewarding experience for me.
MrManganese, I agree. A lot of unnecessary goods are being consumed and resources expended to support some excessive lifestyles.
All of western society is wasteful. If an elite class of economic royalists is allowed to reap great wealth from all our resources and pay back comparatively very little, there will not be the means to change the structure of our society, even if the will is there. In Germany, the use of solar panels is subsidized by the state, and it's producing the desired results. Some farmers are even replacing crops or lifestock with solar panels. It's no different than the farm susidies we have paid in the past.
How do we pay back little? We pay OBSCENE amounts of taxes, our children ususally go on to contribute positively to society, we don't break laws, we cost the welfare/jail system nothing, we keep our properties/neighborhoods/ schools nice, we support our churches/the gospel, we educate ourselves, we're healthier than most, we drive newer vehicles that often get better mileage/don't pollute as badly as older cars, etc... The list is endless. I think we contribute a great deal.
Yes you do. You contribute a great deal to make your own life better. In other words, you pay back for selfish reasons. That is what was meant by your paying back little. You do not pay back to benefit or help others, only yourself. You are, in essence, contributing to your own cause.
