Frauline Cagen

[Nbadan]

1% of the total popualtion in this country earns 19% of total wages paid in this country

Those numbers are also misleading because that 19% represents trillions of dollars in earnings...while 1% of the population is only about 3 million people...

[Nbadan]

Then there's this..

Racial breakdown of households with six figure incomes.

Today there are approximately 146,000 (0.1%) households with incomes exceeding $1,500,000, while the top 0.01% or 11,000 households had incomes exceeding $5,500,000. The 400 highest tax payers in the nation had gross annual household incomes exceeding $87,000,000. Household incomes for this group have risen more dramatically than for any other. As a result the gap between those who make less than one and half million dollars annually (99.9% of households) and those who make more (0.1%) has been steadily increasing, prompting The New York Times to proclaim that the "Richest Are Leaving Even the Rich Far Behind." Indeed the income disparities within the top 1.5% are quite drastic. While households in the top 1.5% of households had incomes exceeding $250,000, 443% above the national median, their incomes were still 2200% lower than those of the top .01% of houseolds. One can therefore conclude that any household, even those with incomes of $250,000 annually are relatively poor when compared to the top .1%, who in turn are relatively poor compared to the top 0.000267%, the top 400 taxpaying households.[37]

Wikipedia

[Wild Cobra]

Those numbers are also misleading because that 19% represents trillions of dollars in earnings...while 1% of the population is only about 3 million people...

In an equal world, a group making 33.4% of the wealth would pay 33.4% of the taxes. Why is it when the wealthy already pay more than their share, they still don't pay enough? Shouldn't the group making 13.4% of the income pay 13.4% of the taxes?

That 19% is paying 36.9% of the taxes. Almost twice as much as their fair share, and liberals want them to pay more?

Everyone earning money should pay income taxes. That way everyone shares the burden instead of the false claim "I don't care if they raise my taxes."

Social Security and Medicare don't count. They are failing insurace programs.

My solution if we don't change to a fair tax...

1) Mandate a one time raise of all wage earners who pay SS and Medicare of 7.65%.

2) Change the Social Security and Medicare deductions to a "Social Tax" of 14.21%

3) Implement a flat tax where only standard deductions and exemptions apply if possible. At least reduce the different deductions people can take on their tax returns if possible. This is not necessary, but preferred for fairness. Method of this may vary greatly.

4) Any increases or decreases in taxes the government wishes to make will be reflected in the new Social Tax that everyone pays.

The idea of this is to make the workers pay check the same in the end. For every $10,000 we earn, we pay $620 in Social Security, and $145 in Medicare, for a total of $765. The employer matches this $765, so most people don’t really understand it is a cost of their production! Mandating the 7.65% raise is neutral. The employer pays the same, just transferring his $765 to the earners wages. The employee has the same net money after taxes. Half a persons Social Tax could be deducted to keep the tax tables equal if the income tax structure isn't modified.

Example:

Earned: $10,000
SS.Med: $765 (7.65% of 10,000)
Balance: $9,235

New System:

Earned $10,765
Social tax: $1,529.71 (14.21% of 10,765)
Balance: $9,235.29

Again, I am tired of the 47% of the people who pay no income taxes complaining that the tax payers don't pay enough.

Creating a burden that is realized by all will make people asking for government programs start reflecting on how it affects them. Especially when they start sharing the pain.

[CubanMustGo]

Assholes on IGNORE:

ChumpDumper

boutons_

Reason? Attack sissies who cannot contibute anything useful in my opinion. They attack instead of offering valid discourse.

"Assholes"?
"Attack sissies"?

Solely because they don't bow down to what you feel is your superiority?

Doesn't your sad little sig equally make you an "attack sissy" ?

BTW what the is "contibute"? Taking lessons from Bush the lesser on spelling, are we?

[Wild Cobra]

"Assholes"?
"Attack sissies"?

Solely because they don't bow down to what you feel is your superiority?

Doesn't your sad little sig equally make you an "attack sissy" ?

BTW what the is "contibute"? Taking lessons from Bush the lesser on spelling, are we?

Not at all. Most the people here disagree with me, but they at least offer points of views and discourse.

Both the two I placed on IGNORE did nothing but slander and attack without points of view involving the subject matter. Baiters I can stand, but not those who are nothing more than flamers.

Have either of them contributed to the subject matters at hand recently? I’ll bet not. I haven’t seen them discuss the contents of threads. Only attack others.

Have they changed? Are there any posting where they engage in the subject matter?

[ChumpDumper]

I still read all of ChumpDumper's posts -- I'm just butthurt that I have been proven to be not as intelligent as my 99++++ claim intimated.

[101A]

See, this is where I lack sympathy for the top 1%. 1% of the total popualtion in this country earns 19% of total wages paid in this country. Im crying no river for them.

Lets get some things straight. The 1% people are dependant upon the lower class. Not the other way around. ...

You sure?

I think your 1 million employed estimate is WAY,WAY WAY too LOW!

If not, who the IS employing all those people?

Each doctor, on average, in this country has SEVEN support and administrative employees working in their office. A 10 lawyer law firm employs roughly 50 other people. Small business owners (who make up the bulk of that 1%, btw), employ varying numbers, but generally the higher the pay, the more their company has grown, the more people they employ (I currently employ THIRTY in mine, and am not sure if I am top 1% or not - not sure where the cutoff is).

People rail on CEO's salaries ALL the time, and talk about the idle rich (the yacht comment), but that is tantamount to conservatives ragging on the "Welfare Mothers" - a red herring in both cases, IMO. Welfare has as much to do with government wastefulness, as CEO's and heiress's do in making up the bulk of the top 1%.

Each respective group, however, SURE makes a nice political target; which BOTH sides use effectively to their own advantage...which, btw, was my point in the first place.

[101A]

Duplicate

[DarkReign]

You sure?

I think your 1 million employed estimate is WAY,WAY WAY too LOW!

If not, who the IS employing all those people?

Each doctor, on average, in this country has SEVEN support and administrative employees working in their office. A 10 lawyer law firm employs roughly 50 other people. Small business owners (who make up the bulk of that 1%, btw), employ varying numbers, but generally the higher the pay, the more their company has grown, the more people they employ (I currently employ THIRTY in mine, and am not sure if I am top 1% or not - not sure where the cutoff is).

People rail on CEO's salaries ALL the time, and talk about the idle rich (the yacht comment), but that is tantamount to conservatives ragging on the "Welfare Mothers" - a red herring in both cases, IMO. Welfare has as much to do with government wastefulness, as CEO's and heiress's do in making up the bulk of the top 1%.

Each respective group, however, SURE makes a nice political target; which BOTH sides use effectively to their own advantage...which, btw, was my point in the first place.

I will ask this question first, then continue.

What income does one have to earn to be in the top 1%?

IMO, the top1% is not composed of doctors and lawyers. They are CEOs or owners of humungous companies, multi-multi-millionaires.

And I was wrong (figured I would check it out). Way wrong.

http://www.sugisorensen.com/taxes/index.html

Scrolling down, the top 1% in 1999 made $719,000 a year or more. To be in the top 20%, one has to make above $132,000 a year.

According to those charts, there are only 1.2 million families in the top 1%. In the top 20% are 23.6 million families.

And you were rights, nearly half of the population pays no tax at all.

That is wrong. I retract my previous posts. Thats complete bull . I still cry no river for the elite though. But something must be done to offset the gaping disparity.

[101A]

I will ask this question first, then continue.

What income does one have to earn to be in the top 1%?

IMO, the top1% is not composed of doctors and lawyers. They are CEOs or owners of humungous companies, multi-multi-millionaires.

And I was wrong (figured I would check it out). Way wrong.

http://www.sugisorensen.com/taxes/index.html

Scrolling down, the top 1% in 1999 made $719,000 a year or more. To be in the top 20%, one has to make above $132,000 a year.

...

Those numbers aren't thresholds; they are averages; to be in the top 20% you have to make far less than $132,000, and to be in the top 1% the number is not nearly $719,000; those are simply the average incomes for families (not even individuals) in those quintiles. I think top 20% is somewhere around $75 - $90K and top 1% is around $250,000 - and does include many doctors and lawyers. If somebody could find the data, and prove whether or not I am speaking out my ass, I would appreciate it.

[101A]

Our tax money at work - info. from the census bureau

97K per year (family) gets you into the top 20%; $174K is upper 5 percent. It doesn't break it down into the top 1%, but we all get the idea. Top 5% ain't THAT much money (A couple of successful people at the top scale of a couple of middle class jobs could get there) - but those cats are shouldering a great portion of the tax burden in this country. They certainly shouldn't be disparaged as not "paying their fair share".

[xrayzebra]

You sure?

I think your 1 million employed estimate is WAY,WAY WAY too LOW!

If not, who the IS employing all those people?

Each doctor, on average, in this country has SEVEN support and administrative employees working in their office. A 10 lawyer law firm employs roughly 50 other people. Small business owners (who make up the bulk of that 1%, btw), employ varying numbers, but generally the higher the pay, the more their company has grown, the more people they employ (I currently employ THIRTY in mine, and am not sure if I am top 1% or not - not sure where the cutoff is).

People rail on CEO's salaries ALL the time, and talk about the idle rich (the yacht comment), but that is tantamount to conservatives ragging on the "Welfare Mothers" - a red herring in both cases, IMO. Welfare has as much to do with government wastefulness, as CEO's and heiress's do in making up the bulk of the top 1%.

Each respective group, however, SURE makes a nice political target; which BOTH sides use effectively to their own advantage...which, btw, was my point in the first place.

101 I have often wonder how a doctor can make it
in practice. It must cost him several thousand dollars
a day just to open the door. And you look at what is
charged and what is actually paid by insurance and
Medicare, figuring on 4 patients an hour, 8 hours
a day, five days a week. Most get about 80 bucks for
a visit that is about 2500 bucks coming in. But look at
the technology he has to invest in, office supplies and
medical equipment and supplies.

I know it is expensive to get sick, but I still wonder if
I was a young person I would invest 8 years of my time
and hundreds of thousands of my dollars to be a
doctor.

[101A]

101 I have often wonder how a doctor can make it
in practice. It must cost him several thousand dollars
a day just to open the door. And you look at what is
charged and what is actually paid by insurance and
Medicare, figuring on 4 patients an hour, 8 hours
a day, five days a week. Most get about 80 bucks for
a visit that is about 2500 bucks coming in. But look at
the technology he has to invest in, office supplies and
medical equipment and supplies.

I know it is expensive to get sick, but I still wonder if
I was a young person I would invest 8 years of my time
and hundreds of thousands of my dollars to be a
doctor.

Try 15 - 20. Seriously. When was the last time a doctor (I'm talking general practicioner here) spent 15 minutes with you in an exam room? 2-3 minutes on average.

[101A]

101 I have often wonder how a doctor can make it
in practice. It must cost him several thousand dollars
a day just to open the door. And you look at what is
charged and what is actually paid by insurance and
Medicare, figuring on 4 patients an hour, 8 hours
a day, five days a week. Most get about 80 bucks for
a visit that is about 2500 bucks coming in. But look at
the technology he has to invest in, office supplies and
medical equipment and supplies.

I know it is expensive to get sick, but I still wonder if
I was a young person I would invest 8 years of my time
and hundreds of thousands of my dollars to be a
doctor.

Also, specialists make the REAL money. My buddy (a paranatologist) is about to rotate out of the Air Force after they paid for his Med School, and he gave them 14 years. Anyway, he's being offered $450 - $600 K salary by several practices around the country. That kind of dough could be worth 8 years.

[xrayzebra]

Try 15 - 20. Seriously. When was the last time a doctor (I'm talking general practicioner here) spent 15 minutes with you in an exam room? 2-3 minutes on average.

Guess I am lucky, my doctor spends at least 10-15 mins
whenever I visit. The last time I went in. He and his
partners had sold their practice to a medical company and
of course they had their little thingy. I told him the
new forms they had sucked, that if I took them literally
I would need his (the doctors) date of birth....he looked
at me really funny. I told him I was serious. He called
the business manager in and I told her the same thing.
They changed the form. I ask why he sold the business
and he said that trying to run an office, hiring/firing
and finding people got to be too much of a hassle. Now
he was free to do what wanted and practice medicine and
didn't have the other headaches. I have used him for
about 20 years so maybe I get a little more consideration
and you know me sometimes I don't agree with
all he says........

The form ask who my doctor was and to the right of
it it ask for DOB, I know, I know. They wanted mine,
but that isn't what the form ask, now is it.

[Wild Cobra]

Why do some people think that those earning in the top 1% have less of a right to keep and spend their money as they desire, than those earning the average?

Is it jealousy?

The ideas some of you people support just makes it appears that all money earned is the governments, and we should be thankful we get to keep as much as we do. Sorry. I don’t believe that way.

[ChumpDumper]

When did we stop talking about the drag queen?

[Nbadan]

When did we stop talking about the drag queen?

Should we start a male/female poll?