How fair are economics in the United States?

[PS]

HI, CAN YOU TELL ME HOW FAIR ARE THE ECONOMICS IN THE UNITED STATES?????????

[RedComrade]

I was recently reading a survey straight from the governments mouth that said 20% of the population owns 56.7% (i beleive that was the decimal) of the countries assets. Thats like taking ten kids and giving the group ten cookies with em. Instead of each kid with a cookie two fat bullies have 5 of the cookies. Freedom baby!

[RedComrade]

Oh and thats just the income inequality within the country, wait till you see U.S economics on an international scale and the quality of living in the states we use to do our hard labor.... Scary stuff

[KRAZYKILLA]

no very fair. we humans lead to our own demise. born with original sin is a *****.

[Pete]

I read yesterday in the newest edition of Adbusters magazine that the situation is more extreme then RC puts it. I have it right here so I will quote.

"In the decade of the 1990s, massive amounts of wealth were transferred from the poor and middle classes to the richest. By one estimate, the financial wealt of the top one percent exceeds the combined household inancial wealth of the bottom 95 percent

Long Live American Equality.

[Iepilei]

we really don't know the difference... it's not like the bulk of the population comes in contact with any real rich people. hell, we come across a 120k doctor and think they're rich.

that's nothing to 600k to 1.5mil annually.

[KRAZYKILLA]

uhh. my dads a internal medicine doctor and he makes 240k a year +. now yur gonna say im rich. but, he has cut all ties with me and has put all legal rights with my mother. all he does is pay child support until im 18 which is for another year and a half.

[ChiTown Lady]

Economics here suck –

First the government take more than 30% of your income in taxes (in the form of Federal, State, and also Social Security which is actually a tax these days cuz there is no guarantee we will ever see what we put into that program, as well – if we die before we have gotten back what was put in – it is lost “totally”)

Then with what income we are allowed to take home after the 30% plus have been omitted:

They tax us at the grocery store – at 3% for food items and 9% for non-food items, and at an even higher rate for tobacco and alcoholic beverage products.

If you go to eat at a restaurant your bill will be taxed at the higher rate of 9% - regardless of the fact that it is food that you bought there.

And if you happen to buy a house – even after you have paid off the cost of this house in mortgage payments – you will still be paying the equivalent rent to the government in Property Taxes for the privileged of keeping what is supposed to already belong to you. And this Property tax doe NOT remain at a fixed rate based on what you paid for your house and/or condominium, because they are constantly reevaluating the worth of your home at a higher value which in turn justifies their raising your property taxes at higher rates – so much so that many fixed income retired people and/or laborers who do not get raised in their income to match the cost of living increased end up eventually losing their homes because they can no longer afford to pay the government the rate of tax it would require to continue to live in the very homes they have worked and saved their whole lives to have.

Taxes Taxes and MORE Taxes, and that doesn’t even account for the inflation rate here that only serves to compound it further.

This is not a place to live. This is a place where the government and the ultra-elite multibillion-dollar Corporations fuck you over to the max and bleed you until you are either in so much debt you will never be able to pay it off in this lifetime, or you are starving and homeless, or you develop some sort of stress realted descease that ends up either killing you young or makes you suffer in an environment where you cannot even afford to pay the medical bills that have been generated as a result.


(Edited by ChiTown Lady at 3:25 am on Mar. 14, 2003)

[Disgustipated]

And of course the real problem with the tax structure is the lower and middle classes pay the same or higher percentage rate than the ultra wealthy, except we don't get the tax loopholes they do.

Now Bush wants a tax cut that eliminates taxes on all thier stocks.

[Sirion]

On taxes, they are not really a bad thing. BUT, the rich should pay more, and the poor less.

[KRAZYKILLA]

Karl marx put it best: High GRADUATED Income Tax scale...

[Pete]

ChiLady, in Canada we pay 47% income taxes (I believe) and then 15% sales tax on all goods and services, plus the cost of gas and cigarattes are 90% taxes. But our government funnels this money into health, education, and other things. Oh ya. The income tax does not included the CPP that everyone pays into, and that only the aged take out of.

[KRAZYKILLA]

gas is 90%? are you a fucking moron? lol 90% taxes my ass. go back to can-ade-a

[Iepilei]

taxes are needed to maintain institutions - so I've no real gripes with them. however, I do agree that tax money is inefficently allocated and taken from the lower tiers of society - which realistically needs the money more.

also, in regards to the doctor thing - it really depends on your location and what exactly it is you practice. a plastic surgeon in LA is better off (by far) than one in a some town in Montana. But usually, in a community of hardworking individuals - the doctors are usually in the higher ranks as far as income goes.

[Geddan]

Taxes are a good thing. Without taxes, no welfare. Only right-wing wackos talk about low taxes. Countries with high taxes are the most equal countries in the world. Taxes benefit everyone. In a communist society you can't have low taxes, the idea of communism relies on everybody helping everyone. It is pretty hard for everyone helping each other when you don't contribute to society enough. However, in the ideal communist society, money is abolished and the only "tax" you pay is work. Your 8 hours (or less) of work a day will be enough to keep society going if you assume every sort of work is something which contributes to society.

If you have shitty, dirty work to do, then maybe you should schedule them so everyone help doing these tasks.

Even Mr Marx advocated high taxes.