Quote:
Originally Posted by Scottwax
With respects to a progressive tax rate, any business that charged their customers based on what they made would be out of business very quickly. Why does government get to do it?
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I don't know that I agree with that. Walk into a car dealer (other than Saturn), and what you pay is purely dependant on how well prepared you are and how hard you are willing to negotiate. If you are passive you will pay sticker or more, if you know what you are doing, you will probably pay a lot less.
Myself and Jr. and Spilchy live in the commuter corridor to Wall St. (let's just say that all the towns around here have WTC memorials with plenty of names on them), and the contractors (painters, roofers, etc.) are legendary for changing their pricing based on the zip code they are in. They know where the clientele can afford to pay more, and they bid accordingly. And no, they don't go out of business, there are plenty of more houses to go to...just like Moritz BMW doesn't go out of business from swirling up all those cars you get to fix. Speaking of that, I would be willing to bet that the hourly labor rate at the BMW or Benz dealer is more than the local Chevy or Ford dealer.
Perhaps you have been to a doctor or dentist that adjusts his billing a bit depending on whether you have insurance or even what the insurance company is...or a body shop that does that...I have heard so many stories (in my youth) of body shops waiving the deductible for the client since they got plenty from the insurance company (the insurance company being perceived as being "rich" as opposed to the poor car owner, and yes, I realize that is fraud).
How about scholarships? IIRC your son had one...that hardly seems fair to some of the other kids whose parents might have more means that they had to pay full price. I'm just saying there are lots of situations other than taxes, where the amount "billed" is based on the
ability to pay. I'm not saying it's right or fair, but it is pragmatic, and the government isn't the only one that does it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scottwax
The rich pay way more than their share of the federal income taxes anyway. Top 1% pay about 30% of all federal income tax and the bottom 50% pay just less than 4%.
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Believe me, I don't think it's "fair" either, but it's pragmatic...a "rich" guy has way more disposable income than you do, that's why you're detailing his car. I'm just saying that a guy that makes $603K or $2.8 million who gets a big tax increase is still going to be really far away from the poverty line, a lot farther away than Joe the Plumber is, even if Joe gets a tax cut, instead. Besides, I have it on good authority (from Warren Buffet and Username) that the rich don't really pay the taxes they are supposed to thru loopholes, etc.