4 ms·

Seems like an overly simplistic view. If you take your logic to the extreme why have taxes/government at all. It’s interesting to see people complain about gove

Seems like an overly simplistic view. If you take your logic to the extreme why have taxes/government at all. It’s interesting to see people complain about government but never take action on making their government better. The saying you get the government you deserve rings true here.

chatmasta 7y ago
I mean, I wouldn’t mind taking it closer to that extreme. Do we really need the hundreds of federal agencies and bureaucrats that are infesting our government right now? Or a defense budget orders of magnitude larger than other nations? Or billions of dollars in foreign aid? Let’s not forget income tax was introduced originally as a temporary solution to raise funds for World War I. Long term, it’s only increased since then. At what point do we say enough is enough, no more tax increases?
- codyb 7y ago
  Using words like infesting is what people who’re demonizing others do. We’re currently living in the most peaceful era of human history, so maybe American hegemony isn’t terrible? There’s certainly been far less regional conflicts than ever before, I’d be hard pressed to find a decent reason how the world’s preeminent superpower wouldn’t play into that dynamic despite it’s missteps and overreaches which are very easy to point at. And income tax rates, especially for the extremely wealthy have been consistently declining since their highs post WWII which also coincided with one of America’s most egalitarian and balanced periods socioeconomically. Of course, now we have extremely low income tax rates for the wealthiest among us and near banana republic levels of wealth inequality with staggering statistics like the fact that 400 families own as much wealth in America as the bottom 150 million of it’s citizens. If we look at current trends in the Democratic party, which tends to represent more individuals than the Republican party despite the latter’s outsized share of privilege thanks to the Senate, gerrymandering, and the electoral college, we’re seeing large sentiments of exactly the opposite “at what point do we say enough is enough, no more tax cuts?”.
- davidw 7y ago
  > bureaucrats ... infesting Even if you disagree with their necessity, that kind of language is needlessly inflammatory. I mean, I know this is The Internet and all, but come on.
  - chatmasta 7y ago
    Considering how much of the intelligence community and state department is working actively against the interests of the citizens it’s meant to serve, I’m not sure the term is entirely inappropriate.
- alistairSH 7y ago
  Long term, it’s only increased since then. Not true. Top marginal tax rates have mostly dropped over time. They peaked at 94% during WWII, then dropped into the 70% range for a while. Two more drops in the 1980s, first to 50%, then 28%. Since then, the top rate has bounced back to 38% or so (depending on how to calculate it). Furthermore, federal tax receipts have hovered around 17% of GDP, regardless of marginal rates, over that entire period.

chatmasta 7y ago

I mean, I wouldn’t mind taking it closer to that extreme. Do we really need the hundreds of federal agencies and bureaucrats that are infesting our government right now? Or a defense budget orders of magnitude larger than other nations? Or billions of dollars in foreign aid? Let’s not forget income tax was introduced originally as a temporary solution to raise funds for World War I. Long term, it’s only increased since then. At what point do we say enough is enough, no more tax increases?

codyb 7y ago
Using words like infesting is what people who’re demonizing others do. We’re currently living in the most peaceful era of human history, so maybe American hegemony isn’t terrible? There’s certainly been far less regional conflicts than ever before, I’d be hard pressed to find a decent reason how the world’s preeminent superpower wouldn’t play into that dynamic despite it’s missteps and overreaches which are very easy to point at. And income tax rates, especially for the extremely wealthy have been consistently declining since their highs post WWII which also coincided with one of America’s most egalitarian and balanced periods socioeconomically. Of course, now we have extremely low income tax rates for the wealthiest among us and near banana republic levels of wealth inequality with staggering statistics like the fact that 400 families own as much wealth in America as the bottom 150 million of it’s citizens. If we look at current trends in the Democratic party, which tends to represent more individuals than the Republican party despite the latter’s outsized share of privilege thanks to the Senate, gerrymandering, and the electoral college, we’re seeing large sentiments of exactly the opposite “at what point do we say enough is enough, no more tax cuts?”.
davidw 7y ago
> bureaucrats ... infesting Even if you disagree with their necessity, that kind of language is needlessly inflammatory. I mean, I know this is The Internet and all, but come on.
- chatmasta 7y ago
  Considering how much of the intelligence community and state department is working actively against the interests of the citizens it’s meant to serve, I’m not sure the term is entirely inappropriate.
alistairSH 7y ago
Long term, it’s only increased since then. Not true. Top marginal tax rates have mostly dropped over time. They peaked at 94% during WWII, then dropped into the 70% range for a while. Two more drops in the 1980s, first to 50%, then 28%. Since then, the top rate has bounced back to 38% or so (depending on how to calculate it). Furthermore, federal tax receipts have hovered around 17% of GDP, regardless of marginal rates, over that entire period.