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On a scale of 1 to 10 of importance to the middle class, buying early into IPOs is about a 0. Try housing prices, health care costs, stagnant wages, an unpredic

On a scale of 1 to 10 of importance to the middle class, buying early into IPOs is about a 0. Try housing prices, health care costs, stagnant wages, an unpredictably irrational criminal justice system, and the all-but-inevitable revolution that comes when today's young realize that it is stupid for them to pay 30% of their salaries to support the retirement of an entire generation of selfish people who politically could never make hard decisions and passed the buck onto their kids.

peterjancelis 13y ago
30%? That's far from the breaking point I am afraid. I'm from Belgium and graduated with a good job - from day 1 I was in the highest tax bracket: 50%. This bracket starts at 31K or so btw, nothing extraordinary.
- saosebastiao 13y ago
  30% for social security and medicare/medicaid. Income taxes on top of that. It was hyperbole, but not by much.
  - muzz 13y ago
    Where do you get this number from? Social security tax is 6.2% of the first 113k of income, 0 after that Medicare is 1.45% for income under 200k, 2.35% for income above 200k. At no income level do these add up to anything more than 7.7% http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/240/~/social-security-and-medicare-tax-rates http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/240/~/so...
wildgift 13y ago
I just looked at the IRS site. The total of social security and medicare taxes paid is 15.3%. Half is paid by the employee as a deduction from their wages. Half is paid as payroll tax by the employer. The self employed pay the full 15.3%. Where do you get 30%?
- saosebastiao 13y ago
  It goes to 22% in 20 years for just SS/Medicare. But don't forget Medicaid, of which a significant portion goes to the elderly and is likely to increase, and can also be funded by additional state taxes. Californians especially are f*ed. I'm not throwing out a vetted number, but given all the evidence 30% doesn't seem unrealistic.

peterjancelis 13y ago

30%? That's far from the breaking point I am afraid. I'm from Belgium and graduated with a good job - from day 1 I was in the highest tax bracket: 50%. This bracket starts at 31K or so btw, nothing extraordinary.

saosebastiao 13y ago
30% for social security and medicare/medicaid. Income taxes on top of that. It was hyperbole, but not by much.
- muzz 13y ago
  Where do you get this number from? Social security tax is 6.2% of the first 113k of income, 0 after that Medicare is 1.45% for income under 200k, 2.35% for income above 200k. At no income level do these add up to anything more than 7.7% http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/240/~/social-security-and-medicare-tax-rates http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/240/~/so...

wildgift 13y ago

I just looked at the IRS site. The total of social security and medicare taxes paid is 15.3%. Half is paid by the employee as a deduction from their wages. Half is paid as payroll tax by the employer. The self employed pay the full 15.3%. Where do you get 30%?

saosebastiao 13y ago
It goes to 22% in 20 years for just SS/Medicare. But don't forget Medicaid, of which a significant portion goes to the elderly and is likely to increase, and can also be funded by additional state taxes. Californians especially are f*ed. I'm not throwing out a vetted number, but given all the evidence 30% doesn't seem unrealistic.