ageek123

18 ms·

151.
by ageek123 12y ago
The US government derives a disproportionate amount of its revenues from income taxes compared to other developed countries, which rely more on consumption taxes. http://www.wsj.com/articles/tax-proposals-would-move-u-s
152.
by ageek123 12y ago
51.3%
153.
by ageek123 12y ago
So you are arguing that someone in the 39.6% tax bracket gets 164% more "in return for the taxes they pay" than someone in the 15% tax bracket? (Or infinitely more than someone who pays no income tax at all?)
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by ageek123 12y ago
The Gini coefficient explains why the top 20% earn 51.3% of the income. It doesn't explain why they pay more than 80% of the income tax. The reason for the latter is an extremely progressive income tax code.
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by ageek123 12y ago
No, the Pareto Principle explains why the top 20% earn 51.3% of all income. An extremely progressive tax policy explains why the top 20% pay 83.9% of all income tax. There's nothing naturally occurring about our tax policy.
156.
by ageek123 12y ago
You're kidding, right? Health care and defense industry in the US are incredibly economically unprodictive (in the technical economic sense). Finance has similar work ethic/hours as tech.
157.
by ageek123 12y ago
It's also hugely successful economically compared to most other US industries. Maybe correlated?
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by ageek123 12y ago
It should also be noted that health care costs are astronomical and have been increasing much faster than inflation for many years. There may be a correlation there. Moreover, as "medical tourism" continues to grow due to unafford
159.
by ageek123 12y ago
I guess it is completely lost on the NY Times that one of the main reasons the tech industry is the main engine of economic growth in the US (and one of the few things we do better than other countries) is exactly BECAUSE many companies exp
160.
by ageek123 12y ago
It's inconceivable that nobody was fired for this. And that nobody will call this what it was -- a hoax of monumental proportions, perpetrated by the accuser and a credulous magazine that was more interested in promoting a social cause
161.
by ageek123 12y ago
But NIMBYs who won't allow construction in cities have made cities unaffordable.
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by ageek123 12y ago
I assume when you said "older population" you mean "people who have lived here longer." Because as you know, rent control applies to a housing unit regardless of the age of the person living in it. But more importantly,
163.
by ageek123 12y ago
It's not just owners who are hurt by rent control -- it's also market-rate renters. If rent control were removed, market-rate rents would drop from where they are today. That said, I'm not sure why you think people only argue
164.
by ageek123 12y ago
Why, because you disagree with what some people are saying?
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by ageek123 12y ago
Ability to pay is not factored in. I know many, many Google/Facebook/Apple software engineers living in rent-controlled apartments in San Francisco.
166.
by ageek123 12y ago
Yep, even Paul Krugman thinks rent control is a bad idea: http://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/07/opinion/reckonings-a-rent-...
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by ageek123 12y ago
Foreclosure is part of the voluntary agreement you signed with the bank when they loaned you the money to voluntarily purchase the property. It's not government intervention.
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by ageek123 12y ago
Indeed, even Paul Krugman thinks rent control is a bad idea: http://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/07/opinion/reckonings-a-rent-...
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by ageek123 12y ago
That's how any sensible rent control ordinance would work, but that's not how it works in San Francisco. Units remain under rent control even if a tenant voluntarily moves out, dies, etc.
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by ageek123 12y ago
The day most people get their news from reddit, we're doomed.
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by ageek123 12y ago
The Chait article should be required reading.
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by ageek123 12y ago
We don't need to throw the baby out with the bath water. We just need to make sure government doesn't get too much power. This doesn't have anything to do with Google or Apple (they can't put you in jail).
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by ageek123 12y ago
In many countries, capital gains are not taxed at all: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_gains_tax
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by ageek123 12y ago
I hate to break the news to you but Chomsky is a Marxist.