In the OP #5 states that 45% of American households pay no income taxes.

I seriously doubt that 50% of "Working people" pay no taxes.


Scrap the entire tax code and tax everybody at a flat rate. 15% sounds good.

Source??

How do they avoid the withholding on their weekly check?

Withholding doesn't mean they don't get it back at the end of the year.

Between all the bacon, foul language and learning the ignore button is anyone wondering why GE is so comfy with Obama? GE will gain a lions share of business when the government turns on Obama Care! GE will be awarded contract upon contract concerning GE medical equipment installed in hospitals around the country. GE is heavy into lobbying. AND...

http://gillreport.com/2011/01/what-i...ic-connection/


Welcome to I scratch your back you scratch mine. It's never about taxes on the rich. It's about what you can do for me!

Another great one: just after the Comcast/NBC deal was approved, the commissioner of the FCC gets a juicy gig at Comcast.

Unbelievable. Welcome to the Corporatocracy: http://www.comcast.com/About/PressRe...ashx?PRID=1082

And back room dealings go deeper. It's all about power. Nothing to do with caring about anyone but themselves. Taxing the rich talk is nothing but a smoke screen....

One thing should be clear. When watching at how Finland, Sweden, Germany went through the crisis (better than most), although they have relatively high taxes, and how lower taxes in the US do not create jobs and left the US economy in worst shape than these European countries nevertheless, and when considering the high debts of the US, then there is hardly a reasonable claim to make why the US should not increase taxes/tax income. The US tried its old ways over the past years, and I cannot see that it worked. Plus there is a debt burden so high that it threatens to completely paralyse the state and taking it hostage, leaving it no freedom to move, act, form and decide anymore.

There is also no doubt that US big business is allowed more tax evasion opportunities than in other any Western country. And when considering how proverbial Greek tax evasion cleverness has become, this really means something! Some major corporations do not only pay no effective taxes, but even get revenues from the state in return. I linked to some according facts on that maybe two months ago, did I. So, beside tax raises the closing of tax loopholes also is a big big big big big issue. And no surprise - plenty of lobbying is being run to prevent right this. Those benefitting from the flawed tax system in the US are too powerful and too influential as that they just have to accept without resistence these benfits being taken away from them, and them being made ordinary subjects of the tax laws like everybody else.

Biden currently is in China, and the US finances will be the major issue, no doubt. I would not like to be in his place.

A tax increase is inevitable in the long term.

Sounds like this isn't endemic to the US only Chris......I know there is a similar feeling amongst the working classes her in the UK and during these times of austerity, those feelings appear to be growing momentum.

The rotten thing about the whole scene is that, if we remove the professional politicians from the scene and reduce the size of the government, thereby reducing the expense of the government, we reduce the tax burden on the entire country.

The only reason this is even a discussion is because We the People have abdicated our own responsibilities to ourselves and each other by electing professional politicians to "take care of us." I don't know about you guys, but I can take care of myself, thanks.

On a fairly mainstream morning radio show this morning, I heard one of the crew comment that, "People are fed up" with the government. If it's mainstream enough that it goes out over the airwaves to the public, and many of us here are talking about just that... why are we still having this discussion? Are there really no better options?

A few days ago, on a different station (NPR), I heard Dr. Bill Frist (former Tenessee Senator) comment in regard to food aid to Somalia being stolen by the government (what of it there is) there: "The whole idea that governments are not going to be corrupt is naive." (6:11 in the audio HERE).

Maybe we should look to our own, first, before we start working over others?

I still think a uniform flat-tax of 17.5% - 20% across the board (half to Fed, half to State), regardless of income or income source, is the best solution. Sure, it sucks, especially for anyone who's not had to pay taxes for whatever reason, but I think it's a good way to get EVERYONE in the country aligned with making the country better, rather than advancing the agenda of one party this term, the other the next cancelling this one and advancing their own, and on and on, ad infinitum.

About the only concessions I'd even entertain discussion on would be to servicemembers and non-union police/firefighters.