OPP Newsletter

stairman

"Of course, it's still early in the year. It's possible some of the well-to-do (that is, households earning over $450,000 a year) have not yet adjusted to the fiscal cliff deal that raised their income tax rate to 39.6 percent (from 35) and capital gains and dividend tax rate to 20 percent (from 15) in addition to the surcharges from the Affordable Care Act".

first...how do you measure ,study and publish this in a month or two?
second most of the people making above 250k a year are businessmen that don't get a damn paycheck with taxes removed from them...the real data won't be available to at the very least late in the year and the real effect most likely not measurable for at least 18 months.
The whole articule is propoganda.

Aimleft

If they make so much money that it would take 18 months to show if slightly higher taxes affect their spending, what does that tell you? Eighteen months? Eighteen months?!?! I know when the furloughs start and I lose 20% of my pay for months, the effects will be immediate. Because I don't have bazillions in the bank to cover that kind of loss - and because the loss is, comparatively speaking, much greater than the wealthy will experience with a tax increase. Hundreds of thousands of other people of lower means will experience the extreme hardship caused by these furloughs, so that the rich can carry on unfettered with their privileged lives.

Dave Loc: Upstate New York

Certainly folks don't think that consumption by the rich is the important economic stimulus that investment my the rich is, I would hope.

stairman

it takes that long because the total effect CAN'T BE SEEN SO SOON.It's called the velocity of money in economic terms....at each and every t***s action effected by taking away the earning power of a class of individuals there is a lag time till those that have their income sequenually reduce change their behavior.As upper income people get their money taken by the government it works it's way down the list of peple that that groups spreads their wealth through their economic choices.
Go look up stats on boat builders...back in the first Bush administration he signed a luxury tax into effect that increased taxes on yachts....It devestated boat yards in the carolinsas,it took 18 months till the carpenters,glassmen,electronics installers and finally the guy cleaning up after them lost their jobs.The tax was on newly built boats and didn't effect those being imported from other countries and simply registered here.The rich still got the yacht they wanted they just got it elsewhere and the poor smucks that built them lost homes and jobs...brilliant.The reason this took 18 months is contracts had been signed already and those contracts work continued because the tax didn't effect them.

roy

the rich dont care if their taxes go up,they still got all their deductions,now start taking them away and you will hear some hollering going on.

stairman

what deductions are those roy? if a rich guy invests and has bussiness expences to create new wealth that get taxed they deduct the expences before they pay taxes on the new money made...where should that change?

roy

then why should a company that makes billions a year, not have to pay taxes,and still get money back from the goverment

Dave Loc: Upstate New York

Roy - the real hollering would be from the polticians - they are the ones who have the most to lose by a simplified tax code. Why do you think rich people and corporations spend so much money lobbying? They want that special line in the code that gives them an advantage - and they pay big bucks for it.

Both sides, Democrats and Republicans, have used the tax code as ree******n cash machines, and nice jobs after they leave the government. If this really bothers you, support those who are calling for flat taxes -

stairman

exactly!!

roy

why not stop the lobbiest from buying our goverment

stairman

that isn't possible roy ...and that is exactly why we need to limit the size and scope of things the government tries to regulate or we are doomed

roy

why is stoping the buying of our goverment not possible.

Dave Loc: Upstate New York

The more the government is involved, the higher the rewards for buying influence.
The more the tax code is used for social engineering, the more valuable tax lobbyists.

If you want to reduce the influence of lobbyist, reduce the size and scope of government.

If you want to eliminate lobbyist, more to Utopia.

stairman

thanks dave....my thoughts are the same.

because o the failure of people to be completely honest and altruistic when serving in a government position ,elected or not,we need to resist the urge to have government have power over all but the most egregious criminal wrongs.
A benign dictatorship would be the perfect form of government...there just aren't any benign humans to run it
since no matter what the government regulates there will always be a monied interest to want an exemption or exception there will always be those that adress those that v**e on changing regulations with campaign contributions.

we need an iron clad term limit of one.....one term as senator,representitive or president then a life long ban of working for any other federal government office or agency.
we should also limit people that work for the offices of any legislative branch to no more then two term all or part then back out into private enterprize to live with the results of your legislation.