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If every working American has to give up a significant portion of a tax cut that will directly affect their family’s disposable income, why should the wealthiest Americans not be expected to accept some similar tax cut reduction that will affect them in a similar manner?

What’s the justification for such preferential treatment? Are the rich more worthy because they’re rich?

@Greg,

On the flip side, why should someone who pays NO taxes into the system, and is likely a drain on said system, get a “tax refund” in the form of an “Earned-Income Tax Credit?”

What’s the justification for THAT preferential treatment?

@ThunderGod, #2:

There are very few people who truly pay no taxes into the system, when you include all of the various taxes that exist at all levels of government. Many taxes at the non-federal level are inescapable, and are imposed on all persons regardless of the fact that for those with low income they often compete for dollars needed to meet the basic needs of life.

We might consider Earned Income Tax Credit an indirect subsidy of the rich. It allows them to pay wages so low that a working person can’t support a family from them.

The subject, here, is a cut in Income/Payroll Tax, not sales or property taxes.

So, back to the original question, if you can answer that.

The subject, here, is a cut in Income/Payroll Tax, not sales or property taxes.

A low income worker might consider it odd to argue about one tax in isolation from others, since they collectively compete for the dollars needed to meet a family’s basic needs. Any money taken from what they have to work with becomes part of the problem of making ends meet.

For a wealthy person, it might only be a matter of foregoing some additional luxury.

The ”weeds” is the issue >>>>that there is no time logistically to do a tax cut for only 60 days!

K. points out that even a one year extension is only a tax holiday, not a tax CUT.
A tax CUT involves CERTAINTY.
A tax weekend or holiday leaves everybody up in the air, unable to PLAN because there’s no way to know what will happen next.
This is true whether one is wealthy or poor.
As Michelle Obama said of her tax ”cut,” I’m going to use it to buy me a nice pair of diamond earrings.
Why not?
You can’t count on it in the long term!

@Greg: There are very few people who truly pay no taxes into the system, when you include all of the various taxes that exist at all levels of government.

Other than the federal tax on gas, supposedly for the transportation infrastructure which apparently isn’t making it to it’s targeted goal, what the heck does state taxes, sales taxes et all have to do with federal revenue?

You’re hunting for apples in an orange grove again, Greg. That is when you’re not trying to peer into your crystal ball or read your tarot cards. Try to focus, as ThunderGod tells you. We’re discussing federal revenue and addressing debt and deficits, as well as job growth. If someone pays nothing into the federal revenue piggy bank, why should they be given the ability to withdraw?

For a wealthy person, it might only be a matter of foregoing some additional luxury.

Again you demonstrate the chutzpah of knowing an individual’s person P&L expenses and outlay for your talking point. If you make $3 mil annually, and are indebted $3.5 mil, you can’t afford the taxes any more than the guy who pays nothing into the federal revenue system, and still demands federal benefits.

I’d agree with Krauthammer here, except that I’d take it further and state this whole BS about a one year payroll tax holiday (or even two months…), while simultaneously borrowing (with interest) from the general revenue for deposit into the SS Trust Fund, is nothing more than an accounting shell game dog and pony show.

And again the GOP is being played for schmucks, just for talking points.

Let it expire…. the 2% for employees and employers aren’t enough enough to stimulate the economic corpse we have become. Nor is the CBO taking the borrowed funds interest into account when they talk about a pay-go analysis. Smoke and mirrors… and for what?

Congress needs to find a new tree to bark up. This one ain’t it… The GOP would have done better to point out the negative effects of borrowing/interest from the general revenue, and simply propose something completely different that is genuine and permanent tax reform.

@MataHarley, #7:

Economic corpse? The GDP has grown by some amount during every one of the last 9 quarters. Not as fast as most people would like, perhaps, but continuing growth is hardly indicative of a corpse. The United States still has the largest national economy on the planet.

How have those corporate profits been doing since Obama’s election?

It’s an economic corpse, Greg. Your minimal blip of obscure heartbeat has been the central government, injecting the taxpayers blood in to corpse’s veins to simulate (not stimulate) life.

Corporate profits… which is the profits by average working citizens/shareholders… have been largely because of the stock market. That’s due to Fed manipulation of drastically low rates, free lending to banks, who’ve been making the cash on the free loans.

If you’re going to attempt to prop up this economy as healthy, Greg, you’re really going to have to find a group of 1st graders who haven’t learned to read yet. Only a desperate, partisan few can look around and see happy faces. Even in your party, they ain’t thrilled. If they were, they’d be campaigning on your “good news economy” BS. But no… they assure us that this POTUS is “focused like a laser” on “jobs, jobs, jobs”. Like where’s he been the past three years?

Oh yeah… on the golf course.

Its not about the friking rich, it never was. But Obi knows he can use the hate that many ignorant, and stupid people have for the rich to get his own crap passed. If people would read and study about what the rich have done for this country and others they would surprised to find that a society cannot exist without them. whats crazy is that the biggest leech of all, which are politicians and government cannot even exist with the Rich! The rich could give all their money to Obama and the politicians, and they would spend that too in a record time. But why try to explain to libdems about the importance of the rich, in any society. And people wonder why I call the everyday liberals minions. And old Krat is right again. Its all nothing more than one big expensive joke.

I concur with Krauthammer. This was a calculated purely political move by Harry Reid to give the Democrats Ammo for the 2012 election cycle. I disagree with Krauthammer that this must put the Republicans in the House in a bad light. Obama supported a 12-month extension, and that is what the House sent to the Senate. The Senate decided to throw a political monkey wrench in the gears of the economy, and every Republican and the US Chamber of Commerce needs to point out that a workable deal was in until the Senate changed it to a ridiculous unworkable boondoggle.

1) This issue is a federal issue, thus state/local taxes should not be part of the decisions.
2) The FICA/social security tax (called payroll tax for political correctness) is a tax that has a direct benefit tied back to the individual paying the tax. The benefit/cost ratio is debatable, but the indivdual is getting direct benefit for this tax.
3) These are payments into the independent trust fund that is now being raided for political purposes. It is bad enought that the fund has been “borrowed” from to finance the national debt, but now they are playing games with it. This is not money for the general fund and should not be used for politics.
4) This was not a cut. It was sold last year as a “temporary” reduction that would be restored this year. If it is extended another year, it will become so politically dangerous to restore it, that it will be permanent. I predicted this last year when it started.
5) I personally put my extra 2% into my 401k. This gave me the social security reduction, PLUS I was able to take that out of my taxable (income) .
6) As an Accountant, this is a logistical nightmare. All of these last minute changes are costing employers millions of dollars. It is also costing the government millions. These changes can not be programmed overnight.

Exapnsion on point 2 above.

The individual direct benefit makes this a fair tax in my eyes. Why should someone richer than me pay for my social security benefit (other than my employer/employee relationship)? Aruguments may be made about the rich paying for more of the general fund of the government and overall benefit to society. However, I can not justify taxing the rich to pay for individual retirements of working middle class folks.

@ Greg:
Plus we need to pay for cell phones for the poor too. Can’t forget the cell phones, right Greg. I think we need to tax the rich so the poor can have ipads as well. I don’t have an ipad, but I have no idea how the poor could get along without one.
http://www.freegovernmentcellphones.net/

If Republicans weren’t obviously hell-bent on actually expanding special considerations to the wealthiest during a time when unprecedented numbers of less affluent Americans are under severe economic stress, Obama wouldn’t have much political ammunition relating to “class warfare” to begin with. Republicans have started that one themselves and have no one but themselves to blame for the consequences. They can hardly expect Obama not to comment on the implications of their policies with an election coming up.