Here come the middle class tax increases.....

I tihink I'll stay lower class for a while. It seems to be working tax wise.

I'll grant the fact that the Obama administration inherited a huge recession from the Bush administration.

But it seems to me they are fighting the fire by throwing gas (money) on it. Bush did it too, but not nearly as much. Short term, it may make things less terrible (not that we've seen much improvement yet), but long term this debt can be very damaging and we are passing it to the next generation.

I'll give them the four year term to see if they can turn things around. It took Reagan a few years to reverse the recession he faced. But the electorate may start making changes this November.

So far as middle income tax increases go, right now it's just some politicians, like Hoyer, talking about it. Is this a trial balloon?

I'm not sure, but I'll say this... The promise not to increase middle income tax was one of the major ones, if not the biggest, of Obama's campaign. If he reverses his promise, it can't be overlooked in the next election after, IMO.

It looks like the UK is taking the "increase taxes" approach first. Obama is pleading with Europe to keep the deficits and stimulus going longer but it sounds like the UK is not listening.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/politics/10385052.stm

"He said the main rate of VAT would rise from 17.5% to 20% from next January, a move raising an estimated £13bn and was "unavoidable" given the dire state of the public finances."

Joe wrote: It looks like the UK is taking the "increase taxes" approach first. Obama is pleading with Europe to keep the deficits and stimulus going longer but it sounds like the UK is not listening.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/politics/10385052.stm

"He said the main rate of VAT would rise from 17.5% to 20% from next January, a move raising an estimated £13bn and was "unavoidable" given the dire state of the public finances."

And the party increasing taxes, the Conservatives!

Increasing taxes is inevitable. The other options are printing money or default. What will be interesting to watch is the spin. Taxes will go up with the Democrats, but they won't be called taxes, they will be disguised as something else. I am not sure what the Repubs will do, they are content to sit back and watch the country self-destruct under Obama it seems. There won't be much left for them to win back.

Joe wrote: Increasing taxes is inevitable. The other options are printing money or default. What will be interesting to watch is the spin. Taxes will go up with the Democrats, but they won't be called taxes, they will be disguised as something else. I am not sure what the Repubs will do, they are content to sit back and watch the country self-destruct under Obama it seems. There won't be much left for them to win back.

They will come in and some this joke of a trillion dollar healthcare bill that will not help the country, and they will fix the problems with it that need fixing. They will stop the endless bailouts and stimulus spending without anyway of paying for it, and let the country correct itself without letting China own us. We will come out of this, maybe a little slower, but at least we will have a future to look forward to. Right now even if Obama borrows and buys us out of this a little quicker, which even a monkey could do if they had an unlimited open checkbook, we will be so far in debt that we will be forced into another recessioin or even a depression just to pay for it all.

He knows nothing about money or the economy. He was just a community organizor. He is great at forming committees and organizations and new czars, but should not be allowed to control money or have anything to do with our economy. It is like giving a first grader an unlimited credit card and turning him loose in a toy store. He has no concept that it has to be paid back.

I tihink I'll stay lower class for a while. It seems to be working tax wise.

Fat chance. While I am against raising taxes for working folks to support a government that is far more than twice as big as it should be, I think that taxing the lower earners might actually produce a positive affect.

So many of our lower class earners don't pay any federal taxes at all. When the democrats want to raise the taxes on higher earners - so many Americans just shrug it off - or even worse - they want higher taxes for the highest earners.

They have no dog in this fight unless they start thinking about the bigger picture. One way to help them along the road to understanding would be to institute a minimum 20% tax for everyone making under 45K a year. I think we should call it the "poor people tax".

Surely if they advocate raising taxes for others - they won't mind pitching in themselves.

Seriously - I don't see where else they can get the money to support the level of federal government we have already comitted the country to. In 2007, the top 5% of taxpayers paid a whopping 60.63% of all federal taxes collected. The top 25% paid 86.59% of all taxes.

The bottom 50% of taxpayers paid a whopping 2.89%.
That's right! 2.89%. Just who's hides do all you democrats think the next wave of tax increases will need to come from?

I say tax the poor. It's about time they get in on the fun, and next time they go to the voting booth - they might think twice about voting for a socialist again.

Ahhh, but I do pay taxes - they come out of my paycheck. and the refund idea? All it does is go right back out to pay property taxes. So I pay my share of taxes - and likely more.

So I've never been out of the "fun". In fact, if I hadn't had a failing busines last year, there wouldn't even be refund enough to pay property taxes.

BearMtnHIB wrote: The bottom 50% of taxpayers paid a whopping 2.89%.
That's right! 2.89%.

Bear, I think your point is right on, but you answered your own question. The majority you quote is already going to vote themselves more bennys and no more taxes for themselves. They say they pay ss and state and local taxes, whoopee! So does everyone else.

We are already well past the tipping point, enjoy the ride to hell.

Joe wrote:

BearMtnHIB wrote: The bottom 50% of taxpayers paid a whopping 2.89%.
That's right! 2.89%.

Bear, I think your point is right on, but you answered your own question. The majority you quote is already going to vote themselves more bennys and no more taxes for themselves. They say they pay ss and state and local taxes, whoopee! So does everyone else.
We are already well past the tipping point, enjoy the ride to hell.

Actually, untrue. A LOT of upper class get away with paying very little. Middle class does carry the burden of the majority of taxes. I know, I was there until the last two years. Make more that $50k, you're deep in it.

And so if I'm paying the same taxes as you, why exactly should I suddenly pay more just because my income is less than yours?

You wanna get bent about taxes, then start INSISTING that everyone is taxed the same percentage of their income- no outs, no tax shelters, none of that - flat percentage and that's it. Or will you still complain that my tax is less than yours when my income is less?