archer wrote: I agree there should be a waiver for Olympians,though that opens a whole can of worms....what about others who win academic prizes ? Should all prizes be exempt?
I am curious about this comment, by academic prizes do you mean something like the Nobel prize or something as simple but potentially large) as an academic grant?
No...I didn't mean grants...there are all kinds of prizes that people, even students, can win in competitions....academics was just one. Then there are world championships. I admit I haven't researched what prizes are out there,but I hope Rubio has before suggesting we exempt prizes from taxes.
HAHAHA! I'll bet he didn't even know about it, you know, like the rest of the politicians in Washington. How come Rubio introduced his bill AFTER the Olympics started? Idiot.
When you plant ice you're going to harvest wind. - Robert Hunter
Soulshiner wrote: Did President Obama create this tax?
If she can't take on endorsements, why do I see them all over the place, i.e. Subway? Michael Phelps has about 5 million a year in endorsements.
Jesus, it's like you see something that looks good as a thread title and can't wait to post it without even verifying it because you think it makes President Obama look bad. All of your speculation just weakens all of your positions and really makes you look like an idiot. It's gotten really old. Time to stop taking you anywhere near serious anymore...
Yeah.. The "crap factor" continues to escalate to the point where it's just a joke...
Serious question: If Missy wants to stay a amateur, would she have to decline the Olympic cash that she wins with the medal? And would she still be taxed for the medal itself? While the medal isn't worth a lot metals wise , it has great value and she could sell it for big bucks.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
Soulshiner wrote: Did President Obama create this tax?
If she can't take on endorsements, why do I see them all over the place, i.e. Subway? Michael Phelps has about 5 million a year in endorsements.
Jesus, it's like you see something that looks good as a thread title and can't wait to post it without even verifying it because you think it makes President Obama look bad. All of your speculation just weakens all of your positions and really makes you look like an idiot. It's gotten really old. Time to stop taking you anywhere near serious anymore...
Yeah.. The "crap factor" continues to escalate to the point where it's just a joke...
She could take on endorsements, but then she would lose the ability to finish high school and college sports. Michael Phelps took those endorsements, he is not eligible for amateur sports anymore. I believe she has to reject any cash payments.
I think "taxing" winning trophys, etc is stupid. Not Obama's fault...just govt in general. I'd be fine taxing it if they sold the award for some amount. That should be taxed like any other sale.
Too bad future generations aren't here to see all the great things we are spending their $$ on!!
I'll have to part ways with some of the more conservative posters on this issue.
I don't think we should exempt these sports medal winners from the tax imposed. Rather - everyone should be treated the same by our tax code.
It not that we should be outraged by taxing gold medal winners - we should be outraged by the tax itself, and not seek to establish yet another loophole in order to provide tax relief just for these people - we should be interested in providing relief for everyone.
What is offensive- is that if you win a prize of $25 grand- that the government comes along and mugs us for $9,000 of that money. That is a 36% tax. This is what we should be concerned about.
Now Obama might say to these gold medal winners - "you didn't earn that" or "you didn't make that happen", but I would argue that they did make that happen.
It's Obama's 36% that was not earned. They just came along with the power and force of the government and demanded their cut- kinda like the mafia demands their cut.
Is it fair to any of us that the government gets $9,000 out of every $25,000? I think not. Maybe the fair amount is $2,000 or a max of $2,500 - but $9,000?
That's what I'm outraged about! I would argue as well - that the government has no claim to any of that money- that the government didn't earn a single cent of it, and that it's morally corrupt for them to think they have a legitimate claim to any of it.
Liberal idology thinks that the money belongs to the government first- but libertarian idology says that those who did not earn the money have no rightful claim to it.
Unless they want to give it up voluntarily - the choice should be left to those who actually earned it.
Didn’t Obama call the Gold Medal winning woman’s gymnastics team “itty bitty young woman” quite the disparaging remark. I bet when nobody is watching he secretly sings Randy Newman’s “short people”
Obama hails Phelps, female gymnasts in Ohio speech
President Obama gave a shout-out to Michael Phelps and the U.S. women's gymnastics team during his campaign visit in Ohio, talking with pride about their gold medal victories.
"I just think it makes sense for us to give it up for all of our outstanding American athletes who are competing in London right now," Obama said during a speech in Mansfield, Ohio.
The president earlier had called the "Fab Five" women to congratulate them on their victory and exchanged tweets with Phelps, whose gold in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay gave him a record 19th Olympic medal.
Some Olympic team members tweeted out their thanks to Obama.
"Just talked to the President on the phone!" said Wieber. "Pretty much the coolest thing ever!!"
Tweeted Raisman to Obama: "So nice of you to talk to all of us!!! So honored to be able to speak to you on the phone! Thank you for everything! "
"
