Posted on 01/09/2011 9:39:35 AM PST by Starman417
Nearly all democrats insist that anyone making $250,000 a year is wealthy. They have incited anger and even violence over the issue. Venture capitalist Garrett Gruener says "I'm rich, tax me more." Warren Buffett, one of the wealthiest men on the planet, say the rich should pay more in taxes. Never mind that the top 1% of earners pays 41% of federal taxes. Never mind that about 50% of the country pays no federal taxes at all. (For a nice breakdown on this, visit here)
Jack Spillane puts it this way:
Wealthy people like Gates, Buffet and Gruener will be the first to tell you they've benefited greatly from the capitalist system and that they feel an obligation to pay back.
If they feel that obligation, why don't they pay more? Why don't write a much bigger check?
Because anyone who says this is full of shi crap.
But never mind that either for now.
A poll revealed that Democrats think that an income of $250,000 per year is wealthy while Republicans do not.
When asked Do you think a household income of $250,000 a year makes you wealthy or not, Americans have a modest Yes bias, with 55% saying Yes, and 45% saying No.But when broken down by party, the results are startling. Among Democrats, 67% said $250,000 counted as wealthy. But among Republicans only 33% said $250,000 counted as wealthy. (Among independents, 54% said yes and 44% said no.)
While a family of 5 which has an income of $250,000 is rich by most Democrats' reckoning, Barack Obama has let us know that a family of three earning $172,000 is "modest."
(Excerpt) Read more at floppingaces.net...
He makes 400,000 so any thing less is poor. I am surprised he did not make 350,000 poor. It all depends on lifestyle. My family of six is able to be comfortable on 7800 dollars a month, but I know people who make 12000 a month and never have a dime at the end of the month. I also know people who live great on 30 grand a year. It is all about lifestyle.
If 172,000 is modest - I’m totally broke!
When Obama needs to be in class envy mode $172,000 is the evil rich that need to have their wealth redistributed
It’s all relative.
172 K is a weekend vacation for zero.
$172K is modest if you live in the DC area. even more so if you live in Metro NY. Housing is hugely expensive and since the schools suck then you wind up having to go private.
The Dems ignore this fact when they scream about “tax cuts for the rich” since they are really just targeting higher wage earners who wind up subsidizing everyone else.
Oh, and Gibbs is certainly working below his income potential. He could easily make twice that or more in the private sector.
No, $200,000 for an individual would have qualified to be “wealthy”, so now we understand that the scale is quite short. At $172,000 you are modest and at $200,000 you are wealthy. Thank goodness that Gibbs didn’t stay, because he would have been off the scale with the merit increases he would have gotten for his excellent lies
bump
If the ‘Rats were really serious about wanting the rich to pay more in taxes, they would actually cut the top marginal rate and replace the AMT with the simple expedient of putting a cap on the amount of income that can be excluded from taxation on the basis of deductions, exclusions and “tax exempt” sourcing. They aren’t. Their “soak the rich” rhetoric is just a way to gin up support for using the tax code as a means of social control.
The real issue here is why anyone in the government of a Constitutional Republic would be attempting to define “wealthy” and “poor”.
Exactly. Don't forget Buffet & Gates also hire vast armies of lawyers and accountants to help them take advantage of every loophole. They probably have trusts and tax dodges the average Joe couldn't even dream of.
I'm not sure about Gates but Buffet is invested heavily in insurance companies (GEICO for one), so he has a lot to gain selling gap insurance for medicare , and life insurance so people can pay the death tax. In a sheer coincidence he's a big proponent of both of these Marxist schemes. Go figure.
Both Buffet and Gate, like every other progressive billionaire, made their money under the current of even more lenient regulatory rules. Now it's, "I've got mine slam the door behind me.". Don't want any upstart companies coming along to compete now do we.
Even $100k isn’t that much if one buys health and disability insurance, puts a little bit into 401K, etc.
I find it interesting that House and Senate salaries are $174,000/yr. (source: http://www.thecapitol.net/FAQ/payandperqs.htm
It actually is modest.
I’ve made as much as $248k in a year and never been rich. I may have eaten out more, but that was by necessity. Turns out the lifestyle surrounding earning “big money” requires you to spend a lot more. Less time to slow down and enjoy your family and simple things like meals at home.
I earn less now, but am a “wealthier” man for it. I can sit down most nights with my wife and children, give thanks to God for our food, and talk about our day.
172k wouldn’t even begin to pay for an evening for Obama and his entourage.
$172,000 is modest because union thugs are paid a modest amount, so $100,000 a year for a govt pension is painful...don’tcha know.
My husband makes about 1/3 of that (about $60K), and somehow we manage to house, clothe, feed, and insure our family of six, plus send three kids to Catholic school. I guess we’re bottom of the barrel ;)
When Buffet and Gates fire their tax attorneys and accountants then I will take them seriously. Otherwise they are lying hypocrites who have stashed most of their wealth in family foundations.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.