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To: sharktrager
"Eventually, you are able to get even more from the people than you were getting from them before."

I disagree.

If all I buy now is coffee, cream and sugar ... and I don't 'mind' the 6% on that, what more could I use with my coffee, cream and sugar?

Maybe bread for toast or butter for the bread, but I'd eventually get back down to, or close to, the original coffee, cream and sugar.

People do what they do because that's all they are afforded to do. If anything, more money in the pocket might mean more debt ... now I can afford the monthly car payment instead of paying 4 or 5 hundred in cash for a two or three year miracle.

I've not paid more than $500 in the last 15 or so years .. maybe 7 or eight cars in that time ... if at $500 ea, (and they weren't all), yer lookin' at 4g over 15 years ... plus maintenance ... what? maybe 10g?

New (throw-away) rides start at 12 or so.

24 posted on 08/14/2004 3:51:52 PM PDT by knarf (A place where anyone can learn anything ... especially that which promotes clear thinking.)
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To: knarf
Because the 6% soon becomes 6.5%, and people think, it's just another .5%...

Again, the rate does not stay at the initial low rate. Sales taxes in most areas back that up. The people will allow/support these small increases. But, since a tax like this is already going to adjust for inflation as transaction sizes increase, there is only one reason to raise the rate. That is to increase the size of government.

Another issue with this specific plan is that, by using the definition "transaction", consider this. Your boss pays you. That's a transaction. You deposit your paycheck...transaction. You hit the ATM...transaction. You go to Target and buy some socks, and there's another transaction. Target deposits the money you spent, and there is another transaction. Target transfers the funds from one account to another, and there's a transaction.

Guess who ultimately pays for each of those transactions? The consumer. That .6% is now 3.6%.

Now, using the example of the sales tax. The rate gets raised by "just .4%". Now that tax is 1%, but, just to complete the cycle above each dollar is taxed at 6%.

All a system like this ultimately does is make it "more painless" to pay your taxes. The more "painless" a tax is, the higher the government can, and will, raise that tax.

The ideal system is one where every citizen pays their tax liability in a lump sum, directly. Even if this were done monthly, you would see the American people wake up to how much they are wasting every year on taxes.
30 posted on 08/14/2004 4:07:08 PM PDT by sharktrager (The road to hell is paved with good intentions. And the paving contractor lives in Chappaqua.)
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To: knarf
3 years ago, I bought a 1996 Geo Prizm for my daughter's use. It had 141,000 miles on it and now has 210,000. 1 set spark plugs, 1 set wires, 2 sets of tires, 3 sets brakes (finally wised up and bought new pads from Toyota), 1 power steering hose and 20 oil/filter changes.

Depreciation=$1500.00, maintenance total=$600.00.

76 posted on 10/01/2004 11:06:23 AM PDT by Old Professer (The Truth always gets lost in the Noise.)
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