That's my guess, too.
Treasury Secretary Timmy Geithner (and he's what Obama calls "an expert") bought his Larchmont, NY house for $1.6MM at the bubble peak.
Posted on 09/26/2010 3:29:47 AM PDT by Scanian
This week, Professor Todd Henderson criticized Obama’s plan to let tax cuts for the “rich” expire. Online criticism that he was “out of touch” was so fierce, Henderson swore off blogging. An excerpt from his original remarks:
I’m the president’s neighbor in Chicago, but we’ve never met. I wish we could, because I would introduce him to my family and our lifestyle, one he believes is capable of financing the vast expansion of government he is planning. A quick look at our family budget will show him that, like many Americans, we are just getting by despite seeming to be rich. We aren’t.
I, like the president before me, am a law professor at the University of Chicago Law School, and my wife, like the first lady before her, works at the University of Chicago Hospitals, where she is a doctor who treats children with cancer. Our combined income exceeds the $250,000 threshold for the super rich (but not by that much), and the president plans on raising my taxes.
The biggest expense for us is financing government. Last year, my wife and I paid nearly $100,000 in federal and state taxes. We pay about $15,000 in property taxes, about half of which goes to fund public education in Chicago. Since we care about the education of our three children, this means we also have to pay to send them to private school. Like most working Americans, insurance, doctors’ bills, utilities, two cars, day care, groceries, gasoline and cellphones round out our monthly expenses. At the end of all this, we have less than a few hundred dollars per month of discretionary income.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
The very people O wants to punish.
If one is actually paying taxes, then one is considered rich by obama standardds.
A doctor and a lawyer and they only have a few hundred discretionary dollars a week.
The temptation is to accuse them of being lousy money managers. They might be that, but what they really are is penalized.
They want private school for their kids instead of pablum or indoctrination. Where I live, that equals about 36 grand a year for 3 kids.
Put that on top of the 120,000 they identified as taxes, and you’ve pretty well knocked down their 250,000 in income.
Assume that housing costs are much larger inside Chicago as in most major cities and you have taken out another 50 or 60 thousand a year for good housing with its consequent higher mortgage. Transportation, utilities, etc., and you’ve done what the guy said, left him with little discretionary income.
He’d get more mileage out of that income where I live, but he wouldn’t have those jobs either.
More importantly, as someone was saying on TV this week: the truly rich won’t pay. They’ll just move their money or their operation elsewhere.
Four years ago, my federal taxes were much higher than this couple’s entire pre-tax income. This year, thanks to cutting back to avoid funding Obama/Pelosi, my total taxes will be about half what this couple is paying for private schools for their kids. The difference? Instead of blaming Bush, the regime should blame John Galt. I’m now a follower.
BUMP
He actually said they have a "few hundred dollars of discretionary income per MONTH.
I'll admit that Obama's promise to cut taxes for 95% of all Americans was fulfilled in our case. We've seen a humongous cut in our taxes, a couple of years ago we also paid more in taxes than this couple's entire income. We're still paying more in taxes than they're spending on private school tuition.
When tax rates go up next year, I think I can be a whole lot more creative with my business expenses, since I watch my pennies, drive a 13 year old car and my office furnishings date to the Nixon era. I'd sure like to have a carved antique office desk like Zero has! I also see that there's a conference on Maui next year that would be tax-deductible...
I consider it my patriotic duty to minimize my taxes until this gang is run out out of town!
We must starve the government. We must cut back our lifestyles. We moved to a lower cost area, have a much smaller house. My wife quit her job so we do not have a daycare expense. We grow a garden and drive fuel efficient cars. The goal is to be less dependent on the system. At the end of each month we have more money than we had before!
There’s also the matter of perception. There was a time when a million dollars was a whole lot of money, remember the old TV show “The Millionaire”? A man was picked at random and given a million dollars. That would buy a mansion, hire a staff of servants and a big expensive car. The man was set for life. What will it buy now – after taxes?
Something does not compute. They exceed $250K by not much but pay $100K in taxes?
“$100K in taxes?”
That includes federal and state taxes. I’m guessing he might have included state sales tax. It’s hard to see how he’d pay an AVERAGE income tax rate of 40% even in Chicago.
That includes federal and state taxes. I’m guessing he might have included state sales tax. It’s hard to see how he’d pay an AVERAGE income tax rate of 40% even in Chicago.
He’s right about one thing: the really rich, with tens of millions in income, apparently pay around 17% in total tax when averaged out. (I’m just pointing out the theoretical rate vs actual one. )
Thank you for your financial sacrifice on behalf of the greater good of the country.
That's my guess, too.
Treasury Secretary Timmy Geithner (and he's what Obama calls "an expert") bought his Larchmont, NY house for $1.6MM at the bubble peak.
A doctor & lawyer are about as portable a well-paying job as one can have.
She was outraged because those making over 30k complained. She told me they "don't need" the money because they make 40-50-80k. I explained that they have done exactly what SHE has done. Every time they got a substantial raise, they increased their expenses. She had gotten a raise the year before and had moved into a nicer apartment, and was planning the next raise to enable her to make a car payment instead of driving $500 beater cars.
I told her they've just been at it longer. Now they have mortgages, spouses and kids.
Not defending it as much as saying it's at least possible.
Still, after all is said and done, the writer points out that the 'Wealthy' don't pay enough! I doubt he intended to sound just like those he is complaining about, but he does.
I would agree that doctor is, but doctor income varies by region. I wouldn’t agree that lawyer is portable if we’re speaking in terms of moving to another position at the same level.
Note to Professor Henderson:
Move your family to one of the 7 states where there is no state income tax. All those states have colleges.
Look long & hard at your state income tax return & your property taxes.
I’ll bet you that in Tennessee, you could find a wonderful home on acreage & find good schools there for your kids. You would not have near the costs of winter heating, etc, & the property taxes are far less.
You could buy your new digs in just a few years with the savings in the state income taxes you pay.
Think this over. I am no professor, but you are smart enough to see the light sooner rather than later.
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.