Posted on 11/30/2019 3:36:49 PM PST by Kaslin
One of the Democrats' main talking points is always about how they plan to tax the rich so the poor "get their fair share," so the rich "pay their fair share." Everything is about "fair share." To every Democrat, that threshold looks different, but, for the most part, they agree that having any kind of wealth is a bad thing. It's why they continually advocate for redistributing the wealth.
Billionaire Michael Bloomberg, however, took a very different approach to the subject. During the International Monetary Fund's 2018 Spring Meeting he actually argued that taxing the poor is a good thing.
"[Some] say, well, 'taxes are regressive.' But in this case, yes they are, that's the good thing about them because the problem is in people that don't have a lot of money," Bloomberg said. "And so higher taxes should have a bigger impact on their behavior and how they deal with themselves."
"So I listen to people saying, 'Oh, we don't want to tax the poor.' Well, we want the poor to live longer so that they can get an education and enjoy life and that's why you do want to do exactly what a lot of people say you don't want to do," he explained. "The question is: do you want to pander to those people or do you want to get them to live longer?"
The former New York City mayor used the example of raising taxes on "full sugary drinks" as a means of getting people to drink less of things, like soda and juice. His justification: these drinks with large amounts of sugar play a major role in obesity and obesity contributes to heart disease and cancer.
But, as our friends at Hot Air pointed out, taxes on Big Gulps don't change people's buying behavior. It just changes where they choose to buy the very product they're after. When Philadelphia passed their 1.5 cents per ounce tax on soda, the amount of soda purchased in the city dropped 51 percent. Sounds great, right? It would, except people went to the suburbs, where the tax didn't exist, to buy their "full sugary drinks." The idiotic legislators in the City of Brotherly Love did nothing but hurt the businesses right in their own city.
Bloomberg continued with another really dumb comparison. Apparently taxing the poor is somehow equivocal to sending hundreds of thousands of troops to war so "they have something to do." Or refusing to get rid of coal mining because coal miners would lose their jobs.
"The comparison is a life or a job or taxes or life? Which do you wanna do?" he asked rhetorically. "Pick your poison."
Taxing the poor and having this elitist attitude is the very reason people hate the wealthy. Bloomberg can sit on his high horse, telling people what's good for them and what's not yet he's never had to worry about having $1 to his name and what he's going to put on the food for dinner for his family. The guy is worth almost $55 billion. An extra dollar here or there isn't a lot but for someone who is struggling to get by, a dollar can make or break a budget.
everybody should pay taxes...otherwise they do not care if taxes go up..
Should get rid of the IRS...and a tax on income...and stock and bond interest..
Maybe two rates
Mr Burns: My ole friend wants to tax the poor and I thought I was the evil one.
Mr Bloomberg: No, I’m the evil one and you can’t research me either because I will disappear like the mist.
Mr Burns: I have a cloven foot and will disappear like Keyser Soze.
Mr Bloomberg: Well, I want the poor to suffer... it’s Christmas time. Are there no workhouses, no prisons?
Mr Burns: Don’t use that line from Scrooge! I was going to steal it first, BAH HUMBUG!
Mr Bloomberg: Lets pool our resources. I’ll make you Vice President.
Mr Burns: Deal!
everybody should pay taxes...otherwise they do not care if taxes go up..<<—
Bingo!....EVERYONE needs skin in the game....That might change a few votes....
That’s the moderate?
When I was a young married sailor with children, there were MANY times that I didn’t have $5 to my name. If I had $20 left over after food, gas for the car, and other necessities, I would stretch it out until the next payday.
Civil fines are really a tax on the poor.
Unfortunately, even the poor pay lots of taxes—and it makes them a lot poorer.
—Sales taxes
—Property taxes even if they own a shack
—Phone and other utility taxes (check out the fine print on the bill)
—Traffic tickets or other local fines
—Vehicle registration (even for clunkers)
Even when it appears they are not paying taxes they are paying taxes—because taxes affect the cost of _everything_ which is passed through to the consumer.
So while the poor do not pay income taxes, they are getting a lot poorer due to taxes.
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