Income inequality in the US. [infographic]

[herbivor]

I totally agree with this. Taxation is not a great way to "inforce" fair or good business practices upon ANY business.

I completely disagree. Businesses do indeed change their practices based on tax laws. Many (not all) tax laws are written to encourage better behavior.

Most economist agree, (including Reagan's first term finance advisor that coined the term "Reagenomics"), that temporary tax reduction may stimulate the economy in the short term, but extending lower tax cuts will do nothing to help the economy in the long term. The problem is, we keep cutting and cutting because it's an easy way to get elected if you are running for office. I think our current economy proves that low taxes does not equal a prosperous economy. If you want shit you gotta pay for it and the majority of Americans want shit but don't want to pay for it.

[mrsleeve]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Yet we have one of the highest CORPORATE TAX rates in the industrialized world.

[mar1t1me]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Yet we have one of the highest CORPORATE TAX rates in the industrialized world.

On paper, at least. There are also lots of things big companies can do to shield themselves from tax liabilities.....

[e30e]

On paper, at least. There are also lots of things big companies can do to shield themselves from tax liabilities.....

Key word IS big companies, a small business can't do; such as off shore accounts, international headquarters, and bribing politicians who write tax laws. Oh I mean lobby.

[kronus]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Yet we have one of the highest CORPORATE TAX rates in the industrialized world.

Corps are taxed on their gross profit, so they buy assets and move funds offshore until they have negligible profits on paper and thus have negligible tax obligations.

But, doing anything to fix this would be OMG REGULATION.

[DaveSmed]

...and then tax consumption....

This is a good one. To cite an example, I would have to say fuel taxes are one of the fairest forms of taxation. The problem is, how many things are cut and dry like fuel that lend themselves to taxation like that? An example of where that can go horribly wrong is "sin taxes". Cigarettes and alcohol are ones most people are OK with heavy taxation on, but it is way too easy to cross that line. Want a steak instead of a salad? Red meat tax... Sin taxes can go to a bad place very easily, depending on someone elses definition of whats good and bad.

[DaveSmed]

There's another angle yet. Our children are slowly becoming less smart (to put it nicely) over time. This goes along with trying to make everyone equal. Which is literally impossible. All children should be allowed to progress at their own rate. Holding back the smartest kids is shooting ourselves in the foot as a country. And not putting better focus on the slower children is part of that. I believe that has everything to do with the situation this country is currently in. Even with income equality.

Don't forget the anti-intellectualism attitude that is common today. It's frustrating to flip through a newspaper and see what passes as newsworthy. I seriously wonder why people lack the drive to better themselves and do the best they possibly can with what they have. Where is that attitude coming from? Section 8 housing is cheap, but you are definitely not living that well off government assistance, at least not as well as you could if you tried? Why is "good enough" good enough for so many?

I think a big part of it is what you mentioned, attempting intellectual equality early on. The smart ones learn trying isn't worth it, and the dumb ones, instead of focusing on their strengths and the reality of their situation are given a false sense of entitlement.

[z31maniac]

https://www.fairtax.org

[Wiglaf]

I've been a fan of the fairtax idea for years.. I feel that this is an area where the simplest solution is the best solution. It would even catch taxes from money that illegals spend.

The income gap is out of whack, that is for sure. It's gone forever, much like the days where you and the boss were like family. Sure some people still manage to work 50 years at the same place and retire there, and some CEO's make within 50% of the rest of the employees.. there's always exceptions. But they are about as common as black and white TV's that still work.

Now it's cut-throat no matter how loyal and hard working you are, and the CEO making 600% of the next guy down is the norm.

[joshh]

Corps are taxed on their gross profit, so they buy assets and move funds offshore until they have negligible profits on paper and thus have negligible tax obligations.

But, doing anything to fix this would be OMG REGULATION.

GE (as just one example) I believe it was last year had so many tax loopholes, write offs and money that was made in other countries (which apparently can basically be ignored tax wise in the US) ended up with a "surplus" of tax deductions. If that isn't wrong I don't know what is.

Don't forget the anti-intellectualism attitude that is common today. It's frustrating to flip through a newspaper and see what passes as newsworthy. I seriously wonder why people lack the drive to better themselves and do the best they possibly can with what they have. Where is that attitude coming from? Section 8 housing is cheap, but you are definitely not living that well off government assistance, at least not as well as you could if you tried? Why is "good enough" good enough for so many?

I think a big part of it is what you mentioned, attempting intellectual equality early on. The smart ones learn trying isn't worth it, and the dumb ones, instead of focusing on their strengths and the reality of their situation are given a false sense of entitlement.

Yup, the news we get is beyond pointless. But so many want that type of news for Christ's sake. Jersey Shore BS......

I've been a fan of the fairtax idea for years.. I feel that this is an area where the simplest solution is the best solution. It would even catch taxes from money that illegals spend.

The income gap is out of whack, that is for sure. It's gone forever, much like the days where you and the boss were like family. Sure some people still manage to work 50 years at the same place and retire there, and some CEO's make within 50% of the rest of the employees.. there's always exceptions. But they are about as common as black and white TV's that still work.

Now it's cut-throat no matter how loyal and hard working you are, and the CEO making 600% of the next guy down is the norm.

Another thing I could go off about. Working your ass off and no matter what you do the boss never (or very rarely) recognizes the harder workers. It seems the vast majority of the time it's the lazy workers that get attention with firing than those who are working hard at their jobs. These are the jobs I have time and time again walked away from. Sadly there are far more out there with no clue about social acceptance of those that are making you money. Or those who have no clue what "fair" means in a company.
I'd be a terrible boss in terms of making share holders money.

[ck_taft325is]

I completely disagree. Businesses do indeed change their practices based on tax laws. Many (not all) tax laws are written to encourage better behavior.

Most economist agree, (including Reagan's first term finance advisor that coined the term "Reagenomics"), that temporary tax reduction may stimulate the economy in the short term, but extending lower tax cuts will do nothing to help the economy in the long term. The problem is, we keep cutting and cutting because it's an easy way to get elected if you are running for office. I think our current economy proves that low taxes does not equal a prosperous economy. If you want shit you gotta pay for it and the majority of Americans want shit but don't want to pay for it.

I'm not seeing how the current taxation on large(r) corporations are regulating how they treat their employees then? Most of the time, larger corporations have the resources to, as someone said, Bribe/Lobby their way out of it while the smaller companies that can actually treat their employee's not like dog shit, get screwed by over regulation/taxation.

Which tax(s) would you say have made corporations or any given company come under heel of "right" in the way of how it changes their "behavior"?

[mar1t1me]

I'm not seeing how the current taxation on large(r) corporations are regulating how they treat their employees then? Most of the time, larger corporations have the resources to, as someone said, Bribe/Lobby their way out of it while the smaller companies that can actually treat their employee's not like dog shit, get screwed by over regulation/taxation.

Look at Walmart. They settle a lot of lawsuits regarding how they fuck over their employees, but don't change the way they fuck over their employees. And they get massive property tax incentives...

[Wiglaf]

it's got nothing to do with tax. It's pure greed, and actually mostly wall-street. If these guys suddenly decided to have a change of heart, then they actually get sued by the share holders for lowering the profit margin on purpose.