[quote name='thrustbucket']
I want to make it clear to both of you that I am not talking about protecting the rich. Nor do I believe America was set up for rich people. I believe America's primary purpose in it's creation was to protect the "Pursuit of happiness", as long as it doesn't harm others. I oppose anything that threatens that.[/quote]
I can agree with that. We just disagree on what the government should do in helping the less fortunate in their pursuit of happiness.
The already rich are going to remain rich after these taxes, or even more. I am talking about avoiding deterrents to those striving hard to make it there.
See, taxing people that make millions a year is one thing. But most people don't get to that stage over night, they are at many lower stages that would be taxed far more heavily, thus making it much harder to get higher, should that be their goal. That's my concern. I'm entirely talking about the "pursuit" rather than the ridiculously wealthy already.
That's why we have a graduated income tax system. It's only fair for people better off to share greater and greater portions of the tax burden as they move up in income. But at the same time it has to be gradual enough to not deter people from working hard and moving up. At least to a point...which I'll touch in in response to your next question.
Let me ask you a clarifying question: Do you support deterrents for the materially ambitious?
Only at the extreme. The uber wealthy million plus crowd of CEOs and other executives who are making millions or tens of millions while the employees that earn the money for them are getting paid crappy and watching as the gap between their salary and their CEOs keeps growing and growing.
For the uber rich, I don't think it's a bad idea for taxes to be used as a deterrent to make them think twice about really needed that 2 million bonus or a 1 million dollar a year raise etc. I'm not saying you tax it so much no one will want to make 10s of millions of dollars. But at least put it high enough (50%, 60%, I'm not sure where) for every dollar earned after 1 million or 5 million or wherever that you give some people pause.
But knowing that a very large percentage of money spent, and thus injected into the economy, is by the top 1%, do you guys not think multiplying their taxes several times won't effect the economy adversely?
No, I think overall the economy would be better with the federal deficit reduced and work done to help the lower class and middle class in their pursuits of happiness. The money's going to be spent anyway, just a matter of where and by whom.
I think it's better for their to be more money in the hands of the lower and middle classes spending it in local shops, than the rich spending it on designer clothes, yachts, Porshe's etc. Spending in local shops is helping the middle and lower classes--providing jobs, keeping local stores in business etc. You don't get that from the rich people blowing it on luxury items, or investing it in trust funds for their kids who'll be lazy and never have to work a day in their lives.
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