Election 2012 Is Comming

keep in mind once again, the average income for 50% of Americans is 26k

welcome to society my friend, I would rather feed a poor black child then let Paris REMOVEo get a new pair of 1000.00 shoes, the kid dont eat the crime rate goes up,
do you really think a billionaire works? as hard as you David?

Welp, most of the wealth accumulated in this country started during the industrial revolution, not many in this country in todays times woke up with a nickel and turned it into a billion dollars by hard work, if someone handed me 10 million dollars sure as *************** im going to try to make it into 20 million, but the avarage American would blow thru that in a year. yes, there are exceptions to the rule, Gates, the dude who runs ***************book, but for the most part its old money, money makes money on its own, besides the United Emirates, we are a pretty wealthy nation, but again the United Emirates has homeless also, not because they want to be but because they lack in opportunity, they have about 500 princes who get their asses wiped daily by someone else.
they too are riding coattails and the last thing they want to do is give their wealth away, its not in them,
but for the most part, u aint gettin rich 8 to 5 ing it. I just dont understand the thoughts of many on why you cant take care of the poor, you like I just gave the rich 40% ish of our wealth to the rich, the poor sure didnt end up with it, an example was made with Madoff, Stuart, these are the wealthy and they wouldnt bat one eye reaching into your IRA and snagging a few bucks...and lead you to believe times are bad and this is what happens

We have worked hard to treat the poor with dignity, What you end up with is people who believe it is dignified to be poor and see know reason to change, they have 6 kids who grow up with the same belief and are taught the same thing in school. Can you see the cycle Eric. We should teach that being poor is not dignified. for the sake of our country we need people contributing. There should be some shame when you put your hand out to take a check that makes you no want to do it next month. A boat is ok carrying one anchor, but the more anchors it carries the worse it performs, to many and the whole thing goes to the bottom taking everything of worth with it.

Eric....its not about being happy or unhappy. You and I, and the rest of the CCF folks are the "1%" vs. some poor family in Kenya, or Afghanistan. You seem to keep missing the key point....by continually giving every needy family $800/month to live, they never learn to go out, learn a skill, or get an education so they can get out of the government hand-out cycle. But, if you want to keep paying higher and higher taxes to do this, that is your business. I personally don't want to pay more taxes. I want to keep the money I earned. I think deep down you do too, regardless of what you say. Not saying your greedy, just saying you would like to enjoy more of the fruits of your labor. If government handouts are so great, why don't you quit working and get yourself on a government program??

Here is another phrase for you....."Give a man a fish, and he will eat for a day. Teach the man to fish, and he will feed himself forever".

collapse our system? wtf, um, ah, well.....we are 10 bucks away from depression, you been up in the space station the last 3 years?
the people i know with money, big money, got it from someone else
you to can think on your own, who do you know personally with big money? where did they get it?

my friend refered to you btw, not BR

eric lavine wrote: you must take into account, tax burden, If an extra 100 bucks comes out of a paycheck, that could be the difference to someone of eating or not eating

Eric, You are correct and right now that someone is me. I have seen a decrease of 800 dollars a month income from four years ago,That is 8 x 100 bucks. I put at least an extra hundred dollars into my gas tank every month due to Obamas energy policy, and pay 20 percent more for electricity now that my states liberals have mandated renewable energy. I pay 100 dollars more a month for groceries than I did four years ago because it costs more to produce and move them around., I pay 100 dollars a month more for healthcare than I did last year thanks to Obama care mandating the coverage of 27 year old "Kids" and the other new mandates. It will cost me several hundred dollars a month more if the Bush tax cuts are allowed to expire. I supplement my monthly income with proceeds from my cabin sale to make ends meet, but that pool is rapidly getting depleted.
Just how many more of these "extra" hundred bucks am I expected to come up with before the tax and spenders are satisfied? Please let me know so I can plan.   

Last year I paid down my student loans by 19,000 dollars (again from the sale of my cabin) Currently I am enrolled in a work force program training in medical information technology to supplement my degree in hopes of finding a new job in this crap economy. It is 6 months long with tuition of 2 grand. I am enrolled with 180 students. 150 of them applied for and received a government grant for $1500 each, which some legislator figures I have enough money to contribute tax dollars for. I am paying the full 2 grand. Is it wrong of me to have expectations for others to do the same.

eric lavine wrote: You wanna start at the bottem, the problems lay at the top where they originated. dude we sold out along time ago and gave those jobs to the nips, the poor are starting to become a big burden on society, its not by choice im afraid. its collateral damage. your philosophy on life is great on paper, you guys repeatingly say it again and again......give him a fishing pole, but you dont give him bait or a lake to fish in

We are giving them the damn Fishing pole. Is it really to much to expect them to dig up a worm and head towards a lake? Personal responsibility. take and initiative and make your life better. We give them a fishing pole, you guys give them a fish and an excuse. Which will give them a future after lunch?

I was hoping for 72 virgins when I get there, not lugging around a briefcase full of useless cash

john b wrote: I am as happy as can be! My portfolio is up about 48% since Obama took office and my tax rate is less than either of my daughters rates, even though their income is less that 20% of mine. I pay all of the taxes I am required to under the present code, I even add the optional fee to my boat registrations to support clean water. I am certainly not "rich" by the standards of many, most of you on this site undoubtedly have much more than me, but I have more than food and shelter. The economy couldn't be better if you have some money! If you are trying to find any job out there to pay your bills, or if you are just scraping by, or losing your house and medical coverage, don't think I am not grateful to you for paying a healthy share of my taxes with your higher tax rate. BTW, I just bought another CC Mustang Saturday with my tax savings. This one is pretty nice and original too, another Holman Moody. I hope you who are scraping by don't figure it out, after all, if I paid the same rate as my daughters do I may have to thin the boat collection down to just six. What would my summer home neighbors think if I had only six boats? I believe they would think I had fallen on hard times. The failure of the system is so glaring that a person must have VERY dark sunglasses on not to see it. The tax rate SHOULD be higher for those with higher incomes. How much material crap can you own? There was a time in my youth that I actually believed more was better. I have gained some wisdom since then. Greed is a cancer. The joy of life and is not found on the bottom of a ledger sheet.

John, I am happy for your achievements. It sounds as if the system has worked for you just as it was designed. I hope to be where you are someday, I am just trying t keep the government out of my way while en route.There may be others in your position with entirely different goals in mind, possibly someone just sold a business and thinking of starting another and creating new jobs, or a farmer looking to let his sons take over his farm operation. Please don't speak for all of them, you could be costing future jobs.
I am envious of your position, but not in a democrat I think the government should take your money and give it to me kind of a way, actually its not the money I am envious of, it is the options it affords you. I feel there are many things you could be doing rather than gloating here about having to much. If you truly believe you have excess and the government can do better with it than you, you can, and maybe should give the government the excess. I can respect that if you feel that is the best. But I believe you could do better. If you give it to the government they will spend about a third of it just supporting government, and they will likely spend part of it on things you do not support or believe in. Since government employees don't seem that needy you could look at what the government spends on and give it directly to one of the government supported organizations, increasing the spending power of your hard earned money. Since you have time on your hands you could also research organizations that have been overlooked by the government and could really use your money. Challenge yourself to find organizations with the least overhead and get maximum use of your money. Another option would be to combine your loves, mentor less advantaged kids by taking them on water-ski outings, and share your experiences of how you got to where you are. You can do a lot more with your money than the government ever could. Think about it.

Now Martha let me tell you about this little investment thats been kicking around the office, my dad has the power to sign on the dotted line, but........whats in it for him?

in my book John, I feel you should pay 35% of it, but, if i did have that kinda pocket change rolling around, i would be looking for a shelter because im greedy and I dont like to give my hard earned money away, im intitled to it, I deserve it, I know people......

999

john b wrote: Well let's see, just a hypothetical here: Let's say I sell 1000 shares of the AAPL I have accumulated over a number of years at a cost basis of $34.00 for spending money this year. I sell them for $356.00 / share, about the current price. I have owned them more than a year. I get $356,000 for the 1000 shares which is $322,000 profit and that is my income for the year besides a small pension. What is my tax on that 322,000 unearned income? I hope you guessed $0.00. If not you have the wrong answer. Keep thinking its fair.

So, help me out here. You sell AAPL at a big gain. Why aren't you taxed on the capital gains, even if you have held them for more than a year? You may get more favorable tax treatment than if you held for less than a year, but, wouldn't you still pay tax on your gains? How would it be zero? Just curious.

davidg wrote: john b wrote: Well let's see, just a hypothetical here: Let's say I sell 1000 shares of the AAPL I have accumulated over a number of years at a cost basis of $34.00 for spending money this year. I sell them for $356.00 / share, about the current price. I have owned them more than a year. I get $356,000 for the 1000 shares which is $322,000 profit and that is my income for the year besides a small pension. What is my tax on that 322,000 unearned income? I hope you guessed $0.00. If not you have the wrong answer. Keep thinking its fair. So, help me out here. You sell AAPL at a big gain. Why aren't you taxed on the capital gains, even if you have held them for more than a year? You may get more favorable tax treatment than if you held for less than a year, but, wouldn't you still pay tax on your gains? How would it be zero? Just curious.

You see, if you live on a small pension, such as a retired person, your limited income can put you in a 15% tax bracket, especially if you can offset it with some deductions such as interest, medical costs, donations, whatever. Then long term capitol gains, (over one year), at least up to a point, are not taxed as income. The $350,000 level falls into this non taxable income level. This is partially why compensation in stock rather than cash is so attractive. If you have very little declared income you can reach that 15% bracket and spend your wealth as you please without federal tax. I am not a tax expert, but I am able to hire one to do my taxes. Generally, the more money you have the lower tax rate you have if you plan well.