Can you be middle-class and earn $250,000?
Comment: The Dem plan is tricky.
Will they overtax individuals who earn 250K +,
or couples earning that much ?
A couple at 250k+ already pays almost 50% of it in total taxation...
So at 125K net a year,they certainly are not rich. Just well of.
Comment: I make over $250K. I see higher taxes in order to benefit someone less fortunate as both the cost of doing business, and a form of charity. I think I'm privileged to be an American and don't feel that having to pay "more than my share" is unfair or an undue burden.
Anyone who makes more than $250K and thinks that paying an extra few percent of their income so that the country as a whole is a better place is, in my opinion, unpatriotic and ungrateful for what they have. That isn't to say that I don't believe that they struggle to pay for their house payment and private school tuitions, but it's just that it wouldn't kill them to live with a few percent less.
Comment: To: henrytut2
fm: burbank
Sir, You state in your missive that you don't mind paying more in taxes to help those less fortunate and that those who would protest this redistribution of wealth are somehow less patriotic or love their felow man or their country less than yourself. I believe in this regard, sir, you are mistaken. Those who work hard to make the kind of money (250k) that puts them in the realm of the so called rich should be allowed to spend their money as THEY see fit, giving them the option to contribute to the charities or causes of their choice. That choice should not be made for them by the governmnet.
Comment: Uhh,Gross. Is not ''250,00$'' the ceiling sought by Democrats in agitating for the SCHIP program?
Why would your ''rich people''need taxpayer dollars to provide their kids with government health insurance?
I mean,..being ''rich'' and all................
Comment: Sorry you don't feel rich with $250k, but I live and work with people who kill themselves to eat , send children to college , have a home. They have college educations, but the fat bosses would rather ship jobs overseas then pay a good wage. It is amazing how america has taken the fight out of these people, the only hope they have is that their children will fair better. If you don't like the promise of a higher tax rate, take your 250K and leave the country with the jobs being outsourced! fignewton
Comment: I am a 57 year old Library Manager and my husband is a 61 year old Director of Operations for a national fast food chain. Together we make 250K. and don't see retirement in our future any time soon. We have worked over 25 years to get to this point in our life, put two sons through college, one through law school with one still to go. School loans, mortgage, car payments eat nearly every penny we bring home-lucky but certainly not rich.
Comment: Boo Hoo! So you don't cut it. So what. Still doesn't mean "thou shalt be penalized for working and making more than your average American who probably was asleep most of his life". Those making $250K and up still pay around 48% of their income in taxes. So let's make them pay more and re-distribute wealth. Sounds like you should be living in Cuba. O darn, sorry no food there for everybody except for the elite dictating class.
Comment: Tax wealth.. Not Income...they are different. A couple that as only a few assets is not wealthy no matter how much they make no matter their lifestyle or no matter what they think. If they lose their jobs they in up living in a van down by the river.
We should either tax wealth or spending ( i.e. sales tax which translates to life style). Don't tax people for being productive or for investing in other peoples production.
Comment: people like you have been making a living feeding class envy for so long, and it is so, so tiresome, you covet what others have and it rots you so that you don't even realize your contempt. When I move into the $250,000 income it will be from hard work, and a great investment of time and money in building wealth. In your world making my money and wanting to keep it for me and my family is considered greed, while taking my money by force in the form of taxes and redistributing it is called compassion.
Comment: What most people don't realize when it comes to small business is banks don't lend to most or provide any real credit to. Unlike large companies that seem the way to qualify for a loan is to have a few hundred million if not billion of debt. Which means during slow times the business owner has to do their own funding and with taxing in the highest tax bracket makes it very difficult to save for rainy day funding which lately it's been raining alot. The truth of the matter is poor business owners pay the highest bracket. Because all the really wealthy hide under dividends and long term capital gains. which means most millionaires pay 15 percent taxes. and both dems and rep. know this and avoid the topic when it comes to taxes. Making you wonder where the tax laws come from.
Comment: ???Can you be middle-class and earn $250,000???? is the wrong question to define ???Rich???. Rich is a function of NET WORTH and age. If you are a 5 year old with a $250,000 trust fund you are rich. If you are an elderly couple living in a high cost of living area and have a $250,000 net worth you are certainly not rich. In order for the USA to have a fair tax system we need to have a flat tax on net worth with and an exemption based on age.
Comment: cost of living is such a key factor in this whole issue. also, when they tax on the gross amount, business owners will barely make a profit, if one at all. people are afraid of the unemployment rate now...just wait. the only choice businesses will have is to layoff, reduce wages, or send companies overseas. on a lighter note, i was just excited paducah, ky was mentioned!
Comment: What happens when all these smart people who earn more than $250,000 decide that they will not work for you? So they slow down (don't work 80 hour weeks) and make certain that their salary is not above $250,00. So who does the government tax then? Maybe you?
Comment:
Here is what I am not getting! Individual business owners making over $250k per year are small in comparison to the rest of the small business owner. As mentioned overhead cost can eat away at profits making the want-to-be 250k-business owner bring in way less than 250k. Does not that overhead cost come out of (a) the business expense account? (b) out of what that business owner would be paying themselves?
Next trickle down economy does not work. Business these days would rather make their present employees "work smarter" or longer hours or heap on more responsibility to existing employees rather than hire new ones. American has tried trickle down since Regan and where has that gotten us. Why not try trickle up. Give average Americans more money and guess what, they will spend it. That spending will in turn cause business owner to have to hire new employees to keep up with demand of free market.
Lastly, eliminating the tax cut that Bush gave the small upper income individuals is a tax increase, but only on the affected people. The rest of us (majority of us) would not loose a thing and in fact because we don???t have golden parachutes and/or make over $250k a year would then actually see a tax decrease.
Comment: i agree with you. it seems logical for any small business to have a very large overhead, however i believe that if you taxed componies on the amount that the individual owners are making, its quite respectable. i live in a household in california thats worth over 1 million. my family can just barley get by with an income of 54,000. to think of the things that we would be able to do with an income of 250,000 is astounding.people that say they can barely get buy with an income of 200,000, either made a lot of poor investment decesions, or are living an extremely extravagant life. people that bought there homes and didn't refinance were smart. my house was bought 20 years ago aand not refinanced, because of that are payments are nice and low. we ow about 300,000 toward our house and are still able to make it by. simply changing the things you buy and where you buy them can make differences of many 10's of thousands. thats my 2 cents from a middle class family.
Comment:
Here is what I am not getting! Individual business owners making over $250k per year are small in comparison to the rest of the small business owner. As mentioned overhead cost can eat away at profits making the want-to-be 250k-business owner bring in way less than 250k. Does not that overhead cost come out of (a) the business expense account? (b) out of what that business owner would be paying themselves?
Next trickle down economy does not work. Business these days would rather make their present employees "work smarter" or longer hours or heap on more responsibility to existing employees rather than hire new ones. American has tried trickle down since Regan and where has that gotten us. Why not try trickle up. Give average Americans more money and guess what, they will spend it. That spending will in turn cause business owner to have to hire new employees to keep up with demand of free market.
Lastly, eliminating the tax cut that Bush gave the small upper income individuals is a tax increase, but only on the affected people. The rest of us (majority of us) would not loose a thing and in fact because we don???t have golden parachutes and/or make over $250k a year would then actually see a tax decrease.
Comment: I agree with the previous poster regarding small business income. My small business is here to make money for the owners. As a result of our efforts to make a profit we get to feel good about providing good jobs for 50 employees. However if the government decreases our incentive to make a profit by increasing the tax on that profit then at some point we simply say it isn't worth the heartache and risk and the paychecks stop along with the company.
Comment: One thing that is being over looked is that most of these incomes that make 250k-500k are also small business owners that give people jobs. For a small business it is not uncommon at all to have over head at over a million a year. So really how much is 250k gonna help in times of trouble when you are giving almost a third away in taxes. As a business owner higher taxes for 250k now only hurts small business but it also reduces jobs.
Comment: I basically agree with this article, but I find it ironic that it's published in "Newsweek" of all places. I don't know about the domestic version, but the international edition of "Newsweek" contains a 3-page segment each week entitled "The Good Life" that is devoted to highlighting luxuries that only the super-rich can afford: $10,000 handbags, hotel suites that rent at $25,000 per night, etc. I would guess that even people making as much as $250,000 a year would balk at those prices; certainly the rest of us do. When a major news magazine devotes 5% of its space to such extravagances, it's easy to see how even people who are rich start to feel a bit poorer. If Mr. Gross is serious about wanting people to appreciate their wealth, a good first step would be to convince the editors of "Newsweek" to replace this fluff with something more relevant to the other 98%+ percent of us.
Comment: I don't feel "rich". I feel like I can just barely take care of my family, save a little for retirement, and save for the kids college. We work, very hard, volunteer our time and donate to charity. We don't live excessively, vacations, purchases, etc. Yet, we still have debt. This on a net income of about $200k in the suburbs of Atlanta. "Rich" would seem to me that I could have whatever I wanted whenever I wanted with no consequences. The scariest thing to me is the politicos who want to tax what I've worked hard to earn, because I make more than I certain percentage of the population. . I'm not "rich" but I feel there should be a more fair tax system in the US. The land of uncertain opportunity.
Comment: Arguments of this kind are usually so overridden with assumed fallacies and deliberate misrepresentations that they are hardly worth the time. No one is proposing that money be taken away from the rich and given to the poor. In the first place the Democrat proposals are for true investment spending that will bring real returns to the tax coffers even within the first four years of the Presidency. Secondly, no one is proposing that the middle class pay NO taxes, just LESS taxes. The changes in spending the Democrats are proposing are not like the simplistic gifts of money that the Conservatives just handed out to taxpayers in the certain knowledge that that money would be returned to prime the pump of the suppliers within weeks. I don't know if the Conservatives are that dumb or that they simply think that the electorate are that dumb. What the Democrats are proposing are changes in the economic structure. The USA is the LAST of the developed countries of the world to put these changes in place and we are paying the price for it, right now! That we have allowed mean-spirited selfish interest to neglect these fundamental requirements of ALL modern economies is PRECISELY the reason why we are now borrowing money from China to buy oil from Saudi Arabia and Venezuela etc... Don't they love our stupidity, but unfortunately they don't love us! We've been here before, the USA lapsed into the developmental doldrums after WWII until the Soviets shocked us into awareness of the real perils of misplaced self-congratulatory assumptions of superiority, by launching Sputnik over our heads. Kennedy was the president who sounded the clarion call that kick-started a resurgence of American technological superiority. Unsurprisingly, it was EDUCATION which was seen as the starting point for this resurgence. Now, we are falling behind the world again, and by George if it isn't EDUCATION which hasn't fallen behind again. We are NOT going to start exporting more than we import again until we get our tertiary educational program for ALL, including technical programs for the non-college material students. This is what the tax money is needed for. Ironically, the main beneficiaries of these government initiatives will be the suppliers, in spite of their present day protestations. Let's make no bones about it, if you're earning $250,000 a year you are a consuming the cream off the coffee, you are a part of the supply mechanism in some way, and being paid for it. You are right in believing that you are contributing more to the economy than you are taking from it. That part of the supply side argument is true. But your income is the direct result of the consumption needs of the rest of the "hungry masses." What you have to be forced to acknowledge is that the better you take care of the sheep, the better you will eat in spite of your present protestations. How do I know all this?. I've lived it, and seen it all before, elsewhere.
Comment: Why does he think he has the right to to just take more money from people, regardless of their wealth? This is why I hate politicians and why Obama scares the crap out of me. Instead of making do with what they have, they always want more..............
Comment: The answer is simple: because US has a HUGE federal budget deficit and because the fiscal performance of bottom 50% of income families was really bad under Bush, so the only option is to raise taxes on the rich. And, yes, because US is still a democracy, any proposition that would raise taxes on the rich minority will gain support.
Comment: There was a post earlier that someone said that they are sending their children to college 3 kids some in private college some in public and that the money they pay for them to go comes right out of pocket..... NEWS FLASH If you can afford to pay that out of packet you got it good. I will have student loans until forever.... i finished college in 3 years to aviod another years worth of tuition on student loans. May parents made about $50k combined and let me tell you I did not go to school for free. You are ignorant if you think that people get to go to school for free if their family brings in $50K. You have to be LOW INCOME to get anything. I was a fantastic student (3.8), highly involved (4 sports numerous clubs), and was part of every leadership program in my high school. I GOT NOTHING!!!
Comment: You should have filed the FAFSA and shopped around for another college.
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN2041220220080221 (Stanford provides free room, board, and tuition for families making under $68,000 and free tuition for families under $100,000). Most colleges' websites and promotionall materials reveal that the vast majority of students do not pay full rate because of family income. I am shocked you got "nothing." Also, a 3.8 and a good ACT/SAT should have got you an automatic discount at many many schools.
Comment: I am from Ohio and wanted to stay close to my family because of ill family members. I filed a FASFA, every year, I got about 2000 bucks..... I applied for ever litte thing I could get. I went to a public school. My sister who went to a private school got more but still not a full ride.... and we got NO GRANTS..... They don't just hand that stuff out ya know?!
Comment: As I've read through some of these messages, I only get more irritated! Politicians get lower middle and the poverty vote by saying they are going to take from Upper Middle and the rich to give us more opportunities. IT NEVER HAPPENS!! We as Americans ought to be sick of the advertisements, the slam ads against the candidates, the who should pay more than who with taxes. No matter the angle to tax the rich or upper middle class, they always create a new loop hole to avoid the tax that satisfied the voters. Take a look at the book for tax laws! Had they not put everything into a step by step procedure on a disk, no accountant today would be able to do taxes with out computer asssistance. Once again, here I say it; FLAT TAX!!! If we go to this it will eliminate half the false ads politicians use to get our vote. We shouldn't care what our neighbor makes or how they live their life's, but thanks to politicians we have seperation in every form, not just race, height, weight, hair color, and what we pay in taxes. Give me a break, my daddy is bigger than your daddy, but he pays less in taxes because he is poor, white, bald, short, fat, and on social security and is part of the baby boom generation (another class).
Comment: As I've read through some of these messages, I only get more irritated! Politicians get lower middle and the poverty vote by saying they are going to take from Upper Middle and the rich to give us more opportunities. IT NEVER HAPPENS!! We as Americans ought to be sick of the advertisements, the slam ads against the candidates, the who should pay more than who with taxes. No matter the angle to tax the rich or upper middle class, they always create a new loop hole to avoid the tax that satisfied the voters. Take a look at the book for tax laws! Had they not put everything into a step by step procedure on a disk, no accountant today would be able to do taxes with out computer asssistance. Once again, here I say it; FLAT TAX!!! If we go to this it will eliminate half the false ads politicians use to get our vote. We shouldn't care what our neighbor makes or how they live their life's, but thanks to politicians we have seperation in every form, not just race, height, weight, hair color, and what we pay in taxes. Give me a break, my daddy is bigger than your daddy, but he pays less in taxes because he is poor, white, bald, short, fat, and on social security and is part of the baby boom generation (another class).
Comment: G
Comment: G
Comment: Good morning. Comments abound here, but no solutions. A flat income tax solves the problem. Somewhere I read where that a flat tax of 15% does the trick. Bottom line everyone, our demo and repub leaders can't figure it out. A true change I would like to see for the next 12 years is a true three party system, and yes, we would have to level the playing field for the third party. The demo's and repub's need a competitor.
Comment: Your Mercedes is 4 years old. I deeply, solumnely feel sorry for you. It must be hard to get up in the morning knowing that. You really need a break in life. You know, I heard your neighbor's might even get a new Rover to park in the 5 stall garage. Oh the humanity! Life is so unfair. Don't worry, things will look up. For the time being, you can spend the weekend on your tiny 40' yacht to make yourself feel better.
Comment: Again, the "rich"/"not rich" debate is a smokescreen thrown out by the likes of the author and AntonBursch. The real question is, why should my wife and I with a combined income of $170k/yr pay a higher percentage of our income than a household that makes $30k/yr? The answer seems to be that it's because we can. This is an answer not rooted in reason but in emotion. We have our politicians to thank for rallying AntonBursch and his ilk to the by playing on their short-sighted views on what it is to be human. FO course the politicians don't really care about the "little guys" . . . they just want to mobilize them to gain power.
Thank you AntonBursch for laying bare the essence of your philosophy. Make no mistake, you are the thug and part of the mob that will take what you FEEL you are owed if you are unable to extort it first. You are like the politican, the victim, the preacher who instead of striving to actually add value to society are instead threatening those you do. Bravo!
Comment: Get better jobs, go to college and stop feeling sorry for yourselves!!! I will pay more taxes and not complain, the gov already takes 40-50%, sure take more. I contribute to charity all the time. (roughly 40k per year) How about this, all those that want hand outs post your name and address and I'll mail you 2k each?) Expose yourself and put your name where your mouth is.
Comment: Just because people are saying that Yes infact $250k a year does make a person waelthy does not mean that we are stading there in line looking for handouts. We are just saying take a look at how it really is to be in the middle class. THEN realize that you are in fact wealthy and be thankful for what you have don't complain about what you don't have because I can bet you have 100% of all life needs.... not everyone can be that fortunate!
Comment: $250,000/year is well off, but not rich. But Obama says those who are above that level in personal income must "pay their fair share." Well. Since the top 10% of incomes pays over 70% of all income taxes, just how much more must they pay for it to be "fair?" By the way, I make more than $250,000 a year. My car is four years old, my wife's car is six years old. We live in one of the smaller house in our neighborhood.
Comment: The top 10% may pay 70% of the taxes, but they also make 80% of this countries income.
Comment: If you make 250K a year and you don't feel pretty well off, then you need to manage your money better.
Comment: I disagree, I make $250k by mself and my wife pulls in another $115k or so by herself working in the medical field. W e have on daughter and we do not live extravgan. We both drive cars that are 4 yrs old and live in Houston. We bought a townhome in the Galleria area about 5 yrs ago and was worth about $170K and was old and needed upgrades, about 90% we did ourselves. Today, it is worth about $240k. We did all this thru our own hard work and I DO NOT consider myself wealthy, but smack in the middle of middle-class america. My money is going towards my 20 month old daughters future and our retirement. My wife and are both in our mid-30's. I consider ourselves to be straight middle class. As I wrtite this I am in Santiago, Chile for work and paid to bring my wife and baby to enjoy the week or so that I am here. I am seriously considering retiring some place like here or in Montevideo, Uruguay. Where my $$ will go further and I dont have to listen to people whinning and blaming those of us who make a little more money for their short commings and inadequacies. You all need a reality check and need to stop worrying about what every one else is making and channel that time and energy in making more money youself.
Comment: Your only complaints are about having to "upgrade" your home and save for your daughter's education 17 years in the future? My family makes less than HALF of what yours does, and if those were the first two money issues that came to mind, I'm sorry, I would consider myself rich. Try realizing that you have to compromise on your family's dinner ingredients because your 10 year old car's transmition just bit the dust. We are not poor by any means, we have a nice Ranch in a good neighborhood and consider ourselves lucky. But true middle-class issues revolve more around choosing BETWEEN luxuries and mortgage payments/food/transporation and less around the "fringe benefits" of, yes, a wealthy life like saving for a private college, retiring at 65, and whether or not our bathroom would make Home & Garden Channel. You are rich, sir, not because you live extravagantly, but because if you sacrificed the things you mentioned above, you'd still be better off then most of us. For some, fixing a home is not an extravagance. UPGRADING a home is.
Comment: Your only complaints are about having to "upgrade" your home and save for your daughter's education 17 years in the future? My family makes less than HALF of what yours does, and if those were the first two money issues that came to mind, I'm sorry, I would consider myself rich. Try realizing that you have to feed your children Ramen at least twice a week because your 7 year old car's transmition just bit the dust. We are not poor by any means, we have a nice Ranch in a good neighborhood and consider ourselves lucky. We are what it means to be middle-class. You work hard, you do the best you can, but our issues revolve around mortgage payments and cost off food and transporations and less around the "fringe benefits" of, yes, a wealthy life like saving for a private college and whether or not our bathroom would make Home & Garden Channel. You are rich, sir, because the things you are worried about are the things some people who are still fairly well off don't even begin to have.
Comment: AntonBursch, your comments about McCain may be right but I take great offense about how people who make 250K don't work hard. I work 13-14 hours a day 6 days a week. At the office, not at home. I take 2 or 3 days of vacation....every other year. I'd bet that you do just enough to keep your job all the while complaining that you haven't gotten a raise in over a year, and about how the boss makes all of the money.
Comment: Thank You!!
I'm so tired of listening to news people who make $250k plus whining about how they are middle class. They need to shut up and pay up before they wind up like... oh... most rich whiners in countries that are pushed into a depression and break into a revolution. There are 98% more of us than you... and we are pissed. PISSED. Don't push us into deciding to tax you even more. Cause we will.
Comment: Thank You!!
I'm so tired of listening to news people who make $250k plus whining about how they are middle class. They need to shut up and pay up before they wind up like... oh... most rich whiners in countries that are pushed into a depression and break into a revolution. There are 98% more of us than you... and we are pissed. PISSED. Don't push us into deciding to tax you even more. Cause we will.
Comment: Thanks Daniel. Anyone making $250,000/year is rich. Here's a test. Do you make enough money in one year to pay for an entire 4-year education at any of the nation's most expensive universities? If the answer is "yes", then you are rich. Get real, people. Just because you can't afford a Bentley like your brother-in-law doesn't make you middle class; It just makes you less rich. My family's total household income is 1/3 of the amount in question, and I recognize that I am fairly well off. Sure we live basicaly paycheck tp paycheck, but that's because we foolishly adjust our spending upward to match our income. But if we had to, we could buy a house in the city for 1/3 the cost of our big suburban one, sell one of our cars, and I could take the bus to work. Crazy talk, you say? No, those are just some of the potential sacrifices you have to keep in the back of your mind in the event that you find yourself on the receiving end of a financial disaster. Conversely, if I made $250,000 for five years (assume $150,000 after taxes), my house, cars, student loans, and kid's future college tuition at a good State school would be paid for in cash. Anyone enjoying that kind of security is, by definition, rich.
Comment: Did anyone hear the speech from the UNEMPLOYED nurse who spoke on the first night? CNN was yacking during the time she spoke so I didn't get to hear her speak. I wanted to tho because I am still curious as to how she could be unemployed as a nurse during and NURSING SHORTAGE. Either she must be disabled or was fired. If disabled she has my sympathy. If she was fired I'd have to ask "why". If she was fired like Jill Staneck was then she really has my sympathy. If you are an Obama supporter then you need to read Jill Staneck's story. Read about her tesimony to Obama and his lack of sympathy for the born alive infants that Jill Staneck was advocating for .
Comment: Media matters debunks the charge about Obama on the Born Alive Infant Protection act. http://mediamatters.org/items/200808220022?f=s_search
Comment: Did ANYONE hear that comment that I think Obama made at Invesco about "credit cards bills you can't pay"?
I think if anyone has credit card bills that they can't pay then it is no one's fault but their own... because guess what! NO ONE holds a gun to anyone's head and makes them use a credit card. If you have credit cards you can't pay it is because you lack the discipline to not spend money that you don't have...that is why the banks call them CREDIT cards. DUH. So are we supposed to feel sorry for someone that has credit cards they can't pay... is Obama suggestying that the government bail these individuals out too.?
Comment: yeah! exactly! what's Obama been doing? reading the bible or something? does he actually buy that crap from the bible about forgiving people's debts? what a crazy christian that Obama is!! actually believing in the bible. i tell ya. next he's going to be saying that credit card companies should get bailed out!
Comment: The Obama campaign is really, really reaching to pin that one on Bush. They better be careful because if someone reaches that far while standing on a pedestal...they just might FALL OFF!
Comment: Average home cost 625,000 in Santa Clara County. I don't feel bad for people in Montana who can make 30K / year and afford to live in 3,000 sq. foot home.
We need to be careful before to tax the corp. America- It'll come out in job cuts and additional jobs shiffting to India & China.
Comment: you don't know what the hell you are talking about.
people in montana who make 30k a year live in trailer parks, dumbass.
and anyone of them would be happy to bitch slap your ass for talking so stupid.
Comment: One should remember that John McCain's comments about love, family, etc. defining "richness" came only after he had asserted, for all the world to hear and with a straight face, that "rich" begins at $5 million. It was only after his campaign gauged the reaction to such utter nonsense that McCain "revised" his definition.
Comment: Obviously you DIDN'T watch the Warren forum because you don't know what McCain said prior...that some of the richest people he knows are some of the most unhappy. That he doesn't want to take money from the rich, he wants everyone to be rich, that people that have gotten rich have done it by working many more than 40 hours/week that McCain is going to give families a $ 7K for children and a $5K credit for Health Ins. The "5 million was said in jest and was followe up with "the point is we want to keep taxes low" He ponted out the waste in government where we pid $3 million for studying the DNA of bears. He has actively fought government waste. So next time TennMom stick to topics you know something about, please. Your out of context quips are lweak.
Comment: i watched the warren forum. mccain wants everyone to be rich. everyone can't be rich... or there would be no such thing as rich. he wouldn't be rich anymore. i know... economics are not his strong suit. and he was not joking about the 5 million... he was floundering on how to answer... he said a number he thought was somewhere in the ballpark of a realistic answer, to him, and then he tried to qualify the answer by saying he expects it to be taken out of context. let's be really honest here... he will be a lame duck on day one... period. but he won't get elected. his stupid ass made sure to tell everyone how he'd nominate judges on the supreme court to overturn roe v wade. talk about not having the judgement to lead... he doesn't even have the judgement to stop going for a quicky point at a church that costs him an entire election. but go ahead... keep on talking like anyone is taking you seriously
Comment: Well, Michele Obama made $275,000 per year in the hospital industry. Enjoy voting for your fake middle-Americans, Democrats!
Comment: So your complaining because the Obama's are willing to raise their own taxes? That's just dumb enough to come from a repub.
Comment: Actually she took a LOA from her job so they probably are under the $250,000.
Does the POTUS pay taxes on his income while in office?
Sounds like either way they are doing very, very well.
Comment: And Cindy McCain made...well, we really don't know, do we? But it was $6 million in 2006. Only $1 million over what John thinks is required to be "rich"...
Comment: Hey all, Barak Osama is speaking.
Comment: Wake Up!! Those who earn more also pay more in taxes. Plain and simple. It is not earn more pay less concept here.Not only do you pay more when you earn more you also put more into the econnomy and into the job force and into Social Security. My husband made over 250,000 yet what we paid in taxes would
surprise many of you on here. So do we deserve a break like the rest of Americans? ABSOLUTELY!!
Comment: No you don't. When someone making 10% of what you make has to pay a higher % then you that's not fair.
Comment: I would call that incentive to get a better job so you could lower the % you pay...
Comment: well, it costs a lot of money to just pick up and move to China or India. not everyone can do that.
Comment: Maybe you're just not smart enough to get a better job.
Comment: No, not Social Security - you only have to pay Social Security tax on the first $102,000 you earn. Just one of a multitude of inequalities in our tax code that DO result in lower-income people paying a bigger percentage of their gross income in taxes than those in the $250k plus range.
It's a myth that the rich pay a bigger cut of their income in taxes. Last year, Warren Buffett said that he was taxed at 17.7 per cent on the $46 million he made, without trying to avoid paying higher taxes, while his secretary, who earned $60,000, was taxed at 30 per cent. He challenged the CEO's of the Forbes 400 companies to prove that any one of them paid a larger percentage of their income in taxes than their secretaries. So far, not one has taken him up on it.
Comment: hers is the bottom line for both sides: with very few exceptions, people making more than 250K a year have made the choice early on to get to that level - and they worked hard and sacrificed to get there. they deserve those rewards. if you don't make 250K or more and think you deserve it, then work towards it: this is the land of opportunity and I promise you that if you pay the price, you get the rewards. both sides should stop bitching. it is about personal choice and acecpting tradeoffs.
Comment: hahahahahahahahahaha!!!
what planet do you live on?
oh, that was hilarious!!!
they worked 'hard' for their $250k a year!!!
when you are in the top 2%... it's not because you work hard... it's because you know how to whip other people to work hard for you.
period.
find me anyone who earns $250k a year and works harder than people earning $32k a year.
that person doesn't exist.
you don't know what you are talking about.
if you made $250k a year... you wouldn't be commenting on a Newsweek article
Comment: You are a complete moron. move to Russia comrade. its lazy people like you that want hand outs.
Comment: I have two degrees, one which I can't use because of an injury, and one which is in a field in which there c urrently don't seem to be any jobs (even though it is listed as one of the fastest growing fields in the next 10 years.) I currently make about $25,000 a year. I have read the posts from people bemoaning the fact that they pay out 50% of their income in taxes. I pay about 25% of mine.
I can assure you I would rather have 50% of $250,000 a year as opposed to 75% of $25,000 a year (for those who can't do the math, that's $125,000 a year as opposed to $18,750.) I certainly have to live within my means. Everyone has to learn to do the same. More means doesn't mean unlimited means.
Comment: So your bad choices (and bad luck) mean that wee should pay more than our fair share of taxes? I'm sure you would see it differently if your two degrees actually worked out and you were paid $300k a year.
Comment: After going to college for seven years and working 60 to 70 hours a week, I now make about $20,000 per month. The following are my monthly expenses: Income taxes - $5,600, Self emplyment taxes - $2,480, Mortgage $2800 ($400,000 home), Loan payments (inc. student loans) - $1000, Car payments $1000 (four cars for a family of five), Gas - $900, Utilities - $800, Health insurance - $2300 ( i've looked hard but this is the cheapest we can get - 2500 deductible- due to medical problems), Medical bills & medicine- $375, Car insurance - $1,000 (four cars high coverage), Food - $800, Misc and college expenses for children - $945.
A family making $125,000 a year may have the same standard of living as me if : 1. they have company health insurance plan, 2. they have a smaller family, and 3. they live in a state with lower housing costs. Yet, I will be the one that will have to pay even higher taxes and probably subsidize their national health care.
Comment: I would say that you shoot yourself in a foot by still paying your debt. Pay off debt first, free yourself some cash, then go for the big one. And, yes, you're rich with car payments like that.
I make 100k a year on a single income for myself in a medium-cost area. Helped me a lot that by the time I had kids I got rid off my first mortgage.
Comment: You are probably right about the debt for the cars. But, if I didn't have the college loans, I would not have the college degrees and I would still be making $30,000 a year. It was a calculated risk that has paid off so far.
Comment: I make more than the 250K but I don't think people realize that by taxing the rich more it's not the rich you will hurt. I hire a gardener, a pool man and maid service. If I have to hire a neighbor kid to do my lawn and do my own pool and have the maid service 1 day a week instead of three, who is going to feel it the most. The people I hire who are on the lower end of the pay scale. Maybe I don't eat out as much at nice restaurants or wash my own car. That won't hurt me, but it will hurt those trying to make a living for their families who rely on rich guys like me to spend out of my excess in a way that creates more jobs in the economy. Guess what else rather than buying a new car every year, maybe I will drive the same one for three years. Who gets hurt me, not the car salesman etc... Hope everybody gets the picture. I have no college eductaion and make more in two weeks than my dad did all year working manual labor. I grew up iin a very low income envirenment. I understand what it means to do without, because as a kid we did have to do without. I have learned since I have been earning money well above the average person that taxing the rick isn't the answer. I paid over $75000 last year in federal taxes alone. When the rich pay more in taxes than the medium income described in the article I find it kind of hard to believe that people still don't realize how broken our government spending has become.
Comment: Who is richer and who should be paying more taxes?
1. A single person who makes $100,000 a year
2. A family of six with 4 college bound children with a single wage earner of $250,000
If we talk about family value and the need for raising good kids, we should give tax credit to the family with children regardless of their income level. Maybe this is too difficult for the politicians to understand.
Comment: Actually McCain promised to do that for families with children-give them a tax cut of up to $7K.
Comment: Then he will probably have my vote.
Comment: Fact is, the wealthy pay most of our taxes, middle class gets screwed, and low income gets handouts.
I make 40k a year and live in San Diego. ( close to the beach ) I live within my means.
If you make 250k and think your middle class, then sell a few of your Hummers, down size youe mansion, and move inland. Try cooking burgers on your grill instead of lobster at your local 5 star restaurant
Comment: Good one!!! You truly have no clue. We make over 250,000 and have 3 kids. I drive a car that is6 years old my husband a car that is 3 years old and we live in a 3 bedroom house.We are not living in mansions, with Hummers and champagne and caviar every night. look @ the economy and realize that cost of living is high and unfortunately 250,000 after Uncle sam gets to it does not make you rich.
Comment: Hilarious - that's how the average family that makes $250k live - lobsters and Hummers. You are way out of touch...
If you were more productive and less lazy, you could help shoulder some of this tax burden...
Comment: l
Comment: I got the perfect solution for the liberals. How about the government takes out a giant loan from China - say a few billion dollars. Then we can all quit our jobs and grow fat and lazy living off government checks.
Comment: Um how do you think we are paying for the war???
Comment: I know that I make a lot of money. $400,000-$500,000 a year. But I also am taxed at a much higher level while at the same time use my remaining spendable income into the economy. I hire a gardner, a pool man and a maid service. If they raise my taxes it won't kill me but it will hurt those I hire to do the tasks I speak about above, because I may hire a neighbor kid to do my yard work and take care of the pool myself. It is not the rich you will hurt by raising the taxes on those that pay the majority of all revenue, it is all the workers in those nice restaurants, car washes, etc... that will be hurt. I will find ways to make more money, it just won't go back into the economy like it does now.
Comment: Shut your mouth right now.
Comment: The bottom line is no one wants to pay taxes because it's seen as money taken away. Personally, I think taxes should come from businesses/employers, with employee salaries adjusted for taxes paid. That way employees don't see money come into their hands then taken from them, and the taxes owed to the government still get paid. Plus, we won't all have to do that mad-rush to complete tax forms by April 15 ;)
Comment: Well, I certainly make nowhere near 250k a year, but I have enough to pay my bills. But if I were to be taxed more, or if the gas crisis worsens, I might not be doing so well. I think anyone who complains that they make 250k but aren't rich have lost sight of what's important. Why do you, a person with a family of 3-5 need a six bedroom house? Or three cars? Sure you don't feel very secure if that's your situation - you're living too rich to be sustainable!
Maybe it isn't fair that they pay such high taxes, but goofd grief, they can put food on the table. Our low-income families can barely do that.
Comment: I think it???s interesting how everyone responded to my earlier posts.
First???being on a message board doesn???t excuse bad spelling. As adults, we shouldn???t have to reserve intelligence for special occasions.
Second???Telling me my fiancé is going to leave after we have kids is pretty pessimistic. We???ve been together through this last portion of his military commitment (where he signed over his life to get the medical education he needed to succeed), a deployment, and are currently going through specialist training. I???m a chef, and it???s not practical for me to take on the responsibility of a job when we have to move around so frequently to remain in service to our country. Those of you who are so quick to criticize the wealthy have NO idea how hard they work, or the sacrifices they make, to achieve that success.
BTW, here in America, spouses aren???t left alone with their ???fake boobies??? to answer phones. There is a thing called alimony for those who make poor or rash decisions and marry people they can???t or won???t love forever. That won???t be us, because we waited until we were both in a stable (financially and emotionally) position to make those choices. We will similarly wait for children. Both of us are in our late twenties and want to make sure we have a great nest egg before we have children, and I do feel like I???m in a position to judge those who have bred indiscriminately before they could afford to provide those children with a comfortable life. How very selfish!
Bottom line: You can go ahead and hate me for my statements. You can think I???ll be left high and dry some day (though it doesn???t seem realistic to assume an attorney will end up as a secretary for the aspiring-to-middle-class), and it doesn???t matter. What matters is that people who have money have earned it. People who don???t have money have MADE CHOICES to end up that way, and aren???t in a position to judge the relative wealth of those in situations different from theirs. Ugh.
Comment: The weird thing is that in order to live what is traditionally considered an economically-wise life-style, where you have little or no debts, with the exception of a mortgage, with one-third of you income going to housing and living expenses, one-third into savings, and one-third for everything else, you'd pretty much need to make a huge income. Even though average Americans look like they are doing well at the median household income, they typically carry a lot of credit card debt and have no savings put aside. So the median income is not enough to maintain an "average" lifestyle. That's why so many people are not able to recover from sudden bad situations.
Comment: I'm not going to argue that people in the top 2% of earners are rich or poor. My only point is that is it fair that only the top 2% should only be taxed more to help our country? These top 2% already pay over 40% of all taxes!
Comment: Why is it that the majority of people (65%) who do NOT believe 250K are elite rich, wrong? Why is it that the overwhelming majority cannot possibly be right? Because we live in a country where the vocal minority has their voice listened to. Every person who read this article has their own opinion. That is great! That???s what makes us free, to have differing opinions. But I am tired of being wrong because of the salary I make.
My wife and I are both two generations removed from coal miners. How in two generations have we gotten to this point? Because we were lucky? Because we just happen to hit the jackpot? No. Because we worked hard and made difficult decisions about our life that afforded us the ability to succeed. Please stop begrudging me the benefits of a salary earned. Just because I make more, doesn???t mean I haven???t worked harder to receive it. And to know that I will owe more (in terms of percentage) because I make more, is just nauseating.
Comment: Why is it that the majority of people (65%) who do NOT believe 250K are elite rich, wrong? Why is it that the overwhelming majority cannot possibly be right? Because we live in a country where the vocal minority has their voice listened to. Every person who read this article has their own opinion. That is great! That???s what makes us free, to have differing opinions. But I am tired of being wrong because of the salary I make.
My wife and I are both two generations removed from coal miners. How in two generations have we gotten to this point? Because we were lucky? Because we just happen to hit the jackpot? No. Because we worked hard and made difficult decisions about our life that afforded us the ability to succeed. Please stop begrudging me the benefits of a salary earned. Just because I make more, doesn???t mean I haven???t worked harder to receive it. And to know that I will owe more (in terms of percentage) because I make more, is just nauseating.
Comment: I would love to make 250,000. I could retire in shortime. People that complain that isn't enough need to stop spending so much. I live on $1o,ooo+- every year. So don't tell me it can't be done. It is hard at times, but I still live.
Comment: Hey,what about the poor working stiff like me ,I am not making $100,000
Comment: 21 years at 20,000 or less family of 4 we did it
Today I make 8000 a year, now tell me what, or how long i can live on just one years income of 250,000!
Not everyone had the oppertunity to collage in the 60-70s to prosper today. Fact is most of us who are in the age group of 45-55 know we got screwed when the "Aprenticeship" programs fell through, to younger cheaper workers, Retirement ment fired two years from, just to dodge the benifits earned, that the company did not want to pay. The furture we worked for. Today we live check to check cause it's all gone, like Enron!!!
Comment: To the person was said they make $500k per yr. - and "stop trying to take an unfair portion of what I worked for" - why is it that someone who makes $98k per year should pay the exact same amount as someone making $500k?? Social Security tax is only taken from the first $98,700.00 a person makes, why is that? Percentage wise the guy making $500k should be paying 5 times the amount as the guy making $100k - now who's getting away without paying their fair share?
Comment: You obviously have no idea what you are talking about. First of all we may pay the same amount into SS but we get the same amount at retirement. This was the governments way of getting all the lazy spend thrifts to save some money. Your not entitled to any more than what you put in. Furthermore....this is one of the smaller taxes we pay. I have had years when I paid 50k in Fed Taxes and years when I have paid 500k in fed taxes. All, thoses taxes pay for the interest the goverment pays on the debt they issue to return the tax money to the people who were to lazy to listen in school or not willing to sacrifice to get ahead. We already pay substantially more than 98% of america. I guarantee that if the average business owner who makes 250k to 1mil a year had their taxes lower to say the 28% tax bracket, they would hire more people and unemployment would drop like a rock. I work anywhere from 60 to 80hrs a week and employee 35 people. If I did not end up paying 48% of my income to the state/fed/ss and other misc tax organizations I would hire 2-3 more people and work less hours. I do believe that weathier americans can pay more than the average american, but if you bury us in taxes we will lay people off and work 70-90 hours instead. Remember who employees most of America. Its the small and mid-sze business owners not the large corporations.
Comment: You should be shot.
Comment: What is hilarious is I'm not even eligible to collect when I retire! And the SS tax is approx 7% so it wouldn't be 5 times of what you are paying overall - I guarantee I pay more of a percentage of my earning than you do (since I have not made this money for a long period of time (I'm still relatively young) and I do not have excessive investement earnings)- not complaining, just don't want to keep throwing my money at a broken gov't...
Comment: I have been reading the comments on here an there are good arguments for both sides. Let me ask you this..out of all the people complaining that the "rich" don't pay enoug in taxes to help the poor... How much did you give to help the poor and less fortunate than you? How often have you donated your time and services for those poor children who are hungry and homeless? If you did , then great! You are good human being. What gives you the right to look at someone else and determine who they should spend thier money. You have no more right to do that to somenoe than they have to do it to you. I work really hard and so does my husband and we don't make alot of money but we don't begrudge someone their success and thier money. I don't want anything I haven't worked and detest that there are people out there that want to sit with thier hands out begging for others to take care of them. Not everyone in life is going to make 250K per year....thats life get over it. Why do we bother educating our children or sending them to college if not to get a good education so that they can get good jobs and earn good pay. It seems futile if when they grow up they just sit at home and wait for a government check to arrive. What most people don't realize is that the "silent majority" (i.e. people who actually work for a living at all income levels and don't expect a handout from anybody) is getting pretty pissed off at you whining people who expect us to pay for you. You wan free healthcare, college education, free 401K and a whole list of things that the government should provide for us. Where do you think the money is going to come from? People have to work in order to provide for themselves. There is no way around it! If you think that these form of governments work...they don't. You can't give up all your freedom so that you can get a hand out. It doesn't matter if you think 250k is good money or not enough money. it's not your money in your bank account and you have no right to tell anybody how to spend thier money. If you stick to that logic then your next on the chopping block. What if your making 40,000 a year trying to support your family and someone who makes 20,000 starts complaining that you make more than them. So you owe them something now. You should pay higher taxes so that their kids can go to school and get free health care and the list goes on. That is your money in your bank account,that you worked for, you earned and is for your american dream. If you want to personally donate money to help the less fortunate then fine that is your decision. You should not be forced to give something you earned away. You can label anybody, rich, poor, middle-class whatever. The next time you start spouting off "you should give more to the less fortunate" ask yourself how much have you given. Also ask yourself what if the government was coming after your bank account because all of a sudden your 50K, 40K 30K is all of a sudden too m
Comment: Scaling back tax cuts to put a group of people whose income is disproportionate to the median is the issue. However, those who believe they are not so divergent from the mean should understand that, statistically, being beyond a standard deviation is unlikely, but being beyond 2 standard deviations is truely lucky. See http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/income/dinctabs.html.
