Taxes Anybody

Taxes Anybody?


A lot of controversy whirls around the fact that the "rich" don't pay their "fair share" of taxes. The fact that Warren Buffet ( not exactly your average rich guy) paid a lower rate than his secretary did is all the proof needed. The actual facts don't matter. Anybody able to read a chart can see the majority of income taxes are paid by the top earners.  Also, the rates are progressive so that the more one earns, the higher the tax bracket.  Except for the relatively few exceptions that seem to make the press, the graduated rates apply. 

Most of those that are complaining the rich need to pay more, have no concept of how much they are currently paying.  To give you an idea, I earned  my income through professional services.  If I did not provide the service, I recieved no money.  I did not earn the income supervising others to do the work.  In those good years, where I approached the upper one or two percent, the taxes I paid could purchase a new luxury car for the government with cash every year.  Imagine that. Uncle Sam told me I should buy him a new car each year with cash.   And for what? Excluding entitlements, which are paid separately, the Federal Government provides defense and some other services, many of which duplicate services provided by the state and are frankly unnecessary at the federal level.

When can we ask the government to budget our money as carefully as we would?  Why should the majority be able to vote taxes on others, with no consequence to themselves?  Perhaps we should adopt the "equal pain" rule.  If taxes go up, everybody's taxes rise.  Those who earn more could pay more, but there should be equal pain for all income groups.  Instead of dividing us, we would be united in setting standards for government.