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[Spartanmack]

okay, so estate taxes pretty much only hit the wealthy. are you really going to argue this?

I think I've said before there should be exceptions for family business, farms, etc.

you can find the IRS summary very easily. now we only tax estates OVER $1,500,000, and there ARE exceptions for family businesses and farms. it goes without saying though these exceptions should be qualified and heavily scrutinized to prevent them from becoming loopholes for idle wealth.

I don't understand why or how anyone who purports to be in favor of the free market and unbridled capitalism supports defending this property right to such extremes; allowing billions of dollars to be tied up in trust funds for kids and grandkids means that money isn't going to any productive use. and it's permitting the establishment of a permanent aristocracy among certain families.

No, WE shouldn't heavily scrutinize estates because they're not OURS - the government doesn't have a legitimate claim to them. There should be no estate tax. The fact that you arbitrarily identify anything over $1.5mm as wealthy doesn't legitimize your claim to someone else's property. But I'm not arguing that estate taxes don't only affect the wealthy. I'm arguing that the income has been taxed and shouldn't be subject to further taxes - double taxation is unconstitutional.

What people do with their wealth is none of your or my business. They're free to allow it to sit idle or spend it however they please because it's theirs whether you think they worked hard enough for it or not. It's been taxed as income and death doesn't give government the right to dip their hands in a person's pocket again. Your lack of understanding of free markets and "unbridled" capitalism also doesn't legitimize your claim to it - particularly when you want the money to be confiscated by the government, the least efficient, most corrupt and most wasteful operator in the economy.

 

[Michchamp]

Okay, well I don't agree with you.

We need to fund our government. it should be done in a way that minimizes the burden on the poor & working class people (taking into account all the sales taxes, gas taxes, etc they already pay), and doesn't punish people for working hard. i.e. non-salary/wage income or inherited income should be taxed at higher rates. I think inherited income/wealth should be taxed highest of all since the people receiving it most likely did nothing to earn it. and yes, of course there should be exceptions for family businesses, farm land, etc

we need to fund some level of government services that provides at a minimum that no citizens live in poverty unless they choose to, and mentally ill or deficient people have access to services that help them become productive members of society. there should be a special emphasis placed on providing services for poorer children, who haven't done anything to be responsible for their condition and deserve a chance to achieve the same things in life that children lucky enough to be born into wealthy families receive.

i don't think we are currently doing a very good job achieving the goals in the previous paragraph.

 

[tomdalton22]

Okay, well I don't agree with you.

We need to fund our government. it should be done in a way that minimizes the burden on the poor & working class people (taking into account all the sales taxes, gas taxes, etc they already pay), and doesn't punish people for working hard. i.e. non-salary/wage income or inherited income should be taxed at higher rates. I think inherited income/wealth should be taxed highest of all since the people receiving it most likely did nothing to earn it. and yes, of course there should be exceptions for family businesses, farm land, etc

we need to fund some level of government services that provides at a minimum that no citizens live in poverty unless they choose to, and mentally ill or deficient people have access to services that help them become productive members of society. there should be a special emphasis placed on providing services for poorer children, who haven't done anything to be responsible for their condition and deserve a chance to achieve the same things in life that children lucky enough to be born into wealthy families receive.

i don't think we are currently doing a very good job achieving the goals in the previous paragraph.

I think all of this is being done already. Maybe not to the extent that you would like to see done...but it is being done.

 

[Michchamp]

I think all of this is being done already. Maybe not to the extent that you would like to see done...but it is being done.

it certainly hasn't been the trend.

and it certainly runs contrary to the current platform of the RNC.

 

[Spartanmack]

Okay, well I don't agree with you.

We need to fund our government. it should be done in a way that minimizes the burden on the poor & working class people (taking into account all the sales taxes, gas taxes, etc they already pay), and doesn't punish people for working hard. i.e. non-salary/wage income or inherited income should be taxed at higher rates. I think inherited income/wealth should be taxed highest of all since the people receiving it most likely did nothing to earn it. and yes, of course there should be exceptions for family businesses, farm land, etc

we need to fund some level of government services that provides at a minimum that no citizens live in poverty unless they choose to, and mentally ill or deficient people have access to services that help them become productive members of society. there should be a special emphasis placed on providing services for poorer children, who haven't done anything to be responsible for their condition and deserve a chance to achieve the same things in life that children lucky enough to be born into wealthy families receive.

i don't think we are currently doing a very good job achieving the goals in the previous paragraph.

I agree with most of this particularly the last sentence, but I completely disagree that inherited wealth should be taxed again - at any rate. I just happen to think the way to fix it is way different from what your side suggests - it's piling on more of the same vs. tearing it down and starting over. I think welfare should be a temporary last resort and able bodied people should have to work for it. It's not - it's a lifestyle, and not a good one or a sustainable one. People are utility maximizers, they respond to incentives - so give them the right incentives. I think the more government gets their hands in deciding what's best for people, whether it's home ownership, college, other people's money etc and picking and choosing industries/companies to support or discourage, incentives get all messed up - government isn't good at anything it does and human nature makes government a breeding ground for special interests and corruption.

It is possible to increase revenue by lowering taxes - if done right and done permanently. And it also makes sense to align taxes with services used - consumption taxes on gasoline, roads, bridges, etc. Companies are leaving the US in droves because of our uncompetitive high taxes. Penalizing them for it won't change anything. The only way to rebuild the American manufacturing sector and bring back high paying, skilled jobs is to give companies and people incentive to invest in the US. The ONLY way to do that is to cut taxes and be more business friendly - you don't have to get rid of OSHA to do that. You do need to clean up corruption, rein in big labor and bring regulations up to the 21st century. Limit all special interests including big labor, institute term limits and limit the power of the government to enforcing reasonable regulations (for worker safety and to prevent pollution). Making the government 2x bigger than what it is now will only make it worse.

 

[tinselwolverine]

were you a D.R.E.A.D. card holder? I was. I hated disco at the time but have come to appreciate it for what it was. I was too young to see Saturday Night Fever then, but I remember the controversy it stirred. Having seen it as an adult in the context of almost 40 years of evolution in film, it seems kind of tame.

No; I don't even know what DREAD is.

I didn't love or hate disco...I just made an easy and obvious joke in the post you quoted.

Rim shot!!

Is there a rim shot emoticon?

I saw Saturday Night Fever right when it came out...I guess I thought it was okay - not great or terrible.

I think my favorite parts were the family dinner scenes - that Italian food looked really good - it was like watching Giada DiLaurentis's show on The Food Network.

 

[sggatecl]

Rim shot!!

Is there a rim shot emoticon?

This will have to do..

 

[Gulo Blue]

It is possible to increase revenue by lowering taxes - if done right and done permanently.

If you're already on the right side of the Laffer curve

edit: not to imply peak Laffer is a goal. If anything, it seems like a goal for the left, not the right.

 

[tinselwolverine]

I think my favorite parts were the family dinner scenes - that Italian food looked really good - it was like watching Giada DiLaurentis's show on The Food Network.

The food looks good.

The classic burger scene.

 

[Spartanmack]

No; I don't even know what DREAD is.

I didn't love or hate disco...I just made an easy and obvious joke in the post you quoted.

Rim shot!!

Is there a rim shot emoticon?

I saw Saturday Night Fever right when it came out...I guess I thought it was okay - not great or terrible.

I think my favorite parts were the family dinner scenes - that Italian food looked really good - it was like watching Giada DiLaurentis's show on The Food Network.

You could get Detroit radio in AA, correct? We did not and Lansing radio sucked. D.R.E.A.D. stood for Detroit Rockers Engaged in the Abolition of Disco. It was a promotion from WRIF - Dick the Bruiser I think was the main spokesperson for it. You could use the card to get discounts at local record stores - got and used mine at Harmony House which got crushed by Tower Records before Tower Records got crushed by Napster. I might even still have it in a box somewhere at my parents house.

I didn't see Saturday Night Fever until the late 80s - great movie for its time, great soundtrack (I can say that now that I'm no longer a sworn disco hater) - entertaining enough that I'll still watch some or all of it if I stumble across it on late night TV.

 

[Spartanmack]

This will have to do..

except that's not a rim shot - everyone thinks it is but a rim shot is when you strike the rim and the head of the drum simultaneously with a drumstick.

 

[sggatecl]

except that's not a rim shot - everyone thinks it is but a rim shot is when you strike the rim and the head of the drum simultaneously with a drumstick.

I thought "this will have to do" implied as much.

<----Played the drums for 8 years ironically enough.

 

[Michchamp]

I never understood the extreme hate for disco among some people. I was born just as the 70's ended so it wasn't a contemporary thing for me. I understand some of it... i mean i went through a metal phase... back when i was an awkward teenager who couldn't get girls... but i got over it.

i can understand the hate for boy bands and other manufactured crap, but disco wasn't like that. people really really seemed to hate it

 

[grandy]

My weak attempt to get this thread back on track

 

[Michchamp]

My weak attempt to get this thread back on track

I like the Bernie Sanders avatar I already have.

 

[TheVictors]

I give you ...Disco Bernie!