What does that have to do with politics? Nothing. But this does:
An exaggeration? Nope.
According to Senator Obama taxes have nothing to do with raising revenue, only making the world "fair"...
Q: You favor an increase in the capital gains tax, saying, "I certainly would not go above what existed under Bill Clinton, which was 28%." It's now 15%. That's almost a doubling if you went to 28%. Bill Clinton dropped the capital gains tax to 20%, then George Bush has taken it down to 15%. And in each instance, when the rate dropped, revenues from the tax increased. And in the 1980s, when the tax was increased to 28%, the revenues went down.
A: What I've said is that I would look at raising the capital gains tax for purposes of fairness. The top 50 hedge fund managers made $29 billion last year--$29 billion for 50 individuals. Those who are able to work the stock market and amass huge fortunes on capital gains are paying a lower tax rate than their secretaries. That's not fair.
Q: But history shows that when you drop the capital gains tax, the revenues go up.
A: Well, that might happen or it might not. It depends on what's happening on Wall Street and how business is going.
Source: 2008 Philadelphia primary debate, on eve of PA primary Apr 16, 2008
I look forward to leeching off the work of others and having no part (stake? interest? reason to care?) in the funding of our government for the next 4 to 8 years,
Brad
1 comment:
OK, Brad, now you've really gotten to me.
First, a (trick) question: What is the purpose of taxes? When you boil it down, the entire purpose of taxes is to "spread the wealth around." If not, we'd pay for the services provided by our governments based on our usage of them. You have kids to send to school? You pay the entire cost for each kid. You want to drive on public roads? You pay a fee based on the weight of your vehicle and the number of miles you drive. Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. If we weren't so egalitarian, we wouldn't use taxes at all, we'd use fees for everything.
Second, is what Obama said untrue? Capital gains taxes naturally go up and down with capital gains and the economy, and any causal connection between the two is uncertain. The claim that people with capital gains will just give up making money because their tax rate goes up seems pretty silly to me. The entire Republican financial philosophy is being pretty soundly trounced by reality.
Finally, no one ever made a million dollars a year by working hard. To get into that income level, you need more than hard work, ingenuity, or personal merit--you need other people to climb on top of and ride there. It may be your employees, or it may be mutual fund investors. Hedge fund managers don't deserve their incomes any more than lottery winners deserve their winnings. It's all just a matter of circumstance. If not, I'd love for someone to tell me what I need to work hard at to make millions.
(Disclaimer: Obviously, I have no personal experience with this. I just choose to believe Warren Buffet's viewpoint on wealth accumulation, as he seems like someone who would know.)
Whew, what a rant. I need to get my own blog, eh?
Post a Comment