People that amass that kind of money don't have to do the labor. They pay others to do it and as for 'holding wages down', you do realize that it's a vicious circle we have, don't you? Look at it this way, in 1964, my parents built a house for $9000. In 1987, my husband and I bought a house of the same size with less land for $67,500. In 2009, the house appraises for $130,000. Now, when my parents built their house, my dad was making what was considered middle income wages. When my husband and I bought our house, he was also making middle income wages, though it was probably close to six times as much as my dad was making back in the 60's. My point is that as wages go up, so do living expenses, so that loaf of bread you bought in the 60's at about .25 a loaf is now $2.65.

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"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "WOO HOO, What a Ride!"

How is requiring everyone to pay the same percentage of their spending on taxes regressive?

Person A spends 20k, pays 23% sales tax
Person B spends 80k, pays 23% sales tax
Person C spends 500k, pays 23 % sales tax

Sounds flat to me. Actually, if you spend less than poverty level, you effectively pay no tax, so that progressive.

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"To take from one, because it is thought his own industry and that of his father has acquired too much, in order to spare to others who (or whose fathers) have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, "to guarantee to everyone a free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it."

-Thomas Jefferson

You know it's misleading because poor people spend 100% of their income on consumption while the rich only spend a few percent and invest the rest.

I'm not against abolishing income taxes and creating a consumption tax but without a tax on capital ownership it would simply be a transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich, which is obviously a bad thing.

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5% of the total surface of the Netherlands is used to grow hemp

Lets see:

Not true. Under the fair tax, the poor would pay 0 tax. WHich makes it progressive. The common problem your having is your attempting to put things in terms that make it sound best politically to you. WHereas the fair tax treats everyone the same.

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"To take from one, because it is thought his own industry and that of his father has acquired too much, in order to spare to others who (or whose fathers) have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, "to guarantee to everyone a free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it."

-Thomas Jefferson

NYS has taxed at least two people out of the state, and into Florida. Me and Golisano. His threshold was higher than mine. I moved 15 years ago. There are others, I just don't know off the top of my head. Now, my income is nowhere near Golisanos, yet I feel I have a better life in Florida than I had in NY. And I also feel that Florida does a better job with their tax money, although in the last 5 or 6 years that is debateable.

So again, someone please tell me how increasing taxes increases tax base? People leave high tax areas for low tax areas all the time. If we tax the people with the means to move, why wouldn't they try to save their money by legally moving to a lower tax area? Just sounds silly not to.

Golisano stayed until he felt that the government was being irresponsible with his tax money. At that point, he decided he was not going to contribute to irresponsibility. Sounds good to me.

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“When government accepts responsibility for people, then people no longer take responsibility for themselves.” George Pataki

Is there something wrong with that?

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"I am sick and tired of people who say that if you debate and you disagree with this administration somehow you're not patriotic." - Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton April 28th, 2003

Carolina Politics Online

HOPE AND CHANGE

Perhaps it has escaped your attention, but all of your highest taxed states: New York, California, Michigan, the New England area, etc. are bleeding jobs and people while the south and mountain west, which are more friendly to businesses and residents, are rapidly growing.

The Electoral College projection after the 2010 Census clearly indicates this. The northeast and northern industrial states are losing Congressional seats while the south and southwest are gaining.

2010 United States Census - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I wonder how many times your brand of economics has to fail over and over again before you'll begin to get a clue, if you ever will.

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"I am sick and tired of people who say that if you debate and you disagree with this administration somehow you're not patriotic." - Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton April 28th, 2003

Carolina Politics Online

HOPE AND CHANGE

An income tax being declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court is precisely why the Sixteenth Amendment was passed and yes it is very legal because it is an AMENDMENT, which makes it part of the Constitution and therefore, constitutional.

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"I am sick and tired of people who say that if you debate and you disagree with this administration somehow you're not patriotic." - Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton April 28th, 2003

Carolina Politics Online

HOPE AND CHANGE

So because this man is more motivated, strong willed, and intelligent than you are, he should be punished for it?

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"I am sick and tired of people who say that if you debate and you disagree with this administration somehow you're not patriotic." - Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton April 28th, 2003

Carolina Politics Online

HOPE AND CHANGE

Why is it that any number of people in this country and around the world wish to tax people that have money , ie the so called rich at a high % and while they say that that same number of people are working to become RICH?

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Government Should Fear the People That Voted Them In!!

New Government=one that the President likes a GOP idea but then the Staff puts that Idea in a very DEEP HOLE.

Read HR143 get enlightment.

The Revolution Will not be Televised

Unless your in California, were a constitutional amendment democratically ratified can be declared unconstitutional.

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January 21, 2013: The End of an ERROR.

"Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become more corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters."
"When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic."
"The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself."
---Benjamin Franklin

Massachusetts has been bleeding jobs for over 300 years.
It's also been creating jobs, because we have the infrastructure to support research and new job creation.

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“ The subjects of every state ought to contribute towards the support of the government, as nearly as possible, in proportion to their respective abilities; that is, in proportion to the revenue which they respectively enjoy under the protection of the state.”

Adam Smith , The Wealth of Nations 1776

"We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals; we know now that it is bad economics"
FDR's second Inaugural Address

Uhmmm, Mass has had population growth of only 2.3% from 2000 to 2008. The National Average is 8% in that same time frame. Their growth then I would say has been pretty flat. They also have lost 1.4% of their private non-farm jobs, whereas the rest of the country gained over 5%. I am not sure that your argument holds water. How can the population grow at 2.3% and at the same time you lose jobs, and expect the economy of the state to be healthy?

Compare that to Florida, with low taxes. Population growth of 14%, and job growth of 21%.

And New York, Population growth at 2.7%, job growth at 2.4%.

And back to positive, Texas, Population growth growth over 16%, job growth over 8%

Source:
Massachusetts QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau
Florida QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau
New York QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau
Texas QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau

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“When government accepts responsibility for people, then people no longer take responsibility for themselves.” George Pataki

Everybody seems to make this silly mistake. It's not about "punishing" (or rewarding) anyone. It's about setting government policy so as to encourage concentration of wealth or discourage it.

Also, you can leave me out of it. I'm doing just fine, thanks. This is not about me. It's about America, and about what makes for a healthy economy.

Untrue as far as California, which is also rapidly growing and which has probably the strongest economy of any state in the country. We have a general migration of population westward. It's been going on since the first colonists arrived. That's all you're seeing.

In any case, the fact that policies which in themselves are unhealthy can create a competitive advantage doesn't change the fact that they're unhealthy. It just means those policies need to be enacted nationwide, or, better, globally.

Mrs. M:

Rising wages are not the cause of inflation. When you were a little girl, wages were much higher than now in constant dollars.

I didn't say that rising wages were the sole cause of inflation but inflation comes with higher wages. You can pay your employees $1.75/hr. and sell your bread for .50/loaf or you can pay your employees $11.75/hr. and sell your bread for $2.50/loaf but there's no way you're going to pay your employees $11.75/hr. and sell your bread for .50/loaf.

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"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "WOO HOO, What a Ride!"