I don't hate the rich. But one big reason they are rich is that they find ways to spend as little as possible on taxes, in ways that aren't available to the rest of us. I don't begrudge them their money - I just wonder how people like Romney can justify contributing a smaller proportion of their income than those making exponentially less.
Does anybody seriously expect Mitt Romney to be the kind of person who will be able to identify with regular non-rich people?
On what planet is it fair (and no, I didn't see Obama's speech last night) that people who make a tiny fraction of the 1% are expected to pay taxes at double the rate, or more, than the richest members of society? How can all strata of a society not at least partly share in the costs of running it? Do Republicans actually imagine that everyone will pay a 15% tax rate - and then what? Does more and more stuff just get sponsored by corporations, a la US Cellular Field in Chicago, or my favorite, the Taco Bell Arena at Boise State University? Granted, nothing new there - after all, the Willis Tower was formerly brought to you by Sears - but the trend accelerates. What does that kind of thinking do to the literal and cultural landscape of our country down the line? Ugh - makes me want to become a sustenance farmer in the middle of nowhere.
Oh, and apropos of nothing but while I'm thinking about the wealthy, upscale neighborhoods have the suckiest garage sales. Don't even bother - I've tried.
And I can't even spare any neurons on Newt Gingrich today. The only good thing about him, in my view, is that his name is Newt, and we have a newt, so that's fun. Honestly, I'm near the primal howl stage.
4 comments:
It's not just that he paid so little in taxes, but the reduced taxation rate on capital gains and corporations has reduced the incentive to invest back into the business. Where, once upon a time, people would reduce their taxes by taking on employees and, you know, paying them, now they just walk off with piles of cash and let the business fail.
To speak about Romney, the vulture capitalist is an apt designation. It's ironic that Newt's spike in popularity coincides with his adoption of the OWS rhetoric, in spite of the fact that he is largely a demagogue.
you're right, Pete - it's the loophole for carrier interest on capital gains, open to investment fund managers, that allowed Romney to pay so little tax. Why those guys get to count income they've earned on the job as a capital gain, rather than as regular income like the rest of us mooks, is beyond me. The upshot is, as you say, it demotivates businesses to invest in their own growth.
We can thank Reagan for the start of that trend. The sad part is now we have a Congress that is so beholden to the monied interests that the interests of the "99%" are rarely taken into account. I do find it interesting that there are those of us among the top 5% or so who so strongly sympathize with the 99% and wonder why that it is there are so many others who do not, especially the people working two or three jobs and have 16 hour days. It's like they really think that by doing so they are going to "get ahead." Maybe you should blog about that ;)
Mitt's campaign song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cV2EUUF47Ms
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