Two top Democrats say they want to impose a new tax on the wealthy to finance any increase in U.S. troops for the Afghanistan war.
Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., chairman of the purse string-controlling House Appropriations Committee, is calling the idea a "war surtax." He said that just as the federal government is expected to pay for its proposed intervention in the health care sector with new taxes, any escalated involvement in Afghanistan should come with a payment plan.
"If we have to pay for the health care bill, we should pay for the war as well ... by having a war surtax," Obey told ABC News in an interview that aired Monday. "The problem in this country with this issue is that the only people that has to sacrifice are military families and they've had to go to the well again and again and again and again, and everybody else is blithely unaffected by the war."
Readers of my free missive, Casey’s Daily Dispatch, know I’m vehemently opposed to the doomed adventure in Afghanistan. On that front alone, the idea of a war tax is like a shard of glass in my eye.
But it’s even worse than that. It shows just how degraded this country has become – picking the pockets of the productive is now pretty much the only remaining source of funding the administration and its allies can imagine.
Just to be sure we keep this in perspective: At this moment, if you earn more than $250,000 a year (which isn’t what it used to be, given the steady erosion of inflation over the last 30 years), you will pay federal income taxes of about 35%, no estate taxes, and a 15% capital gains tax should the money you put at risk in the market return a profit.
As soon as next year – if the government moves up the expiration of the Bush tax cuts, as I very much expect them to – the top tax bracket will go to 39%. On top of that, the current healthcare legislation will add a 5.4% surcharge. Then, add in the Democrats’ proposed 5% war tax. So straight up we’re talking 49%.
LINK HERE
The solution?
ReplyDeleteDon't work and don't consume!
A strike against the system.
Solar Generator for your power, Make your own clothes, grow your own food, ride a bike, Rage against the Machine!
ReplyDeleteIts insane how the dummies are voting YES at the side bar for the war. There are some DUMB people visiting this blog. They love extra taxes! They actually believe the government and reasons why they are in Afghanistan. WOW!
ReplyDeleteI suspect someone doesn't understand that pretty soon (already happened) the cost/benefit of working to generate a higher income will be so low that the high earners will stop generating the level of income that qualifies them for the additional taxes. The government seems to think they can count on people working like dogs and bringing home less and less money.
ReplyDeleteDon't be a dog: embrace love and life! Life outside the chains of slavery.
ReplyDeleteHa-ha-ha! They make you believe that your worst enemy is Al-Qaeda, Iran, Russia. They take your dollars and build endless military bases around Russia and the Middle East. But your real enemy is your government, the enemy within. And this enemy will destroy your republic. You can take it to the bank, if there will be any banks left after this crisis. Now, you people, understand why the entire world resisted your “democracy. What you bring to other countries is not a democracy. It is a plutocracy with Dollar slavery. Your president has a nerve to stand up and talk about corruption in the third world while bailing out the most corrupt entities ever existed on this planet. What a joke.
ReplyDeleteI think I am close to making my husband understand how bad things are going to get. This afternoon he was frustrated because he is not making the money he was led to believe he would make when we relocated 2 1/2 years ago.
ReplyDeleteI explained my point of view that we should be grateful we make under $37,000 (Canada), because pretty soon taxes will be so crazy next year and with all the people losing their jobs here in Alberta we will be grateful for making as much as we do.
He is not quite totally on board with my thinking yet, but he will be when he realizes one day that all my prepping of food, water was warranted that went along with my rants of government.
I also started writing our own personal survival guide for when it gets really rough. I would love to get one of those hand held crossbows as well (more for selfish desire though I think).
Handheld crossbow, ha! You could be the goddess of the apocalypse, shooting rats at a distance of 10 feet for food.
ReplyDeletewow this article made me scik- this government is now TOTALLY criminal and TOTALLY corrupt- we're worse then the communist countries because at least the communist countries know they're under a communist system whereas our dumb citizens walk aroudn thinking they're free when in fact they're even more enslaved! we need a revolution in this country against both parties and we need it bad!
ReplyDeleteYes, exactly! That is how a clandestine Empire works.
ReplyDeleteWe are indeed slaves to the Elite via their fraudulent federal reserve. You work 1.5 days a week to line their pockets. I call that wage slavery. Then a lot of that goes to killing, maiming, rape, robbery, you name it. Occupations aren't cheap.
Sooner or later we will morph into a tyrannical dictatorship and then things will not be sugar coated anymore.
Pity the poor Iraqis and Afghans who are getting a boot in their face daily and then realize that because you turned a deaf ear to their plight you will be next. Count on that. The Empire will turn its wrath inward.
I thought part of the Fed taxes went to debt payments..errrrr...paying of the crooked Fed who loaned Americans..errr....Federal Government that trash known as Fiat Federal Reserve notes
ReplyDeleteRead Iron Fist by Jack Irons
ReplyDeleteIf you can find it
it outlines how America will devolve into a fascist dictatorship.
Or, you don't even need that, just listen to Marilyn Mansons Beautiful People to understand
what's afoot.
United States has two options:
ReplyDelete1) Declare a peace.
2) Accept a surrender.
The banksters, the TRUE enemy, have bankrupted the United States, so "fighting" is not an option.
Where *is* the Marine Corps when WE NEED THEM?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
When Elvis' minions take over the world it will be a brutal dictatorship ran by the greatest rock n roller himself (yes, he is still alive). The Hounds of Baskerville will be at his disposal. Anyone who even THINKS about resisting will be reduced to blood and bones in a due time. In case anyone here is too STUPID TO KNOW IT, the commies are really martians and Iran is plotting to blow up the solar system. All I want to do is go to Sonic and get a Cherry Coke. What is a bloke to do?
ReplyDeleteThe mention of a war tax by the criminals in DC should spark mass demonstrations. Adding 30+K troops to the debacle in Afghanistan should spark mass demonstrations.
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to the so called "Anti-War" groups?
What happened to the anti-tax groups?
The dumbed down idiotic stupid American Sheeple are concerned about how many women Tiger has had or who is on American Idle.
This country is gone, those of who live in reality need to get the hell out of dodge, NOW. Things will deteriorate rapidly in 2010.
"cost/benefit" is right. google Sweden and taxes. I read a great article a couple years ago that explained that workers earning over 70,000 kroner were taxed to the point that they only kept 30,000 but people who earned 13,000 kroner were benefited to the point that they got 35,000 kroner.
ReplyDeleteIf I was working my butt off and keeping less money than people who slacked I think I would start taking the easy way out
@9:35 PM
ReplyDelete>Where *is* the Marine Corps when WE NEED THEM?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!<
As I already said, they are fighting the imaginary enemy. They were sent there so that they would not fight the real one. Isn’t that smart? You guys should understand that we all live in a crowd-elitarian society. And there are 5 branches of power, not 3 as we were told in the order of importance.
1. conceptual (does not reside in the USA, so they do not care about you or your country)
2. ideological (may reside in the country, Rockefeller is a good example)
1 and 2 indirectly rule the bottom 3 through conceptual, ideological and financial instruments.
3. legislative
4. executive
5. judicial
The top two branches of power have a different goal than you and me. We want to live well. In my definition of well it means to see the results of my labour, which I currently don’t, since it all been skimmed by the banksters via different crises. They want us to work well, consume less, be controlled , do not multiply too much to sustain their lifestyle and never dream of anything else. They made a mistake long time ago by allowing 5% of population to consume 50% of the resources produced on an annual basis (I am talking about USA). Now they are correcting their mistake. In the process they are going to eliminate excessive population of “dogs”, that’s how they refer to us.