Yeah OK, single over 50k and after deductions 12% of my gross. I think I missed the $67 reduction.

I'll tell you what it's like....It's like you never quit raising kids.....only now they're somebody else's.

You are always free to send in more money. Your tax due is the minimum you can pay by law so if you feel undertaxed send the Feds some more. They will gladly take it.

I'm on pace to pay more money for 2010 to the Feds and the State than I have ever paid before. I'm sure they will spend it all wisely.

Anyone who feels that the deficit solution is just taxes or just spending has no clue. It must be a combination.

+100,000,000,000,000,000,000.37

Based on the article it looks like families earning $50,000 and under aren't paying their fair share of taxes. They are gettin money back, while the folks earning at a rate of $50,000 per person and greater are paying for everyone. Am I missing something? Why all the rancor over tax cuts to folks making a good income?

There are more folks making less money, so maybe if we didn't give them so much money back, went to a flat tax, just maybe everybody would actually pay their share.

I wish I could pay taxes again like I did when Bush was pres.

How are taxes different now than when Bush was prez? The tax cuts have been extended. Can't say that I've noticed any difference.

Sg

Agreed. End all tax cuts and deductions.

LOL, there is a big difference in taxes between a 5 figure bonus check and a zero figure bonus check.

Sg: I think RR and I are referring to the money we were making when Bush was president! Would gladly pay the taxes I was paying back then.....

THIS!

As long as we migrate to a straight flat tax.

I'd be okay with that.

Of all the flat tax proposals, I think the Huckabee "Fair Tax" is the best of the breed.

RR,

Oh, you mean the amount of business activity there was, so more income and more taxes, before Bush crashed the economy. Ah ha, I see.

For all the popularity of a flat tax, I guess I'm still a bit of a bleeding heart liberal. My income is certainly up from when I was younger and raising a family and I'm willing to take the hit of the graduated income tax to lessen the tax burden on the poor. I've been poor. It ain't fun.

Sg

+ 1 Trillion

I make $18.5k a year. I shouldn't have to pay the same rate in taxes as someone who makes $18.5 million a year. Screw the flat tax.

While debating the final costs of the wars is fair, not adding in the "stimulus spending" that has cost more than the wars isn't fair or correct. I realize a few of you guys "lean left" but come on.

"I make $18.5k a year. I shouldn't have to pay the same rate in taxes as someone who makes $18.5 million a year. Screw the flat tax."

Classic right there. Always nicer to spend the other guys money.

I like that a guy making $18,500, which doesn't even register on the tax table, is complaining that "rich guys" aren't paying their share. Classic.

People make their own future. Educate yourself and get a better job. Don't expect me, or others like me, to do the heavy lifting.

What's Truck day?

oic.

Just got done with my taxes. Interesting figures.

I paid more tax last year than you earned, paid more mortgage interest than you earned, and I contributed more to the economic viability of the community where I live (not including what I do in my day job, just solely income) than your earned last year. Heck, I spent 35% of what you made last year starting my chicken farm with buildings and supplies.

We aren't rich by any means, but it would be nice to see you start doing your share and contributing, rather than slacking off and complaining about the tax rate of folks who are alive the same number of hours you were last year, yet were able to be 20x's, or 1,000x's more productive than you were.

Buck up sailor, get to work, stop smoking dope, and turn off the X-box.

I almost spat coffee all over my computer while reading this. It's laughable at best.

I will bet my life that right now I work more hours per week than you do. When was the last time you worked an 19 hour day out in the snow? I can also guarantee that when you were my age, you were probably a piece of schit mooching off of your parents. So please, get off you high horse.

I'm happy where I am. I don't make anything, but you got to start a career somewhere. It's my choice to be where I am. I could be making a lot more money elsewhere, but I don't want to be anywhere else at this juncture in my life.

I'm just so sick a tired of hearing you old farts bitch and moan about paying taxes when you have a larger income than 99% of the world's population. Cry me a fukin' river. Seriously. No one gives a fuk that you have to pay taxes except you and other Glenn Beck followers.

And Hank -- go fuk your self

McMoron,

I think the point was to have you quit bitching about "others not paying enough" when you "pay none".

A flat tax is a fair tax. Everyone pays same share but no deductions, no breaks(that would be the most important part). You make 10K at 10% you pay 1K. Your share. Someone makes 100K they pay 10K. Same %, different amount of money. No need for the IRS either. Saves money.

The "tax them not me crap" and pitting one class against another is then gone as well. But what would our pols have to bitch about. Who could they say is holding you back? Keeping you down. What would drive you to the voting booth? Will never happen for that reason. Besides it is to simple and makes to much sense for our govern to use it.

Well, someone is gonna have to pay the taxes because you have made the choice not too. I applaud you making your career choice but practice what you preach. Don't wnat to hear others bitch about taxes, then help us out a little.

Salmo... You really should read 5 minutes worth on Huckabee's "Fair Tax" stuff. It's the best balance I've seen: www.fairtax.org Even your bleeding heart may agree.

Had a job since I was 14, and only a single day unemployed since that time when I switched jobs. While putting myself through college I had two jobs.

Most recently, while holding down a regular day job, I put 4,000 hours of my own labor into building my house, working the day job, skipping lunch, heading to the property, and working most evenings until 11pm or midnight. A year and a half of 5-6 hours of sleep per day, and the rest working my ass off. I took three or four days off from this project during that whole time. That's it.

It is called work ethic, and personal responsibility McMahon.

"The shot was at the most failed generation. Your generation has handed down nearly every social institution and government institution in a filed state. Hence I call yu the most failed generation. The odd thing is that because of the general arrofence of the most failed generation, you all don't even see it. ou as a group continue to act as though you have credability. Unfortunately you have money and that equals power."

Why do we have money? Apparently you are too young to have perspective along with money wisdom comes with age. We worked for it, the most innovative and smartest working generations in the history of the world were born after WWII. Almost everything that makes it easy for you to sit back and bitch was thought of and produced by your failed generation. You have been handed too much and you expect more we were handed nothing and built everything. A failed generation is one that is handed a lot and fails to advance off of what they were given. I see that happening in your generation the one I will call the "excuse generation" because that’s all I hear from it. Btw your generation’s music sucks big black donkey dik.

LOL. I'm glad my lavish fishing lifestyle helped you gain some clarity.

Most of the folks that get bitched at for being rich and not paying their fair share are working 60 to 75 hours a week to be able to have the level of living they want and people that are making $18,500 and are able to survive most likely are on some additional government assistance.

Or they live in their parent's basement, college dorm, or in the back woods somewhere.

McMahon's hours worked :19 hr days in the snow and making $18,500 a year computes to roughly $3.74 an hour. Time to re-negotiate that contract.

Exactly.

You made the choice so deal with the consequences.

Obligating one man to subsidize the "choice" of another man is theft.

Plain and simple.

I'm definitely better armed.

My boys do.

First off if you are paying taxes you are making money so quit bitching about it. Hankster if you paid 35k+ in taxes and are here on the interwebz all day doing the jaknrod show count your blessings. It s blessing that there are people like Mc out there helping to make that possible. If you think they don't help and directly benefit you then you have no idea how our system works .

We have an Xbox and I can be armed rather quickly.

We have a Wii too, so I'm familar with nunchuks also.

I know this: If you spout off about how the "rich" don't pay their fair share, and then you tell everyone that you only make $18,500 a year, you can expect to get both barrels from the people who pay the freight. I would also be interested to hear just how McMahon is blessing me, as he has not disclosed his occupation other than it involves some time out in the snow. He could be a scarecrow for all I know.

Depends how good of a scarecrow he is.

This is a pointless debate like most so I will tell a little story and bow out.I tend to thank people that work any job for $18 k a year. Call me a fool but sometimes I even buy them a latte or lunch for no reason. If I get into Mr Peabodys way back time machine I remember hauling washed rock in 5 gallon buckets installing drain tiles in Dec for $2.75 an hour. I remember thinking I was real smart and asked the owner of the company why he did not just buy a backhoe and he said "why when you guys are cheaper". I may have even had an opinion like Mcmahons back then, hard not to be cranky after 40 hours of back breaking labor. Hard not to feel slighted when you work that hard and drive by people in $250k cars wearing $50k watches. The less education you have the more likley you are to feel that way. So call me a sentimental fool but I have some empathy for these people. I never have taken part in any of the programs directly but I have indirectly. My dad was drafted into Vietnam and left my mom with three kids to support. She had an 8th grade education, in the 60’s made it tough to find a job let alone a job that paid well. We ended up living in a housing project a using food stamps until my dad returned from Vietnam , about 2 years. She is a hard working lady and has been employed by the same company since 1967. She was just in a place and time where she needed a hand up. Through our church we help support several people like this that through circumstance out of their control need a little help above what government programs can provide. I see how they live and as tempting as it is to bitch about our system, govt. waste and taxes I see real people and real benefit. Is it perfect no but is anything in life perfect? If you want to bitch about your taxes I have a few people I can have you spend sometime with and once you do you will not bitch about your taxes any longer, if you do you are not human. It’s simple for me I keep my life simple, money power and material things do not mean much to me I don’t need to measure myself against others possessions or lifestyle. I understand it is not easy for others to accept that they do not get to directly keep 100% of what they earn and distribute it how they choose or to keep it or that they are carrying other people on their back because of that system. But the bottom line is we are all in this thing together and we all benefit from it from top to bottom.

Whether illegals are a blessing or a curse seems to depend a lot on the complaint of the day. When we start talking taxes, illegals become a collective pariah, because they don't pay any. When we start talking about rising food prices (particularly on produce), illegals are the only friends we have. Their willingness to work (hard) for wages far below what most white bread Americans would consider acceptable is largely responsible for the fact that produce has been as affordable as it has for so long.

Frankly, I can't decide how I should feel about that issue. Lots of issues are like that, seems to me. Take this generational argument that somehow sprang up in this thread, for instance, for which I will start a new thread later....

Great post, Tom.

That is a nice story Tom, obviously very heart felt.

That being said, in the few years I have been reading PP, I don't recall 1 post where someone has advocated not helping someone up when needed and I doubt those people exist here.

But what pisses me off is the hypocrisy of a post like McMahon's. When asked about a flat tax, his first reaction is "don't take any of my money, everyone else can do it, not me", followed by a STFU That shows a very selfish attitude IMO and I hope I am wrong, this is the internet after all.

And finally, if he had actually read the damn tax proposal he would see that the Fair Tax raises taxes on the wealthy, something he has advocated all along.

McMahon is a phuchin' idiot and Tom Joad is one MAGNANIMOUS sunofabich for feeling like buying a Latte for a dude makin' 18K....keep up the good work you phuggin' tools.

Some of you think that you're somehow support me because I don't make schit for money.

Pray tell me exactly WHAT you're paying for? I don't get food stamps, I don't collect unemployment and I don't receive handouts from anyone.

All of the oldsters are so riled up! This is a classic PP moment. It's funny how outraged many of you are.

FYI, in 2009 I paid almost $400 in taxes.

TFF....

Yeah big boy......once your mom and dads stop taking you as a deduction on THEIR tax return you'll have graduated into the realm of wearing pull-ups.

... And you're one of the cocksuckers whose had a handout his entire life. You really despise people in lower income brackets, don't you?

Get a fukin' life. Someday when I'm your age I'll be paying my fair share of taxes too -- and you know what? I won't care. In fact in about 2.5 years I'll be paying an unproportionate amount in taxes. I won't come onto PP and whine that I have to pay taxes and tell everyone I'm being cheated. I'm not going to snivel and act like people are receiving handouts when you know they're not.

Good...now finish your homework you phuckin' snot nosed bitch.

44 and I'm and oldster now. NICE! I have arrived.

No student loans, or pell grants, or assitance of any kind here in college, or any other time in my life.

Also, McMahon, I forgot about my most recent two side jobs. Working a 50 hr/week regular schedule, since last August I have rehabbed a 24 room foreclosed motel that was closed due to health department issues, and a foreclosed home. In 2 months I put in over 200 additional hours on the motel, and on the home I finished the work in 2 weeks and about 50 hours of work.

Not because I had to, but because I enjoy the labor. I'll work any young kid into the ground. You have absolutely no idea.

Another heart wrenching story, Hank! I almost cried a tear.

Jesus, I'm SO sorry you have to pay taxes. Really, I am! If I could help you out, I would.

It's funny that your father served in Viet Nam. Mine did too, but our age difference is probably 40 years. You're damn near on your death bed.

You'll never hear me crack on someone for working as long as it's legal. You come across as smart mouthed little whiny bish with a sprained vagina.

Sandy vagina, for the win!

Well [censored], that's 10 minutes of my life and two tear drops I'll never get back .. . . ..

Me, sandy? I'm not the one who blew my top and about had a stroke. I'm not the one who got outraged that someone dare make my income.

My philosophy remains: If you pay 35K+ in taxes a year, you obviously live a comfortable life and need to be paying taxes. People in my tax bracket DON'T receive handouts like many suggested. Only people who've led a privileged life and were supported by someone would think this. Also, wealthy people are the likeliest group to receive handouts. This has been shown from Bush tax cuts, the Bush stimulus package, to bank bailouts (not to mention the billions in subsidies).

Another thing true about a flat tax is that it puts a burden on the middle class than any other group.