Top 1% paid 38% of federal income taxes

So, it's a fact that the Top 1% paid 38% of federal income taxes.  No one can argue that.  But what should be discussed is the question as to whether this is a beneficial argument to the side that think the rich pay too much in tax or the side that say the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer and everyone needs to pay their "fair share".


Let's look at the facts.  53% of people pay income tax, 47% don't.  With the whole "occupy wallstreet" hoopla, there is now a group of people calling themselves the "53 percenters" (ridiculing the "we are the 99%" mantra of the occupy movement).   Their point is that they are paying taxes, not complaining, and their taxes are going to, among other things, the "entitlement" programs for the poor.

The fact that the rich pay 38% of income tax, in my opinion, is a by-product of the fact that they earn an excess of money, and the 47% not paying taxes earn very little money by comparison.  Some more facts:  the per capita income (ie average or mean) in the US is approximatly 47K.   However, the MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD income is just about $50K.  So with a little knowledge in statistics, one can deduct that income is not normally distributed, and is thus skewed.  (I can go into more detail if anyone likes)

Top 1% tax bracket for 2011 are people that earn over $379,151.   However, a family in the top 99.9% percentile makes $2,075,574.  43.6 million people lived in poverty in 2009.   Poverty level is $22,350 for a family of four.

Let's do a little math exercise.  There's a group of 100 people.  99 of them earn $50,000 per year, 1 earns $3,000,000.   To make things simple, let's assume there is a 20% flat income tax with no deductions (a dream for Republicans, and along the lines of what Rick Perry is proposing).  Each of the people making 50K would pay $10,000 in taxes.  The person making 3 million, would pay $600,000 in taxes.  The total revenue generated from the 99 would be $990,000.   As a percentage, the 1 person making 3 million would be paying 38% of the taxes.    Or in other words, 1% of this population would be paying 38% of the total taxes ($600,000/$1,590,000). 


In my opinion, it's a no-brainer to return the tax rates for the rich to what they used to be (I guess this depends on who you define as rich, which is a whole different story.  But let's for kicks, say anyone earning over 1 million dollars)  and to leave the tax rates the same for others.   I don't think the 47% not paying taxes should start paying taxes.  Why should a person who makes $9000 a year pay more taxes that what they are currently paying, while someone making 9 million gets a tax cut?   Makes no sense.  Some people think the 47% are doing something illegal to not pay taxes, but that's not the case.   The reason they aren't paying taxes is that either they aren't flat-out earning enough money, or when you factor in deductions (mortgage, married, children, charitable donations) it leaves them not paying any taxes.   This is the same exact way that the rich's accountants figure out how they can pay LESS taxes.  They maximize their deductions by making a ton of charitable contributions, among other things. (There's also capital gains taxes which I will talk about another time)

All that being said, I do think major overhauls to the "entitlement" programs need to be made, they are a complete failure as they are functioning today.  People should not be milking the system (ie people that have the ability to work, should work!!)  I am all for illegal drug testing of those people on welfare.  If you are spending my tax dollars on illegal drugs, then you shouldn't be receiving my $.  There are plenty of hard-working people who could genuinely use our tax dollars to pay for baby formula, food, clothes, and heating to keep their houses warm.


So much to talk about, this discussion WILL be continued.

Please comment - would love to hear some feedback and ideas.  Always open for good, clean, healthy discussion!

What a weekend - hope you all in the northeast got your power back and are staying warm!   Time for some Sunday night football!

Welcome

So, I have decided to dive into the world of blogging.  Why, you may ask?  I feel like everyday I have something to say.  I can only talk so much to my wife without boring her.  So, that's where all you out there in cyberland get lucky.  My intention with this blog is to make it a political arena.  To stir up discussion and debate on important topics.  Unlike many political outlets, I don't rush to make any judgments.  I pace myself, and try to determine the truth by taking a fair approach, looking at the issues from both sides.  I'm not sly, like a fox, so I will put all the factual information that I can find out there - even if it goes against an opinion I have.  It is my opinion, that if you take the time to understand by reading, watching, listening and questioning - you will find the truth.

To give you a background on myself.  I'm your average everyday kinda guy.  I like sports, music, traveling, spending time with family & friends.  I'm in my 30's and married.  I live in suburbia.  I have an advanced degree and a fairly good job that I enjoy.  It pays the bills and our mortgage, but savings is not as much as I'd like.  I am in the middle class.  Like you all, I have friends and family on both sides of the aisle (Republicans and Democrats).  I prefer to sit IN the aisle and listen to both sides and then make an informed decision based on my personal beliefs and what is best for me and the rest of our great country.

To do research, I try to listen to different radio programs, from Rush Limbaugh to NPR to Michael Smerconish to Michael Savage while in my car, watch CNN, MSNBC, FOX News (Anderson Cooper, Rachel Maddow, Chris Mathews, Bill O'Reilly, Hannity, Bill Maher, John Stewart, Steven Colbert, etc) while at home to get all different views on things.  I read news reports online, from Drudge Report, Politico, Huffington Post, to all the basic news stations (abc, nbc, cbs, fox, cnn, msnbc, yahoo, etc)  The more I watch, read and listen, the MORE questions I have!  Both sides are SO adamant about their beliefs, I find it easy to see how someone who only listens to one side can easily be brainwashed into thinking that side is ALWAYS correct.   I've come to the obvious (to some) conclusion, that this is not true.   One side is not always correct.  Actually, in most cases the truth typically lies somewhere in the middle.

I'm tired of some lies that are perpetuated through news outlets, and want to bring some of these to light.  I want to make some political discussions easy for everyone to understand.  I want this to be an interactive blog, where we get input from people of all political beliefs, races, religions, sexual orientations, etc.

Thanks for reading,

Pace Veritas