The BoneBlog

I don't like discussing politics much, really I don't.  So this will be one of the VERY few posts you'll see here on this.  I was looking around the internet (yeah, the entire internet) the other day and found a conservative claiming that the richest folks actually pay more taxes than the middle class, and justifying her position by linking to this.

Then she got all snarky and went on to say 'Economics 101 should be mandatory.'

Well, sweetheart, maybe this was covered in Economics 202 and you didn't get that far, but the fact is that while dollar-wise the super-rich may account for most of the revenue (duh), they may or may not account for it percentage-wise.

And that is why a flat tax is patently unfair.

Let's pretend we had a flat tax of 10%.  Sounds fair, right?  Everyone pays 10% of their income, right? But the truth is that it is not fair at all, and here is why:

Reader's Digest Condensed Version:  Paying out 10% of a $10,000 salary hurts a person a lot more than paying 10% of a $1,000,000 salary.  Expendable income of a person paid a low salary is much, much less than the expendable income of a millionaire.  The necessities -- food, transportation, basic housing needs -- take up a much bigger chunk of the low salary than of the high salary.

And that, friends, is why graduated tax rates are fairer than flat taxes. 

As for the link above?  It doesn't take into account social security taxes and the like -- and once those factor in, the number-crunchers say, things flatten out and prove the "5,000 richest people in the country" are paying less than those making $100,000.

Still.  You gotta look at the PERCENTAGES and the EXPENDABLE INCOME.  That's what matters.  Not straight dollars. 

But as I said, maybe that was covered in Econ 202.

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While I'm at it, let's just discuss the train wreck that is Sarah Palin, shall we?

I don't care that her teenage daughter is pregnant.  It happens, and in my opinion is not a reflection on Sarah's ability to lead our country (no, there are other things that make me question that).  What disturbs me is that Sarah Palin KNEW this and KNEW that if she accepted the VP nod that would come out and STILL decided her political career was more important than the fact that her daughter -- already enduring trauma enough -- would be dragged through the mud.  What the hell was she thinking?  I'm also fascinated at the spin on all this.  Sarah Palin is a Republican.  Republicans preach family values and religious morals while catering to the religious right, and yet, gasp!  Her daughter is a pregnant teenager who has conceived a baby out of wedlock!  How could this happen?!  Next thing you know, the daughter will dump the boyfriend, schlepp off to California and marry a woman.  Horrors!

Would this hubbub be happening if Palin were a Democrat?  Probably not, and it shouldn't.  Democrats don't typically hold forth as the champions of no-sex-before-marriage and religious righteousness.

Furthermore, my understanding is that Palin cut the special needs funding in Alaska by 62% but now that she has a special needs child is claiming she'll be an advocate for special needs families in the White House.  Huh?  Well, that's typical.  Republicans preach personal responsibility and whatnot until they fall on hard times themselves, then suddenly they want the public dole as much as anyone else.  Fascinating, really.  A complete lack of empathy for the plight of others until they fall under the wheels of life themselves.

That is all.

Amen. I hope the majority of Americans are smarter than I think and see past this Republican ploy!

Aw, shucks. I thought my family had a new "friend."

I worked for a manufacturing company where the owner was nice but very Republican. Every year for raises he would usually give a set percentage to everyone as their increase. Of course, the top paid people made out like bandits (me included) with each year becoming better and better. The regular worker had a much lower salary and took years before the increases actually made a difference.

Exactly! Exactly.