1. Welcome to SportsJournalists.com, a friendly forum for discussing all things sports and journalism.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register for a free account to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Access to private conversations with other members.
    • Fewer ads.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Buffett: Stop coddling the super-rich

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Alma, Aug 15, 2011.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
Page 5 of 90
  1. Inky_Wretch

    Inky_Wretch Well-Known Member

    No exemptions? Not even groceries?
     
    Inky_Wretch, Aug 16, 2011
    #49
  2. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    I'm not sure groceries would constitute a tax shelter.
     
    Mizzougrad96, Aug 16, 2011
    #50
  3. RickStain

    RickStain Well-Known Member

    I'm confused and also too lazy to read up on it.

    A higher percentage of our tax receipts come from the rich than other countries.

    But don't our rich have a higher percentage of the wealth than in most countries?
     
    RickStain, Aug 16, 2011
    #51
  4. poindexter

    poindexter Well-Known Member

    lol - I didn't think about that!!
     
    poindexter, Aug 16, 2011
    #52
  5. LanceyHoward

    LanceyHoward Well-Known Member

    Got a link on that? Don't have time to research it up but, for example, I think the Australians still have a 50% top rate. Don't know how they tax dividend and capital gains.
     
    LanceyHoward, Aug 16, 2011
    #53
  6. Inky_Wretch

    Inky_Wretch Well-Known Member

    Sorry, I meant when it came to the flat tax. If you do a flat tax, you've got to exclude some things from it.
     
    Inky_Wretch, Aug 16, 2011
    #54
  7. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    No link. But according to the OECD tax database, the richest decile in Australia pays 36.6 percent of the country's Federal income/social security/welfare system taxes. In the U.S., the richest decile pays 45.1 of those taxes. These are not marginal rates. The measure is actual tax receipts. They are comparing apples to apples.

    Even adjusted for market income of the wealthiest deciles in those countries, the ratio of the share of taxes to the share of income for the wealthiest decile in Australia is 1.29. In the U.S. it is 1.35.

    I can't speak for the accuracy of the Australian numbers, but I assume their methodology is legit. The U.S. numbers the OECD uses are reasonably close to accurate.
     
    The Big Ragu, Aug 17, 2011
    #55
  8. Magic In The Night

    Magic In The Night Active Member

    Ragu, I would think those numbers need to be adjusted because the richest group in the U.S. only pays the Social Security "tax" on a small portion of his/her income.
     
    Magic In The Night, Aug 17, 2011
    #56
  9. LongTimeListener

    LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

    Don't bother. Ragu is going to stick by this no matter what. No matter that the study itself labels this an "alternative measure" of progressivity, which to most people would mean "hey this is neat but maybe not the most iron-clad way of explaining this" but to Ragu is enough to build an entire political and social policy.

    Interestingly, this table is attached to a larger study called "Growing Unequal? Income Distribution and Poverty in OECD Countries." The study found the U.S. ranked third-worst among the 30 member nations, ahead of only Mexico and Turkey. It takes a special kind of manipulation to conclude from that study that the main problem is we ask too much of the rich.

    In five years there will be another study, U.S. wealth inequality will have become more severe, and Ragu will see a crisis because the rich are now asked to pay 48 percent of income taxes (whatever that apples-to-oranges-to-raspberries definition might be). He and his buddies will storm the gates on their polo ponies, epees fully engaged.

    Another study came out today finding that one in five U.S. kids lives in poverty.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2027013/Child-poverty-1-5-American-children-living-poverty.html

    If only we could make those kids' parents pay more taxes, then they'd know the value of a buck and get their shit together.
     
    LongTimeListener, Aug 17, 2011
    #57
  10. Magic In The Night

    Magic In The Night Active Member

    LTL, that is just horrible to see that stat. When will we acknowledge that we are heading toward Third World status?
     
    Magic In The Night, Aug 17, 2011
    #58
  11. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    Those numbers are a measure of tax receipts. I keep saying the same thing over and over again. The numbers don't have to be adjusted.

    It is simply the percentage of total Federal taxes (they measure 24 OECD countries) paid by the richest 10 percent of people.

    It doesn't get any simpler than that.

    They also do a ratio based on what percentage of income the richest 10 percent of the people in each of those countries earns. The U.S., while it has greater income disparity than a lot of countries, still has the highest ratio.
     
    The Big Ragu, Aug 17, 2011
    #59
  12. YankeeFan

    YankeeFan Well-Known Member

    The War on Poverty began in 1964.

    Maybe it's time to admit that liberal policies have not ended, but have instead added to America's poverty problem.

    We've sentenced people to poverty. We've sustained it. We market it.
     
    YankeeFan, Aug 17, 2011
    #60
Page 5 of 90
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page