Why do citizens support a flat tax?

You got it, bucko.

I'm in the average income bracket.

Cain's dumbfuck fucked-up tax plan would dramatically raise taxes on ME. Me, myself, I. And the large large majority of taxpayers.

Anybody who isn't a billionaire who supports it is a fucking idiot.

 

You live a deprived life.

 

I was curious, so I pulled up my tax return from last year.

My wife and I grossed $58,223. After deductions, my AGI was $31,305. We had to pay $3,864 in taxes.

On our gross, the rate was 6.64%. On my AGI it was 12.34% So the 9% would fall in between the two.

So for me, on gross, it would increase my liability by 2.36% or $1376. That's $26.46 a week.

Now, the theory behind the 9-9-9, which is similar to the FairTax, is the the lower liability of higher income earners and corporations would result in lower prices, meaning that it my cost of living would decrease.

But, for me, if that means everyone pays an equal percentage of taxes, then I'm OK with the extra $100 a month. But that's just me.

 

Um, about that: One of those 9s is a 9% national sales tax. So if you think prices are going to be LOWER as a result, you got another think coming, especially if you think that those higher income earners and corporations are actually going to share those savings around.

 

I realize that.

But, as long as there isn't further regulation, the lower tax brackets should equal higher competition, meaning lower prices.

It's not perfect, but I think it's a start in the right direction to a lower overall income burden and a higher consumption burden.

 

Not if they're all raising prices to meet the 9 percent tax. Things will get more expensive, or stay the same.

Meanwhile, poor people would now be paying an extra 9 percent on food and clothing and utilities. 9 percent that they do not have. The rich people do have the 9 percent.

 

Given the number of corporations that seem to get away with paying no tax, I can't imagine that a 9% corporate tax rate would lead to a lower tax burden.

Of course, I also can't imagine that anyone would enforce said corporate tax rate. Nor, of course, that Cain's stupid idea would get past step one of the legislative process.

 

Oh and when you bring up the minor detail of, "a 9% national sales tax?!? WTF? My home state already charges a 6% sales tax (insert your own figure as applicable), so I'd be paying 15% sales tax on everything," the 9-9-9 pumpers reflexively respond, "Oh don't worry, part of the plan assumes the states are going to abolish those sales taxes." (Some versions of the plan even say this explicitly.)



Oh really? What states are going to do that? The states that are already fighting with cataclysmic budget deficits? They are going to just give up a huge chunk of their revenue streams?

"Well they will just have to cut their budgets so they can do it," comes the 999 retort.

Ah yes. Cut out all that silly shit like road maintenance, parks, colleges, state police, all that silly worthless shit state governments waste money on. Who needs it. Cut it all out. It'll be a snap. No problem whatsoever.


These fuckers are just fucking idiots. This isn't high-school economics, this isn't junior-high school economics, this is barely counting-on-your-fingers stuff.



Oh and another little tidbit -- my state's 6% sales tax specifically exempts food items, so as not to be blatantly regressive against the poorest citizens who pay the largest percentage of their total income on foodstuffs to stay alive.

None of the 999 plans I have seen say a word about that. They want the mook making minimum wage and taking home $15,000 a year to pay 9% on a pound of bargain-store hamburger just like the Koch Bros. drowning in billions of cash pay 9% on their filet mignons served on platinum table settings.

 

Uh . . .

What?

 

People support a flat tax because they are stupid, stupid, stupid. Most Americans are so stupid they can't even or won't even try to do their own taxes and take them to someone else to do them and pay more to that person just in order to pay what they owe to the government. I had someone post on my Facebook today, in all seriousness, "Gingrich-Cain, Dream Team." I declined to answer what I thought, which was, OH YEAH, Dream team, all right.

 

So the mere idea of a flat tax is "stupid, stupid, stupid," or is it simply this flat tax that's stupid, stupid, stupid?

 

The mere idea of a flat tax can be debated as an idea in equality. Everyone pays the same percentage. Even though, like I've said, one man's $5 grand is more important than another man's $5 grand in terms of paying the bills.

This idea of Cain's is "stupid, stupid, stupid." He didn't even think it through very clearly, as indicated when reporters would ask him about it. He mostly stumbled around when it was pointed out that poor people would pay more and the rich would pay less. He thought he could just sneak it through with a cute little play on words that sounded like a pizza slogan.