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ORIGINAL: FirmhandKY

So, you do not believe that people who are "poor" but not in poverty should have to pay the federal income tax and, in fact, should be subsidized by those who do pay?

Should it also depend upon where they live, and the cost of living?

50k in California, or New York is pretty low, in comparison.  In Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia or a bunch of other states, it can provide a pretty comfortable living.

Firm

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ORIGINAL: lockedaway
True...Lucy just mucks up the board with her idiocy on issues relating to the U.S.  And I have heard other people ask why she is butting her nose into our business because she is not part of the solution...just a useless distraction. 

BUT...and this is a big BUT...her entitlement mentality is prevalent in the U.S. and it is literally destroying this country.

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ORIGINAL: imperatrixx

That's a difficult question...yes I do think things like this should depend on the cost of living, but at the same time I can't imagine how to codify that. There's always going to be a gap between being able to see something abstractly and being able to say, specifically, where the cutoff should be 50k, where it should be 35k, where it should be less, you know?

I don't think anyone should get free money from federal income tax returns. I do think that with the way the US is now, those with such low incomes shouldn't be paying taxes...but I also think that if the government were to provide more across the board benefits (national healthcare, for example) then everyone should be paying income taxes.

For people around the income bracket mentioned, things are extra hard. They don't make enough to be financially secure or comfortable or to even give their kids stuff that other people see as necessities (private school if they live in a bad area, dental insurance, etc) but at the same time they make too much to get any sort of assistance, like medicaid.

I guess the bottom line is...if the US invested more of that federal income tax into domestic programs that benefit the citizens of the US, I would support everyone paying in and everyone getting something out. But with the "am I my brother's keeper" mindset, it's harder to say that. And with progressive tax, the people who have financially benefitted the most from living in America are the ones who are expected to give the most back, financially, to America.

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ORIGINAL: tj444

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ORIGINAL: lockedaway
True...Lucy just mucks up the board with her idiocy on issues relating to the U.S.  And I have heard other people ask why she is butting her nose into our business because she is not part of the solution...just a useless distraction. 

BUT...and this is a big BUT...her entitlement mentality is prevalent in the U.S. and it is literally destroying this country.

.. then so am I as I am not part of the solution and never will be.. ..sniff... sniff..

btw, I believe a flat tax on income over the poverty line would be a better solution than the present tax system, either here in the US or in Canada for that matter... sure, there will still be some people that get income under the table but imo, that would happen less and more people would be motivated to earn more & create more. jmo (not that it counts for anything)

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ORIGINAL: lockedaway

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ORIGINAL: tj444

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ORIGINAL: lockedaway
True...Lucy just mucks up the board with her idiocy on issues relating to the U.S.  And I have heard other people ask why she is butting her nose into our business because she is not part of the solution...just a useless distraction. 

BUT...and this is a big BUT...her entitlement mentality is prevalent in the U.S. and it is literally destroying this country.

.. then so am I as I am not part of the solution and never will be.. ..sniff... sniff..

btw, I believe a flat tax on income over the poverty line would be a better solution than the present tax system, either here in the US or in Canada for that matter... sure, there will still be some people that get income under the table but imo, that would happen less and more people would be motivated to earn more & create more. jmo (not that it counts for anything)

"If you prick me, do I not bleed?"  You are part of the solution to many things which I cannot speak of here. :) 

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ORIGINAL: lockedaway

A person makes $16,000.00 per year, it is too much to ask that the person pays $1,600.00 into the system?  I don't think so. 

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ORIGINAL: farglebargle

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ORIGINAL: lockedaway

A person makes $16,000.00 per year, it is too much to ask that the person pays $1,600.00 into the system?  I don't think so. 

I am sure that once you add in all the taxes and fees they pay over they year, their contribution exceeds the $1600 suggested.

Why should they be taxed twice?

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ORIGINAL: lockedaway

Here is a reality none of these losers want to bring into the discussion.  A great many people making low wages on the books are also making a majority of their money in cash and not reporting it.  I have a friend who is a barber who claims $14,000 per year in income.  What he averages, however, is $1,500 per week.

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ORIGINAL: Lucylastic

I will poke my nose into whatever I want...

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ORIGINAL: ThatDamnedPanda

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ORIGINAL: lockedaway

Here is a reality none of these losers want to bring into the discussion.  A great many people making low wages on the books are also making a majority of their money in cash and not reporting it.  I have a friend who is a barber who claims $14,000 per year in income.  What he averages, however, is $1,500 per week.

So if this is something you feel so strongly about, why are you friends with a criminal? Why do you hate people you don't know just because they're poor, but befriend someone who is deliberately defrauding the system? You don't make any sense at all.

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ORIGINAL: Real0ne

wow accusing someone of being a politician.  How humiliating!

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ORIGINAL: BitaTruble

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ORIGINAL: Real0ne

wow accusing someone of being a politician.  How humiliating!

I didn't accuse him of anything, dear heart. He confessed.

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ORIGINAL: lockedaway


Here is a reality none of these losers want to bring into the discussion.  A great many people making low wages on the books are also making a majority of their money in cash and not reporting it.  I have a friend who is a barber who claims $14,000 per year in income.  What he averages, however, is $1,500 per week.  Do all people making shit wages have it that good?  Of course not but I'm not interested in a taxpayer by taxpayer analysis.  That is the benefit of a flat tax. 

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ORIGINAL: farglebargle

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ORIGINAL: lockedaway

A person makes $16,000.00 per year, it is too much to ask that the person pays $1,600.00 into the system?  I don't think so. 

I am sure that once you add in all the taxes and fees they pay over they year, their contribution exceeds the $1600 suggested.

Why should they be taxed twice?

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No...25K per year is NOT poor.  Oh...my starting salary as a first year associate in a law firm, by the way, in 1992 was $27,000.00  My rent was $750.  I had to budget, no doubt about it.  My rent was approximately 45% of my monthly income, but I got by.  Lots of pasta and canned chicken

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ORIGINAL: BitaTruble

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ORIGINAL: ThatDamnedPanda

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ORIGINAL: lockedaway

Here is a reality none of these losers want to bring into the discussion.  A great many people making low wages on the books are also making a majority of their money in cash and not reporting it.  I have a friend who is a barber who claims $14,000 per year in income.  What he averages, however, is $1,500 per week.

So if this is something you feel so strongly about, why are you friends with a criminal? Why do you hate people you don't know just because they're poor, but befriend someone who is deliberately defrauding the system? You don't make any sense at all.

Think about what you're sayiing Panda. Lockedaway is 'sure' he has hired illegal immigrants. He has doubt that guys that he picks up at train stations were Americans citizens. He defends his stance by saying that it's the governement that created the opportunity and he just takes advantage of it. What's worse is that he claims to be an officer of the court who took oath to defend and uphold the law but business is business so fuck the law. He fails to see he is part of the problem. With that POV, it makes perfect sense for him to be friends with someone else who is breaking the law for the almighty buck.

He also thinks that $10 is a fair wage to pay for the labor and you know what.. it is. When I hire guys from Labor Ready, they get paid $10 an hour for the job. I, however, don't pay $10 an hour, I pay $15 an hour because of the taxes, workers comp etc. which Labor Ready requires to do it all on the up and up. I'm too fucking lazy to get into the down and dirty nitty gritty to make sure the people I hire are allowed to work for me.. so I pay someone else to do it and that creates jobs. When Locked hires one guy to dig his ditch, he creates one job but doesn't pay taxes for it. When I hire a guy to dig a ditch, I create two jobs. One for the ditch digger and one for the staff at Labor Ready.. and I pay the taxes. When the guys I hire from Labor Ready file, they pay their taxes too.. and so it goes around and around. That's the way it's supposed to work. Lockedaway doesn't want the system fixed because then he can't take advantage of it. For people of his ilk, it's better for it to remain broken because he gets to put $5 in his pocket.. which will come in handy to help pay for that cab ride to the airport.

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ORIGINAL: WyldHrt

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No...25K per year is NOT poor.  Oh...my starting salary as a first year associate in a law firm, by the way, in 1992 was $27,000.00  My rent was $750.  I had to budget, no doubt about it.  My rent was approximately 45% of my monthly income, but I got by.  Lots of pasta and canned chicken

You do realize that not only did you make over $150 a month more, but that was 20 freaking years ago, right?