tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post6146360650497102323..comments2024-01-23T17:14:04.067-05:00Comments on Jaltcoh: Do the top 1% of Americans pay their fair share in taxes?John Althouse Cohenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11703450281424023177noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-9364317650897987962009-08-04T01:39:51.189-04:002009-08-04T01:39:51.189-04:00I don't think Rush will be quoting your blog, ...I don't think Rush will be quoting your blog, JAC. But he should read it.Bethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16774002797359859550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-49550387957353333702009-08-03T15:33:32.905-04:002009-08-03T15:33:32.905-04:00JAC : ...the government needs a certain amount of ...JAC : <i>...the government needs a certain amount of money to do all the stuff it does.... The money has to come from somewhere.<br /><br /></i>I don't know how much anyone knows of history, but this is the sort of thing societies say in their death-throws.<br /><br />Why do people have to be sustainable environmentally but not economically?<br /><br />I think if we are at one of those times where our tax-base collapses that this will be one of the ironies people in the future will point out.Jason (the commenter)https://www.blogger.com/profile/16045360562791361484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-3494674048795714712009-08-03T14:39:59.769-04:002009-08-03T14:39:59.769-04:00I don't think it's necessary to answer all...I don't think it's necessary to answer all those lofty theoretical questions. The key fact that tax-cutters systematically omit from the discussion is that the government needs a certain amount of money to do all the stuff it does. This is true even if you happen not to like everything the government spends money on. (And a lot of it is pretty popular.) The money has to come from somewhere. Where should it come from?John Althouse Cohenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11703450281424023177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-35422667711154175242009-08-03T13:56:53.202-04:002009-08-03T13:56:53.202-04:00Reading your responses, I kind of have the same fe...Reading your responses, I kind of have the same feeling I get when someone says "because it says so in the bible."<br /><br />I was thinking about all sorts of things:<br /><br />Why do some people have more money than others?<br /><br />What do they do with the money?<br /><br />Why doesn't everyone pay the same amount of money in taxes?<br /><br />Does it hurt someone to take money away from them?<br /><br />Does it hurt someone to give them money?<br /><br />What are the long and short-term inplications of taxing the rich?<br /><br />Maybe I don't have as much money as a "rich" person because I made the wrong financial decisions. Maybe by accepting their money I'm only making my own decision making powers worse. I'm even enslaving myself to them somehow. And maybe someday the entire system will collapse, or something bad will happen to the "rich" and no one will be able to take care of themselves.<br /><br />But then I tend to have an attention excess disorder (to borrow the phrase).Jason (the commenter)https://www.blogger.com/profile/16045360562791361484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-59581193679937121622009-08-03T12:23:11.630-04:002009-08-03T12:23:11.630-04:00I think instead of throwing even more rhetoric at ...<i>I think instead of throwing even more rhetoric at the issue it might be more helpful to discuss practical implications or underlying moral reasoning.</i><br /><br />I did discuss practical and moral implications. Practical: the report actually shows that the top 1% are a fantastic source of tax revenue. Moral: it's fair to extract lots of money from the super-rich since the percentage of their income paid matters more than absolute amounts paid.John Althouse Cohenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11703450281424023177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-66782321253781548822009-08-03T12:15:53.665-04:002009-08-03T12:15:53.665-04:00Well, I think it was just rhetoric to counter othe...Well, I think it was just rhetoric to counter other rhetoric.<br /><br />I think instead of throwing even more rhetoric at the issue it might be more helpful to discuss practical implications or underlying moral reasoning.Jason (the commenter)https://www.blogger.com/profile/16045360562791361484noreply@blogger.com