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Posted on 09/17/2011 8:04:57 AM PDT by rabscuttle385
The folks are getting hosed. According to the American Debt Advisor outfit, 80 percent of us now owe money to creditors. If you exclude mortgages and car payments, about 50 percent of us are in debt. And that’s why the economy is having so much trouble. Consumers have to be very careful about what they buy, or risk sinking into insolvency.
Some pundits place the blame on unemployment, which is currently just over 9 percent. But that’s not what is driving debt. Taxation is.
The mean salary in America is just about $50,000. But if you live in Los Angeles, Boston, San Francisco or New York, earning 50K means you’re poor. The cost of living in most urban areas is now so high that a $250,000 salary is middle income. President Barack Obama might not understand this, but we, the people, do.
New Yorkers like me pay federal income tax, state income tax, New York City income tax and property taxes if we own a home. In fact, per capita property tax in the Empire State is about $1,900 a year. Sales tax per capita, another $1,700 per year.
Gasoline tax in New York: 45 cents a gallon. Cell phone tax and fees of 23 percent are added to your monthly bill. There are also tolls, and taxes on your driver’s license, cigarettes and alcohol. The hits just keep on coming.
The only relief for New Yorkers is knowing the tax situation is worse in New Jersey.
All over the U.S., working folks are bleeding take-home pay. Obama says he wants to extend the payroll tax cut, and that’s fine. But that’s a proverbial drop of water into a bottomless well.
Folks just don’t have much money to spend. So how on earth is the economy going to improve? Who’s going to buy stuff? With so much money being taken from everyday Americans by their elected representatives in Washington and in the state capitals, there’s simply not enough cash being spent in the marketplace to return the nation to economic prosperity.
Recently I saw a bumper sticker that read: “Taxes buy civilization. Progressive values are American values.”
Well, balderdash. Taxes are strangling working Americans. They are creating a society not of self-reliance (almost unaffordable), but of dependence on institutions we can’t control: banks, credit card companies, government-generated handouts. Now the feds have seized control of the health industry. That will mean even more taxation down the road.
Obama made a bet that his big-government vision would create jobs and prosperity. It has not worked. It never works. Ask Cubans and Venezuelans. Americans now find themselves struggling to pay the bills and utterly dependent on whoever is paying them a salary.
Upward mobility? Please. Most Americans are just trying to survive. This is not what the pursuit of happiness is all about.
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bump.
My husband is a Realtor in a rural area. Average home costs are around $50,000 or so. But, there are more expensive homes, just not lots. He has to sell many homes and lucky he’s top seller and lister in our area. Our taxes last quarter were around $1,500 on $8,000. Our income is down about 40% from 3+ years ago. If people had to pay their taxes out of pocket, instead of having them withdrawn every month so you don’t really see it. There’d be a louder outcry. Ever quarter I just get angrier and angrier. Especially when I see the way our tax dollars are thrown away. After they’ve wasted billions of our hard earned money, and they run out of our money, they just come after us for more.
and this is why we are YEARS away from fixing the housing problem...unless instead of trying to keep people in houses they can’t ever afford, and thus prop up housing prices...clean them all out..let prices correct, let others start to buy...we are prolonging the problem..
Has a conversation with a friend...30% set aside just in FICA, not including city and state, plus property, gains, and etc.
I can’t do it. I just can’t do it. I am working from before sun-up until after sun-down and going backwards.
I need to hire help...and can’t see a way clear to actually pay them too. Wow...think about that idea. Due to government taxation...I can’t afford to hire.
No matter what taxes the Feds cut, the States move in immediately and take up the slack. That mentality is endemic and a thorough "cleansing of the hives" is needed.
There have been new hidden taxes in every bill that’s been passed since the commiecrats took over congress in 2007, and started expanding these programs and making them more available to Americans as they they put a choke hold on businesses and cratered the vast of majority of them or ran them completely out of the country.
They’ve all but nationalized every business in the US with their controls.
And soon the vast majority of households will be cranking up a generator to support the flickering flow of energy into their houses...if...if they can afford the fuel to do so.
Liberalism...progressivism...socialism...aka communism is doing exactly what Marx told them to do. Destroy every freedom loving society on the planet.
Everyone I know are or have maxed their credit to survive. Two daughters that have to share my modest income to survive. California is a total toilet and will never recover.
yep.
i enjoyed your story about how you daughter came to learn about taxes.
we’ve all been there.
The kernel..the nugget of it all is taxes, regulation, and immigration
The story of American jobs and labor is deeply intertwined with predatory Federal, state and local taxation and regulation....
South Koreans sleep soundly on their border with NORKS because of American Taxpayer dollars and the American GI.
Why can’t Texans, New Mexicans, Arizonans and Californians?....BECAUSE
Illegal immigration is THE KEY to the perpetuation of the status quo in DC......
Predatory tax and regulatory policies-actions that basically serve to perpetuate and grow governments-leave what business is left in the country seeking disposable labor.
Illegal Labor is the Feds out for preserving the status quo regarding Taxes and Regulation. Interestingly, that is WHY the Feds encourage in-state tuition etc for illegals under-the-table -their presence providing disposable labor allows Federal, State and local regulatory and tax excess in the status quo to continue
Immigration is the ultimate litmus test as to the candidates in question commitment to meaningful regulatory and tax reform. If they are wishy-washy on the subject...they have no real intent to disturb the DC status quo...no matter how big their cowboy hat and six-gun.
Real”leadership” is that which will place Flyover Country’s interest ahead of the Feds....haven’t yet seen anything meaningful anywhere from anybody to indicate that might happen. We have just one more election cycle to make that happen via rule of law. Otherwise its the end of the run for America.
I think taxes are way too low. I think people are not paying enough in taxes.
I think the federal budget (all all state and local governemnts) should not only be balanced, but it should also be running a surplus so we can be paying off our national debt.
(This concept also applies to the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya. All wars should be paid on a pay-as-you-go basis. If you do not want to pay for a war, then don’t do it. If you do want the war, then pay for it.)
How high do you want to make them?
I think people are not paying enough in taxes.
You're right.
The entitlement class is not paying any. They should.
But that's not what you meant, is it?
Due to government taxation...I can’t afford to hire.
paying taxes is voluntary, or so the IRS says anyway, so tell me, do you pay more than the IRS asks for since you don't think you are taxed enough???
You are free to pay more in taxes. Are you?
Down with Big Centralized Government!
People say the next election is going to be about jobs. That's certainly important, but as this article points out, the cause of no jobs is burdensome Taxation and Regulation.
The War of 2012 will center around Taxation, Rules, Regulations and Jobs. Get Government out of our lives!
Did I say Taxed Enough Already? Why don't more Americans see and understand this? Spread the word. . .
It’s horrible, absolutely horrible what our government is doing. Criminal really. I don’t think we can handle another 1.5 years of this administration.
I’m really looking forward to paying $10,000 next week to the IRS, but since I’m such a nice person, I’d like to give you that joy. Paying for Solyndra gives it an extra kick.
SOLYNDRA
LIGHTSQUARED
FAST & FURIOUS
Will the trifecta open some eyes?
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