Free Republic

Are you wealthy but homeless? Lucky you. For well-off folks who don't own a home now and don't mind renting for a while, this is a something of a golden era. That's because renting--particularly at the high end--has become such a startlingly good deal in some cities. There's no telling how long this period will last. But sellers of fancy homes, while refusing to drop their asking prices, seem happy to lease them out for a year or two on the cheap. It was true earlier this year, but it's even more so now, thanks to some hefty rent reductions....

A group of rich Germans has launched a petition calling for the government to make wealthy people pay higher taxes. The group say they have more money than they need, and the extra revenue could fund economic and social programmes to aid Germany's economic recovery. Germany could raise 100bn euros (£91bn) if the richest people paid a 5% wealth tax for two years, they say. The petition has 44 signatories so far, and will be presented to newly re-elected Chancellor Angela Merkel. The group say the financial crisis is leading to an increase in unemployment, poverty and social inequality. Simply...

Will increasing tax rates on the rich increase revenues, or hold back the economy? Mr. Hauser uncovered the means to answer these questions definitively. On this page in 1993, he stated that "No matter what the tax rates have been, in postwar America tax revenues have remained at about 19.5% of GDP." What a pity that his discovery has not been more widely disseminated. The chart nearby, updating the evidence to 2007, confirms Hauser's Law. The federal tax "yield" (revenues divided by GDP) has remained close to 19.5%, even as the top tax bracket was brought down from 91% to...

merica's richest people are getting poorer, according to this year's Forbes 400 list. The annual ranking of the 400 wealthiest US citizens shows their net worth has dropped by $300bn, from $1.57 trillion to a paltry $1.27 trillion. That includes a loss of nearly $40bn for the top ten alone. The decline can be attributed to the global economic crisis, which has affected the capital and housing markets, as well as fraud and divorce, causing 314 returning members to record a loss. Warren Buffett, who remains at number two, was the worst affected by the world recession, losing $10bn over...

New York governor David Paterson, back in April, upon hearing that Rush Limbaugh was leaving the state because of new taxes: "If I knew that would be the result, I would’ve thought about the taxes earlier.” New York governor David Paterson, now: "You heard the mantra, 'Tax the rich, tax the rich' . . . We've done that. We've probably lost jobs and driven people out of the state." Don't worry, New Yorkers. Sure, you're unemployed and overtaxed, and your state government is a cesspool of bickering and corruption, but your governor chased away that scary Rush Limbaugh and all...

The swine flu pandemic could kill millions and cause anarchy in the world's poorest nations unless £900m can be raised from rich countries to pay for vaccines and antiviral medicines, says a UN report leaked to the Observer. The disclosure will provoke concerns that health officials will not be able to stem the growth of the worldwide H1N1 pandemic in developing countries

Swine flu 'could kill millions unless rich nations give £900m' UN report says pandemic may result in anarchy unless western world pays for antiviral drugs and vaccines Sunday 20 September 2009 The swine flu pandemic could kill millions and cause anarchy in the world's poorest nations unless £900m can be raised from rich countries to pay for vaccines and antiviral medicines, says a UN report leaked to the Observer. The disclosure will provoke concerns that health officials will not be able to stem the growth of the worldwide H1N1 pandemic in developing countries. If the virus takes hold in the...

Swine flu 'could kill millions unless rich nations give £900m' UN report says pandemic may result in anarchy unless western world pays for antiviral drugs and vaccines

The swine flu pandemic could kill millions and cause anarchy in the world's poorest nations unless £900m can be raised from rich countries to pay for vaccines and antiviral medicines, says a UN report leaked to the Observer. The disclosure will provoke concerns that health officials will not be able to stem the growth of the worldwide H1N1 pandemic in developing countries. If the virus takes hold in the poorest nations, millions could die and the economies of fragile countries could be destroyed. Health ministers around the globe were sent the warning on Thursday in a report on the costs...

America's familiar debate over income inequality conceals and confuses at least as much as it reveals. To hear most journalists and activists tell the story, our country is the scene of a rampant and long-running economic travesty, as the rich grow richer, the poor grow poorer, and the distance between them belies the promise of America even in times of prosperity. As President Barack Obama put it during his 2008 campaign: "While some have prospered beyond imagination in this global economy, middle-class Americans as well as those working hard to become middle class are seeing the American Dream slip further...

“Any major shift in the financial status of the rich could have big implications…..Over the last century, the worst years for the rich were the early 1930s, the heart of the Great Depression.” -- New York Times, August 21, 2009 On Friday, the New York Times had a cover story, “After 30-Year Run, Rise of the Super-Rich Hit a Sobering Wall.” The financial crisis has hit the rich hard -- the net worth of rich Americans has fallen an average 24% in the past year, according to a new Merrill Lynch Wealth Management report. The number of people with investable...

“IT is time to water the tree of liberty” said the sign carried by a gun-toting protester milling outside President Obama’s town-hall meeting in New Hampshire two weeks ago. The Thomas Jefferson quote that inspired this message, of course, said nothing about water: “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” That’s the beauty of a gun — you don’t have to spell out the “blood.” The protester was a nut. America has never had a shortage of them. But what’s Tom Coburn’s excuse? Coburn is a Republican senator from...

I know I should be mortified by the lobbyist-organized mobs of angry Brooks Brothers mannequins who are now making headlines by shutting down congressional town hall meetings. I know I should be despondent during this, the Khaki Pants Offensive in the Great American Healthcare and Tax War. And yet, I'm euphorically repeating one word over and over again with a big grin on my face. Finally. Finally, there's no pretense. Finally, the me-first, screw-everyone-else crowd's ugliest traits are there for all to behold. The group's core gripe is summarized in a letter I received that denounces a proposed surtax on...

Well, folks. The figures are out. The latest numbers from the IRS have hit the mean streets --- and guess what? The rich still aren't paying their fair share! Well .. that will be the liberal line, but since you're reading the Nuze YOU are going to know the truth. So here it is .. the latest figures from the year 2007, according to the Tax Foundation. The top 1% of taxpayers officially paid 40.4% of total federal income taxes. This is the highest percentage in modern history. Compare that number to twenty years prior (1987) when the top 1%...

In trying to pay for the Democrats’ grandiose health-care plan, President Obama has endorsed the concept of a “millionaires’ surtax.” Leave aside for a moment the consideration that not even this would raise the revenues necessary to pay for the Democrats’ designs; they will be forced to increase taxes on those earning considerably less than $1 million a year. Still, it’s clear why they’ve focused on milking millionaires as the way to fund their plans. Millionaires are seen as the symbols of excess — far removed from the “middle class” to which all politicians pay obeisance. Surely they can afford...

INDIANAPOLIS (June 23) - The son of former New York Yankees star first baseman Don Mattingly was arraigned Wednesday on misdemeanor charges of shoving his mother and spitting in her face after she allegedly sent him an insulting text message. The case against Taylor Mattingly, 24, was deferred so he can apply for a pretrial diversion program, said Angela Watson, director of the program for the Vanderburgh County prosecutor's office. Mattingly expressed an interest in the program during his court appearance, where he was not represented by an attorney, she said. He is scheduled to appear in court again Sept....

House Democrats have proposed to pay for their national health insurance by imposing a one percent surtax on the income tax bill of couples making more than $350,000--that's the top 1.2 percent of households. The surtax would rise to 5.4 percent for households making more than a million dollars. That's pretty small potatoes for the country's high-rolling class, but the proposal has encountered stiff resistance from Republicans and Blue Dog Democrats, as well as from the editorial pages of The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. These critics don't make the obvious complaint--that the tax increases would target high-value...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The poor are more likely to leave California than the rich, despite concerns that the state's relatively high income tax rate is driving away the wealthy, a new study shows. The report released Friday by the Public Policy Institute of California determined the poorest 20 percent California residents are twice as likely to leave the state as the richest 20 percent. Factors such as cheaper rent and home prices outside the Golden State seem to edge out income taxes when people of all incomes decide whether to stay or go, said institute researcher Jed Kolko, who authored...

GOP Briefing Room Exclusive Content Why the Rich Will Get Richer Under Obama By Victor J. Massad Victor J, Massad, Ph.D. is a semi-retired professor of marketing & business at a Pennsylvania college. The Google search “spread the wealth around” yields 221 thousand results, nearly all of which discuss then-candidate Barack Obama’s most candid moment in the 2009 presidential election campaign. What Obama said was this: "It's not that I want to punish your success. I just want to make sure that everybody who is behind you, that they've got a chance for success, too. When you spread the wealth...

Cassie is unrepentant about dating rich men. “Of course it is much better to sleep with men with lots of money,” said the 27-year-old lawyer from London. “Any girl who tells you different is lying. Rich men are powerful and successful and confident and charismatic. They know what they want, and they go out and get it. That translates to being fantastic in bed.” Cassie is living proof of the latest scientific discovery about human sexuality: that the number and frequency of a woman’s orgasms is directly related to her partner’s wealth. Her explanation is simple. “Women don’t want to...

I apologize deeply if I'm re-posting something that has already been posted. This is a very good read (if a bit long). One wonders why a statistical study had to be done to tell us what our common sense has been telling us all along.

Being the child of a wealthy entrepreneur must be something of a mixed blessing. Growing up in such a hothouse atmosphere, full of privilege and expectation, cannot be a relaxing experience. I spend most of my time working with entrepreneurs, and I really believe that they are not the same as other people. They have an ambition, a competitive urge and a lust to take risks that is way beyond the norm. I recall meeting Rupert Murdoch, Jimmy Goldsmith and Richard Branson on separate occasions in my late teens and wondering what they were like as businessmen and, even more,...

Are you rich? If you make $250,000 a year, President Obama and Gov. David Paterson of New York think you are. The SEC disagrees. It tells financial firms that a high-net-worth individual is someone with at least $750,000 parked at a particular institution or someone the firm "reasonably believes" to have a net worth exceeding $1.5 million. The reason this debate matters is that federal and state governments are looking at the worst deficits ever seen. In their desperate search for funds, they are going to tax some subset of the wealthy. Let's hope they train their cross hairs where...

The Washington Post ran a column a few days ago, in which a Mr. Joel Berg applauds the Obama Administration for reducing the amount of charitable deduction that The Rich are allowed to take when they write a check to charity. Mr. Berg – who runs a charitable foundation that feeds the poor — explains things for us thusly:   “…It is wrong to give them [the very rich] unilateral power to decide whether their taxpayer-subsidized donations should go to, say, well-heeled operas or lavish care of pets rather than to organizations that meet more pressing communal needs.” Mr. Berg lists two...

(04-04) 13:50 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) -- Lawrence Summers, President Barack Obama's top economic adviser, earned millions over the past year as managing director of the hedge fund D.E. Shaw Group and through speaking fees, some from financial institutions now at the center of the government's rescue program. Financial disclosure reports released by the White House show that Summers received $5.2 million from D.E. Shaw. He also reported payments for appearances before institutions such as J.P. Morgan, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers. Overall, Summers was paid $2.7 million for more than 40 appearances before different organizations and companies, including financial...

Several years ago New Jersey attempted to solve its persistent budget problems with a tax increase on those making more than $500,000 a year. But since Jersey still has budget problems, Gov. Jon Corzine recently proposed targeting a new group for a major tax increase: households earning $150,000. In high-cost Jersey, where a construction worker married to a nurse might be a $150,000 a year household, about 15 percent of all families will see taxes rise under the governor’s new proposal to eliminate their property tax deductions. These folks already pay more than two-thirds of the state’s income taxes and...

The governor and Democratic lawmakers in New York will attempt to patch an $18 billion budget deficit by imposing much higher taxes on the richest residents, joining several states considering such a move this year. Under a proposal by Gov. David Paterson, New York would follow California and Maryland in pushing its top earners into higher tax brackets that are several percentage points more than what most earners pay. And New Jersey is considering raising its top-tier income taxes even higher, to more than 10% compared with the 5.25% marginal rate paid by most households. Several states are considering similar...

Country music stars do what Dems are SUPPOSED to do: actually represent the working class.

Is there anything to be said for “the rich"? By that I mean anyone earning more than $200,000 a year (if single) or $250,000 (if married filing jointly), the new threshold established by the Obama administration for its tax increase proposals. With Bernie Madoff handcuffed and led off to prison last week (to the accompaniment of applause and tears of some of his victims), the rich seem to have reached a new low in popularity. Tabloid news sources are staking out resorts, luxury condos, airports for private jets, looking for any hints of indulgence or excess, especially if they involve...

Sometimes it is difficult to explain why the progressive tax system hurts the economy as does higher taxes. Keep this somewhere when the Obama administration removes the Bush tax cuts and raises the taxes for “the rich.” Tax System explained in beer... Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this: The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing. The fifth would pay $1. The sixth would pay $3. The seventh would...

Top brass flew to Baghdad with publicity-shy empowerment businessman Mzilikazi Wa Afrika, Jessica Bezuidenhout and Andre Jurgens Two of the ANC's most powerful officials travelled to Iraq with a controversial Johannesburg businessman just weeks before he landed a R1.2-billion state oil deal. Sandi Majali is one of about 270 people around the world who have been named in an alleged sanctions-busting scam involving oil from former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's regime. The names appeared in Iraqi State Oil Marketing Organisation documents found after the fall of Saddam. Majali, 41, who heads the media-shy empowerment company Imvume Resources, has for the...

ARE 'HOPE' AND 'CHANGE' STILL TAX-DEDUCTIBLE?March 11, 2009Are you sitting down? Obama plans to pay for his $3.6 trillion-dollar spending bill by raising taxes on "the rich." I know, I know ... I was pretty shocked, too. The bad news is, by hiking taxes in a recession, Obama will turn a disaster into a catastrophe. But there's good news, too. The "rich" include most of Obama's biggest supporters! While liberals love being praised for their looks, their style, their brilliance and their courage, the one quality they don't want talked about is their money. To the contrary, Democrats are constantly...

Bad news: The interviewee is on the phone. Good news: The interviewer is Megyn Kelly. This is about how Hussein's energy taxes will hit everybody.

Taxing the rich at 100% won't pay for Obama's budget. The Wall Street Journal has reported that taxing the rich at 100% won't pay for Obama's budget. Barack Obama promised not to raise taxes on anyone making under $250,000 per year. Where is he going to get the money? The numbers indicate Obama will need to take 100% of the income of everyone making over $75,000.

(video) There’s only one thing worse than a loudmouthed Hollywood star: a washed-up loudmouthed Hollywood star. Of course, it would be unkind for us to mention any of these people by name. Sean Young. Oops. That was an accident. A complete accident. We didn’t mean to say Sean Young. Damn it. We did it again. TMZ ran into the has-been Hollywood halfwit. When they asked how she was doing, she bragged that she hadn’t invested in the stock market and said, “I’m so rich now and everybody else is just like, just dying.” Sean is the actress who starred in...

You don't expect wisdom from people who have too-often sided with fools, but conservatives found an unexpected ally today in Mayor Mike Bloomberg. He basically says that, while he understands how fun and rhetorically useful Marxist class-based demagoguery is, we'd be fools to actually govern that way. BLOOMY BLASTS RICH TAX WARNS OF WEALTH EXODUSBy DAVID SEIFMAN, February 14, 2009 Charging that it's "easy to rile against the rich," Mayor Bloomberg warned yesterday that the income-tax increases being considered for the wealthiest New Yorkers would drive them from the city. "One percent of the households that file in this city...

Obama pick faces questions over bombers' clemencyBy PETE YOST Associated Press Writer Originally published Wednesday, January 14, 2009 at 2:05 PM WASHINGTON — New York police detective Anthony S. Senft's life changed forever when a bomb set by Puerto Rican separatists exploded, blowing him 15 feet in the air and blinding him in one eye. Now, he's angry that Eric Holder, who played a key role in awarding clemency to the bombers, is in line to be attorney general. Holder, as President Bill Clinton's deputy attorney general, worked closely with the Justice Department's pardon attorney to raise the possibility of...

Our society tends to see things as black and white, good and bad, and, economically speaking, rich and poor. Like the small town in the Old West, we see the economy as a zero-sum game; there’s only room in this town for one sheriff. This type of thinking promotes the idea that if you are making money, you are taking money. And if you have money, you made someone else poor. The sheriff, in this case, the financial regulator, rides in with a pen and paper a’blazing to try to right the wrongs of this limited economic vision. But, the...

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "During Barack Obama’s presidential run, Eric Holder, Bill Clinton’s Deputy Attorney General from 1997 to 2001, campaigned heavily for the then-Illinois senator. This past summer, Obama tapped Holder to serve on the vice presidential selection team that ultimately chose Joe Biden to be Obama’s running mate. Now Holder may receive his own position in the Obama administration, which he has been nominated to serve as Attorney General." ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Nearly ten years after the FALN pardons, Holder is once again set to enter the Attorney General’s office – this time as its head. But before assuming that important...

November 25, 2008, 9:45 a.m. Opposed to Holder without ApologyThe shameful pardons are disqualifying. By Andrew C. McCarthy I’ll concede this much to Lanny Davis: Last Friday night, during our Hannity & Colmes debate over President-Elect Barack Obama’s selection of Eric Holder to be the next Attorney General, Davis said (or I should say, screeched) that I’d soon be apologizing, and he’s right. I am sorry that our discussion degenerated into a screaming match. That’s wince-making television that doesn’t edify anyone. So I do apologize to anyone who had to endure that segment. But Davis’s hysterical suggestion that I...

Things are tough all over. More . . .

A trial starts today in a battle between the classes -- the classes being the rich and the much richer. The battleground is one of the most exclusive areas of Bev Hills, called Beverly Park, which is divided into Northern and Southern parts. The South Beverly Park Homeowners Association is suing the North BPHA -- the posher part where Barry Bonds, Rod Stewart, Sly Stallone and Denzel Washington reside -- because the hired help and others for the Southern masters have been blocked from entering on the North side. Housekeepers and gardeners have been forced to take a seven-mile detour...

Well the details are back up on the Messiahs website and change we got. Looks like $100k is the new $250 So help me out here, does the change.gov site change daily? Does this mean if you make over 100K you are considered "Rich"? I think I need to create a spreadsheet to keep score...Also, I feel like I need to go take a shower...wandering around Change.gov is akin to reading DU

It’s obvious that, as time has gone on, the Federal Government has spent more and more and more money. Since a reasonable proxy of government control over the lives of its citizens is the outlay of funds from its treasury, a sane observer might wonder about this increasing trend. A raw plot of the Federal outlay by year will not do as a measure, however. At least two adjustments have to be made. A government ruling over 1000 people will obviously have to spend more than one ruling over 10 people, so we have to adjust by population size, which...

BILLINGS, Mont. – Bankruptcy Court documents show Montana's exclusive Yellowstone Club resort for the ultra-rich owes more than $343 million to creditors ranging from banks to local contractors. The residential club, which includes a members-only ski hill on 13,400 acres in the Gallatin Mountains, filed for federal Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday, along with three related companies. The move followed what critics described as a spending spree in recent years by the club's founders, Tim and Edra Blixseth, even as the luxury real estate market stagnated. That included the purchase of at least four foreign estates and fleets of...

This article [h/t Instapundit] shows that the U.S. has a more progressive tax code than the democratic-socialist states of Europe. Such a state of affairs should not come as a surprise. Our own history shows that the very wealthy benefit from leftist policies of high tax rates, “targeted” taxation and industrial policy. The ugly truth is that the really wealthy can manipulate the political system to their own ends better than ordinary people. They can lobby for specific tax breaks that only they can take advantage of. They can get government trade protection for their companies. They can get bailouts....

NEW YORK — Wall Street plunged for a second day, triggered by computer gear maker Cisco Systems warning of slumping demand and retailers reporting weak sales for October. Concerns about widespread economic weakness sent the major stock indexes down more than 4 percent Thursday, including the Dow Jones industrial average, which tumbled more than 440 points. The two-day plunge totals about 10 percent for the major indexes. Paper losses during that time in U.S. stocks came to $1.2 trillion, according to the Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 Composite Index, which represents nearly all stocks traded in America. Comments from Cisco that...

According to a new survey by Prince & Associates, voters worth $1 million to $10 million are favoring Sen. John McCain, while voters worth $30 million or more are favoring Sen. Barack Obama. The survey of 493 families showed: More than three quarters of those worth $1 million to $10 million plan to vote for Sen. McCain. Only 15% plan to vote for Sen. Obama (the rest are undecided). Of those worth more than $30 million, two-thirds support Sen. Obama, while one third support Sen. McCain. ... Link

So, what do "the rich" pay in federal income taxes? Nothing, right? That, at least, is what most people think. And Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama wants to raise the top marginal rate for "the rich" -- known in some quarters as "job creators." A recent poll commissioned by Investor's Business Daily asked, in effect, "What share do you think the rich pay?" Their findings? Most people are completely clueless about the amount the rich actually do pay. First, the data. The top 5 percent (those making more than $153,542 -- the group whose taxes Obama seeks to raise) pay...