Should US wealth be redistributed?

[jmjj215]

Re: Should US wealth be redistributed?

And... 1 tax bracket for everyone:

I don't necessarily agree with that when seen through the lense of what I feel is redistribution - since a large portion of taxes DO go to benefit "everyone rather than individuals", that wouldn't be a redistribution vehicle. The others you mentioned definitely would be though.

I liked the post that stressed that extreme socialism or capitalism makes for a lousy economic system.

I think we take away from a lot of hard work that high-income earners have put in by immediately shunning them for being financially successful. I think we judge a lot of low-income earners who have put in a lot of hard work and haven't had the same circumstances to enable themselves to be financially successful.

One thing's for certain - if you make it big in the US you never did it alone. The system, structure, market, regulations, laws, etc. all helped along the way. Let's be grateful for a free country, work hard to provide for ourselves, and be generous with what we accumulate.

[sweeps]

Re: Should US wealth be redistributed?

I don't necessarily agree with that when seen through the lense of what I feel is redistribution - since a large portion of taxes DO go to benefit "everyone rather than individuals", that wouldn't be a redistribution vehicle. The others you mentioned definitely would be though.

Actually if you look at it that way, Bill Gates pays a grossly disproportionate amount of money on things that benefit everyone. Take national defense, for example. Theoretically, Bill should only have to pay for 1/300,000,000th of the national defense budget for his share. Of course he pays a lot more than that.

(Not that I actually believe in a flat or regressive tax system.. just making a point. :-) )

[Bruce Wayne]

Re: Should US wealth be redistributed?

Plus of course Bill Gates has created thousands of jobs both in the US and around the world thus distributing wealth in a far more effective manner than any government program.

[jmjj215]

Re: Should US wealth be redistributed?

Plus of course Bill Gates has created thousands of jobs both in the US and around the world thus distributing wealth in a far more effective manner than any government program.

This is true.

[VJW]

Re: Should US wealth be redistributed?

Re-Distribution does not in my opinion work.

It’s never been tried, other than on a smaller scale during the ‘90s, when it was a smashing success.

Have you ever noticed that Socialism makes for a poor economic system.

Just WHO is advocating “Socialism” ?

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[VJW]

Re: Should US wealth be redistributed?

Plus of course Bill Gates has created thousands of jobs both in the US and around the world thus distributing wealth in a far more effective manner than any government program.

And just look at his property taxes, for instance. Gates pays less, as a percentage, than most other Americans.

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[jmjj215]

Re: Should US wealth be redistributed?

And just look at his property taxes, for instance. Gates pays less, as a percentage, than most other Americans.

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I don't see the big deal with that. If you make more money, and choose to eat the same amount of food, you'll be paying less as a percentage than people that eat the same amount of food and make less. What's your point?

[VJW]

Re: Should US wealth be redistributed?

Jesse,

Quite simply, that his real estate is worth a lot more, as a percentage, than the overwhelming rest of America, yet his property taxes, as a percentage, are a lot less than the overwhelming rest of America.

What part of that basic unfairness do you not grasp ?

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[jmjj215]

Re: Should US wealth be redistributed?

How much is his real estate worth?
How much property tax does he pay?

[VJW]

Re: Should US wealth be redistributed?

You would have to Google for the news story, but if memory serves, he paid something less than or around $600,000 in property taxes on real estate worth $65 million, which is somewhat less than one percent.

How many Americans, other than with some regional exceptions or state taxation exceptions, pay less than one percent ?

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[jmjj215]

Re: Should US wealth be redistributed?

In contrast, an average-sized tract home in Seattle valued at $124,900 carries an annual tax of $1,663

http://www.bbzine.com/archeplus/Qstate13.html

EDIT: I can't find the story you mentioned. It's probably wise of him not to have settled in Texas.

[VJW]

Re: Should US wealth be redistributed?

My point exactly.

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[jmjj215]

Re: Should US wealth be redistributed?

So how does he manage to get somewhere between 1/4 to 1/2 percent less than the "average"?

[VJW]

Re: Should US wealth be redistributed?

Good question.

Although your use of “1/4 to 1/2 percent” doesn’t quite capture the level of disproportion. The ‘average-sized’ tract that was mentioned is paying more than 33% MORE ($1.663) than the one percent equivalent ($1,249).

I’ll see if I can locate the story later.

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[jmjj215]

Re: Should US wealth be redistributed?

It seems to me the state tax commission's process for assessing property tax is pretty straight forward. I'm not aware of any ways of "gaming" the system to pay less. They assess a value, the % rate is assigned, and you pay it, or they put a lien on your property. I'd be very interested to know the details.