Next Up: Bipartisan effort to raise fuel taxes.
The tax, which according to early estimates would be in the range of 15 cents a gallon, was conceived with the input of several oil companies, including Shell, BP and Conoco Phillips, and is being championed by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. It is shaping up as a critical but controversial piece in the efforts by Graham, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) to write a climate bill that moderate Republicans could support.
But, before you accuse me of being an anti-taxer, just tell me where the missing trillions are. When it’s been accounted for, I’ll be happy to pay my fair share.
I got less back for 09 then I did the previous and my wife and I made less money. That tax break that took effect. Did not help at all.
Would not even buy a extra bag of groceries every month.
#10 The last republican president who decreased US debt was Nixon. Both Carter and Clinton decreased debt levels during their terms. Obama is spending a lot, but when shit really hits the fan is when you are supposed to spend a lot.
Republicans since Reagan have created the overwhelming mass of debt. What really burns me is that they did so with the intention of causing a funding crisis, not just from stupidity(although that is a factor too).
Comparisons to European tax levels are specious, because those governments provide many services ours does not. They provision health care at a much lower cost per head than does our private system. Any apples to apples comparison of taxes would lump US private insurance payments into the tax burden. Europe also has a funded integrated public transport system which the US does not.
Internationally things are moving in a decidedly post-partisan direction, and this is what that means: there is no predictive test that tells you whether any industry should be private or government run. It’s all experiential.
When the US decides, or dithers, on policy choices we should be looking at every other government and whether their choices worked/not. Of course why should we pay attention to anyone else?
The tea idiots really are idiots; it isn’t an unfair media slam. Following a simulated grassroots movement is about as derivative as you can get.
The GOP rode the country into the crapper and is now trying to rebrand itself.
I paid less taxes. I got a federal refund for the first time in recent memory. Glenn Beck told me to send it back though, so I did.
I about 20% less Fed tax in 2009.
Interesting article here about the causes of the deficit below. The chart is cool, I wish it went back further. I was too lazy to chase down a better version, sorry.
http://crooksandliars.com/jon-perr/tea-party-contract-for-america-fiscal-suicide
I bought an iPad.
I find it funny when people say corporations pay taxes. You put a tax on an American corporation and all it can do is hike prices then you pay the tax when you purchase the goods or service and if you can get the product off shore and that company doesn’t pay as much corporation tax you put the American workers out of a job so tax revenues actually fall. Sweet deal.
The bottom line on corporation taxes is its just a sales tax by another name but since a company only pays that sales tax in its homeland having a high corporation tax does a dandy job of off shoring manufacturing jobs to locations with low corporation taxes.
You don’t think so? If you are charging an extra 10, 20, or 30% corporation tax that just about has to show up in the cost of the product in a big way and people do buy what costs less as long as the product is anywhere near as good. I know I do and everybody I know does. It’s called getting a good deal as opposed to getting ripped off.
At some point, enough is enough. You can’t continue to tax the shit out of people and expect them to take it.
Put in a VAT and watch even more of the economy go underground. I would then purchase everything I could with cash on the Black Market and the Feds can go fuck themselves. It happens every day.
I got back a huge refund but that was only because I sold a rental house and took an even bigger loss than what I sold the house for. For the first time ever the tax laws worked in my favor.
A refund capable of buying enough ammo to fill a garage.
“Admittedly, I’m trolling for comments.” Is this the first truly honest statement made in these blogs to date?
I worked for 6 months of the year and was on unemployment for the other 6. I have never gotten a return so big. (about 50% more compared to my average when I worked all year – Including last year w/stimulus)
I saved $400 for the “Making Work Pay” thing. That’s nothing compared to what I paid in a zillion hidden and overt taxes. I want to use part of that refund to buy the Democrats a clue.
Plenty of evidence but proof is nearly impossible to come by… but aren’t we all just playing into the hands of any flavor of government who happens to be in power these days? While you are arguing about which government policies are costing you more, while you are busy splitting into more and more groups of opposing arguments… the engine of government continues to fleece you all by pocketing your hard earned cash. Huge gov salaries, huge bonuses, huge perks… lots of outright theft, tax evasion, payoffs, bribes… every dirty scam in the book on top of just plain wholesale waste at every level. I suspect that the trillions you assume is spent on war, health care and bailouts. pales by comparison to what is being filched and wasted.
What would happen if Republicans, Democrats, Teabaggers, and everyone else decided to join forces to clean house of every crooked or inept politician stealing or wasting your money? Would there be anyone left?
Your taxes will go up again. Sorry American dude. Currently you’re at the lowest rate since ’66 but you’re not happier. The Dems want more spending on things like healthcare and social security. The tea baggers want more spending on medicare and social security. The Republicans want more family oriented lesbian sex clubs.
The Republicans dropped taxes in ’01 then pumped them up in ’04-’05. The Dems started dropping in ’06 and really dropped last year. They’ll have to raise them just like the Republicans did to start covering debt and spending at some point. Expect a jump after the next two election cycles.
Even if the bill goes up, a lot of the people on this board will just lie and cheat on their taxes and justify it with things like Halliburton or GE paid no taxes.
We can see this with their reaction to downloading movies and similar things.
It is not an issue of whether low income folks got a bit more back in taxes.
The issue is: our government borrows in order just to operate. It has operated IN THE RED for so long, and we give our government an embarrassing amount of money. And they waste it, lose it, and are bought off by lobbyists.
In a slow economy, taxes should be going down.
With deficit spending, we should be trimming government and liberalizing civil rights.
Big corporations that are subsidized end up profiting from taxpayers, which is ridiculous. it is a giant profit center. That’s not free market economics.
There is only one political candidate who takes Republicans and Democrats to task — Ron Paul.
He is America’s best hope in 2012.
The only reason to raise taxes is to cover the debt payment.
If the gov’t were a family you’d be the 18 yr still living at home, mowing the lawn & doing the dishes, paying a reduced rent while your kid brother gets an allowance and doesn’t take out the trash. Mom loses her job, and Dad is running up the credit cards borrowing a debt total of 90% of what he makes in 1 year – and he did so spending 3 times what he did last year. Now he is got to ask you for more rent, right after he promised your bro a raise in His allowance. Next year the back will change his credit rating and he will have to ask you for even more – but your brother is saying “why are you complaining? Your rent is lower than it was a year ago and all of us have gotten an increase in our allowance!”
Good luck with your future…
The Rich RULE over the poor – and the borrower is a SLAVE to the lender.
I got a tax cut, but my state taxes went up, go figure. Now I’m getting raped by the state, not the feds.
got money back…….because i made less this year, thanks Obama
It’s not how much I paid in taxes this year. it’s about how much the rich didn’t pay in taxes this year you assholes. I can’t believe all you turds for brains who hate Obama are rich. Your just blinded by your hatred of a black man.