cinco de mayo: “You can’t get blood out of a turnip” so the saying goes.

TAXES HAVE TO BE FAIR AND GRADUATED ACCORDING TO INCOME

After Presidential hopeful Cain came up with this insane idea of the “9-9-9” it became even more clear how far right and radical the GOP has become. To think that everyone should pay the same rate is not just insane but downright inhuman…can you imagine someone on Social Security or receiving welfare having to pay even 5%; when they are struggling with paying for medicines or putting food on the table with what they are getting now? What Social Security pays puts them well below the poverty line...let's face it it is not enough to feed sparrows.

By the same token, when you talk about applying those tax rates to the middle class it translates into a reduction of their incomes which we all know have gone down and have lagged behind the prosperity that the wealthy and the great corporations have enjoyed.

I am not an economist, nor do I claim to have the answers, but I do have a smidgeon of common sense and I can tell you that what the Republicans are proposing would drive our country not just into a crisis but it will destroy our society as we know it and I am not alone in this...I am in the company of every credible accredited economist out there.

I think that people below the poverty line should not have to pay one red cent, from there upwards, our citizens should pay a graduated income tax…for example: for a single person making above $24,000 per year should only pay 10% (or an equitable figure) then those making more than $75,000 should pay a little more…say 15% and so on…incomes larger than $250,000 should pay 25% and above a million dollars it should be 30 to 35% or a figure that the experts could arrive that would be truly equitable.

And how about corporations? Certainly they are not people and have no ability to behave like humans, being devoid of compassion or even common sense. When the captains of industry take responsibility for their civic duty to make their corporations responsible and cooperative with government then we can talk. This assumption coming from the Republicans that without regulations business "will do the right thing" is preposterous.

After all, when those same corporations, banks and Wall Street found themselves on the brink of ruin, the government came to their assistance providing them with bail outs paid for by we, the tax payers, the American middle class, “We the people”, and now they want to stiff the middle class and the poor?

Presidential candidate Herman Cain speaks to delegates during the Republican Party of Florida Presidency 5 Convention in Orlando, Florida, in September. He recently unveiled his "999 plan" – a blueprint for reforming the tax code.Phelan Ebenhack/REUTERS

What's your ideal tax system?

By Mack (Analyst)

http://www.politicalforum.com/political-opinions-beliefs/77696-whats-your-ideal-tax-system.html

Let’s take the size of the federal budget as fixed, say at 3 trillion. You have to devise a system that the federal government can use to raise this much money. How would you do it?

This thread should be completely barren of any discussion of how big the government should be or which party proposes better tax policy.

I would propose a tax policy that simplifies the tax system by eliminating all deductions and exemptions and flattens out tax rates while still maintaining progressivity.

The first step would be to eliminate all special tax structures. Capital gains and labor income would be taxed at the same rate, as would other forms of income such as inheritance. There would be no special tax credits for mortgages, children, marriage, or anything.

Secondly, I would eliminate all welfare and EITC, and replace it with a lump sum given to everyone at the beginning of the year and a standard deduction for everyone, regardless of income. I estimate that a $500 tax rebate every year and a $2500 standard tax deduction would be about right. This adds some additional progressivity at the bottom of the tax code with none of the effects on labor supply that a traditional progressive tax system imposes. In addition, it does away with the large marginal tax rate that occurs on low income workers as they increase their income and thus reduce the credit from EITC. That being said, I would still introduce 3 tax brackets. I estimate that the following tax brackets would more than reach my 3 trillion dollar goal based on estimates that our current tax system is equivalent in revenue to about a 20% flat tax.

Income Tax Rate
0-25,000 15%
25-75,000 20%
75,000+ 25%
250,000 and up + 35% (I added this one)
Corporations: 40% but there should be penalties for taking jobs overseas and operating out of the country to avoid paying taxes rather than giving them subsidies and tax breaks; conversely there should be rewards for those companies who say in America and actually create jobs…this of course is negotiable. (I added this one also)

In addition, the corporate tax rate would be reduced to 15% and all businesses that are currently taxed under the personal income structure would be subject to my new personal income tax structure.

So that's my tax proposal. Feel free to critique it and propose your own system, just stay on topic.”

I have to add to this saying that we are seeing only the tip of the iceberg with these “OCCUPY WALL STREET” protests…you see, the most beleaguered and adversely affected by this economy have been Blacks and Latinos and they have yet to join the movement…and they will in due time…so this is going to snowball and force even the ideologue Republican-Teahadists to relinquish their agenda to decimate the middle class.