2008 Presidential Elections *POLL*

[Crystal]

My parents have always been considered middle class, as I am now as well. There's no way I make even CLOSE to 5 million dollars... Haha.

[Becky]

[Crystal]

I think that is very naive to believe that everybody else is as fortunate as he was to have money his whole life as the rest of us struggle paycheck to paycheck just to keep a roof over our heads...

[DNRpuppy]

You need to have at least 3 large houses located in the most beautiful areas of the country to be considered middle class as well.

[omgdenise]

[rockedbritt]

[Katy]

I'm not really understanding that chart either. How come under Barack there are 3 plus signs? People that earn that much get paid from the government instead of them paying out to the government? If he is just going to raise taxes anyway if he gets elected wouldn't this chart be useless?

[dressedupaslife]

This chart doesn't reflect what you would pay in taxes if John McCain is elected President, and the Fair Tax Bill comes to his desk. He has already agreed to sign it into law if elected.

The FairTax replaces all federal income and payroll based taxes with a national retail sales tax, a prebate to ensure no American pays federal taxes on spending up to the poverty level, dollar-for-dollar federal revenue neutrality, the repeal of the 16th Amendment.
The FairTax Act (HR 25, S 1025) is nonpartisan legislation. It abolishes all federal personal and corporate income taxes, gift tax, estate tax, capital gains tax, alternative minimum tax, Social Security tax, Medicare tax, and self-employment taxes and replaces them with one simple, visible, federal retail sales tax. The FairTax taxes us only on what we choose to spend on new goods or services, not on what we earn.

[Becky]

[Katy]

[dressedupaslife]

The Fair Tax:

* Enables workers to keep their entire paychecks
* Enables retirees to keep their entire pensions
* Refunds in advance the tax on purchases of basic necessities
* Allows American products to compete fairly
* Brings transparency and accountability to tax policy
* Ensures Social Security and Medicare funding
* Closes all loopholes and brings fairness to taxation
* Abolishes the IRS

Here is the monthly prebate calculations for various households: I can't get the table to copy correctly here, so I will post a link:

http://www.fairtax.org/PDF/FairTaxPreba ... ed2007.pdf

It will eventually get through congress and to the Presidents desk. We have been working on this for the past 10 years. If someone in congress doesn't sign on as a supporter, the grassroots base in that congressman's/woman's state organizes and votes them out at the next general election, replacing them with someone supporting the FairTax.....It is the most FAIR, and LEAST intrusive tax solution being offered by anyone. Why would anyone want to keep the current system and the IRS ?

http://www.fairtax.org/PDF/FairTax-Fund ... 070122.pdf

[dressedupaslife]

Here is a link to the congressional scorecard if you wish to see how your elected Reps. stand on the Fair Tax :

http://www.fairtax.org/cgi-bin/scorecard.cgi

[Becky]

^^^ I disagree. It's another rich get richer and poor get poorer deal. Someone like myself making barely over 20k a year is paying the same percentage of taxes as someone who is making 2 million a year. Someone like myself who cannot afford to save, and 100% of my income gets spent, is paying taxes on 100% of my income, and someone who makes a ton of money, saves and invests , say 40% and spends the other 60%, is getting taxed on 60% of their income. There's a reason that it's only supported by republicans.

And I think it has a snowball's chance in hell to be passed. Not to mention, McCain did not support it, but said he'd sign it anyway.

And am I seeing things, or did you just post the same thing twice? (nevermind, it was edited out)

If anyone is curious about the "Fair" Tax Act, the wiki page for it is great. I usually don't go to wiki for reference, but this one is well sited and accurate, as well as unbias and showing both sides, pros and cons.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FairTax



Oh, and Katy...I agree with you on the tax refund at the end of the year! It's a godsend to me!! IMO it's the only good thing about winter.

[dressedupaslife]

Becky,

Are you saying that even if you got your whole paycheck every week, as you would under the Fair Tax, and then also receive a monthly check from the government for $268 (the prebate) that you wouldn't be able to save any of that money that you didn't have at your disposal before the Fair Tax? Look at one of your paystubs, and add up all the deductions taken from you for that week and assuming you work 40 hours, or the same hours week after week, multiply by 4 and add that to your $268 prebate. That is how much MORE disposable income you will have each month. Surely since ya didn't have it to spend before, you could find a way to save or invest a little bit of it. Also, ya could always buy "used" items and not have to pay the Fair Tax at all, as it is only collected on new retail purchases.


Ohhh, and I don't go to Wiki for any information. I'm sure it can be found elsewhere if the information true.

Why should ya even have to worry about getting a refund ? It's your money that should stay in your pocket until you are ready to spend it. It should never come out of your check to begin with, and won't anymore once the FairTax is in place.

[dressedupaslife]

Becky, I just checked out the Wiki on the Fair Tax, and it's not too far off the mark, except it jumps to a few unfounded, unsupported conclusions:

"With the rebate taken into consideration, the FairTax would be progressive on consumption,[3] but would also be regressive on income at higher income levels (as consumption falls as a percentage of income).[5][6] Opponents argue this would accordingly decrease the tax burden on high income earners and increase it on the middle class."

They are trying to say that the wealthier people aren't going to pay as much in taxes. How do they figure? The "evil rich people" have more money, and spend more money, therefore are paying more FairTax. How are you gonna pay MORE in taxes for the stuff you already buy now? You are paying embedded taxes on everything you buy now, plus your retail sales tax. Misinformed people that aren't even familiar with the FairTax have used this argument repeatedly, but it doesn't hold water.

If you want the facts on the FairTax Act, then go to the library or bookstore and get a copy of the FairTax book or go online and read the bills that are in congress as we speak. Wiki is subjective and somewhat opinionated, unlike the actual legislation.

H.R. 25

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z ... L&summ2=m&

S. 1025

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z ... L&summ2=m&

[Becky]

^^^ I'm not going to waste my lunch hour on this, it's not really worth my time. You think it's a good idea, I (along with the majority of congress) think it's crap. To me it seems like it will only benefit the wealthy in the long run, and will be just another drain on our already struggling economy. I'm not too concerned with it, though, because I honestly do not think it will ever come close to being passed. So we'll have to agree to disagree.

[nicolenice]

[angelbear425]

(I cant believe people actually find Wiki a credible source for factual articles. Anyone can sign up and write articles. I may write one that says the sky is purple and it must be true because it is on Wiki. )

[Becky]

[DNRpuppy]