Federal Income Tax

It is almost April 15, tax time, so I thought I would put up for debate the necessity for taxes.

There is all sorts of federal spending to decide upon: highways and transportation, defense, education, CDC, and a host of other programs. Are any necessary? Which ones would YOU choose? Which do you think are ridiculous wastes of money?

Instead of a global complaint (NONE of us LIKE writing out those checks to the IRS) tell us what public spending you think is necessary, and how you propose to pay for it. As I said above somewhere, it is not too hard to put up your feet, lean back, and bitch for a while (although that can be satisfying sometimes); it is MUCH more difficult, yet constructive, to actually look at the problem and propose an answer. What's yours?

I would propose a REAL flat tax. Not one of the fake ones with a flat percentage but a FLAT $$ charge per person. Run the government like a business should. Figure out your budget for the year, then figure out your projected revenue (via the census, they should know approximately how many people are living in the USA) Divide the budget by the number of USA citizens and you come up with a figure per person needed to run the government for the year. Send each person a bill for that figure. If you want to be a USA citizen for that year, you pay the bill. If you don't, well use the money instead to pay for passage to the country of your choice.

It's not fair because you won't use all of the facilities that someone else does? How would that be any different then it is now? You say the rich should pay more then the poor? Why? What are they getting for spending more money to run the government? Why should the tax system be a disincentive for people to earn more by working harder?

Just the money and effort alone that would be saved on what it takes to figure out your taxes and try to determine which deductions you can take and how you can sidestep paying some via an obscure loophole would be some REAL money the GNP could use for other things. No muss, no fuss, you get a bill on January 1 and you have till April 15th to pay it. All the IRS would have to do is to figure out who didn't pay their bill on April 15th and go after them. You pay your bill, and you are off their radar screen.

There is NO cheating on taxes, you either paid or you didn't. There are no bogus tax writeoffs, that's the bill you owe with no discounts or exceptions. No keeping complicated records and getting tax forms that require other forms for every line item on the original tax form. You get the bill, write the check, and you are done with it for another year.

Yeah, the devil will be in the details, but can it possibly be any worse then it is now?

What tax i think is a waste of time is the tax for social security. I know i i am going to hear it on that one.....

BUT i came from a poorer area of my town where a good portion of it depends on SS. I seen parents make their kids fake mental retardation and be stuck in Learning disabled classes, parents kick their own kids out just to collect and not have them to spend it on. Parents who take that entire check and blow it on crack cocaine, then sell the foodstamps for half of their worth. The rest of the month bouncing from food pantry to food pantry.

I have seen younger people than me never work a day in their lives and think that "uncle sam" owes it to them. I see it everyday and it makes me sick. I have also known people who truely need Social security get denied over it, when they take a crackhead on in a heartbeat.

TO me it makes no sense in paying taxes for people crack habits and lazyness. To know that i am "working off" someones 140$ in foodstamps that they sold to someone else for $70, then the $70 became crack or drug of choice.......

only in america i guess.....

I hate that, it truely pisses me off when someone says the gov or anyone "owes them", it could not be further form the truth. As for SS, I am mixed about it, it shoudl only be used as a step to progress, not a way of life. The least they should do is have all those people have to volunteer so many hours to get their monthly check. Clean up the highways, grow a community garden, do something productive to society! The min. it would do is give them some work ethic.

Originally Posted by Bringerofdoom

I have seen younger people than me never work a day in their lives and think that "uncle sam" owes it to them. I see it everyday and it makes me sick. I have also known people who truely need Social security get denied over it, when they take a crackhead on in a heartbeat.

Now, there I was...enjoying a nice cup of coffee with brown sugar in it, when WHAM ! I read this thread !!! AAAARRRGGGHHH...nothing gets my blood up faster than reading about losers on the dole, and thinking about government mismanagement...the bozos in office who support big business, and crush the smaller...the lazy drugged people who don't want to be any part of a productive society....now I feel violent !
sigh....greg

Aww Greg honey I wanted to get a little debate going, not interfere with your physical well being.....Lucille apologizes.....

Originally Posted by Intense Herpetoculture

I hate that, it truely pisses me off when someone says the gov or anyone "owes them", it could not be further form the truth. As for SS, I am mixed about it, it shoudl only be used as a step to progress, not a way of life. The least they should do is have all those people have to volunteer so many hours to get their monthly check. Clean up the highways, grow a community garden, do something productive to society! The min. it would do is give them some work ethic.

I totally agree. Too bad there are people now who have lived on social security all of their lives now and not a thing wrong with them.

If only the people at the social security offices would check out the people claiming things, like insurance companies do........ Half of america probably would loose their benefits. THEN there would be no more worries that social security would be broke in 2040. IF the goverment quit handing out free money to anyone willing to NOT get off their butts and do some work, it would not be as bad off as it is now.

Well Rich, the USA 2005 budget is $417 billion + a 100 billion war request so $517 billion (+/-) a few bucks (references http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/i...aq-costs_x.htm)

The USA population is estimated at 293,027,571 07/04 (references http://www.geohive.com/cd/link.php?xml=us&xsl=neo1)

so you take 517 billion / 293,027,571 = $1764.34 per person

In my house of 4 that would be $7057.36

Which is 1/4 of our total household income for 2004

I guess Id have to move lol

I can't afford to pay 1/4 of our income. Yes we are low income, but our home ($87,000 home, nothing fancy) and our cars are paid for (nothing fancy 1986 Maxima wagon and 1990 Dodge dakota) but at the current rate we pay $2200 federal and $650 state, much easier on us that $7,000.

We chose to have less income so I could stay home with our children, I made $80,000 per year before leaving my old job, he makes a little less that $30,000 before taxes. If taxes were per person it would mean that I would have to put my children in day care and work to make the cash to pay the gov which would to me tear away everything I worked to achieve.

I see your point but Id rather live on the basics becuase I worked my tale off to get our home and car paid for and now get us by with me at home than to work out of the home and someone else instill values in my child 9 hours a day.

I do hope that my at home income goes up year by year but I do not see it going up that much and $7,000 a year in taxes would take food off of our table or we would have to put our children in the hands of strangers for me to work out of the home.

Not to disagree with you but I worked my butt off for alot of years to make sure that I could afford to stay home, raise my children and not have alot but enough with me, if taxes were per person Id never have been able to have children and stay home with them.