I know, I know… Washington voters overwhelmingly rejected an income tax 35 years ago. But before timid lawmakers brush aside proposals to put a high-earners income tax on the ballot, they might want to look at some more recent polling data:
Almost three-quarters of Americans think it is a good idea to raise taxes on people making more than $250,000 per year, according to the latest CBS News/New York Times poll.
In fact, two-thirds of Americans think the tax code should be changed so that middle-class Americans pay less than they do now, while “upper income” people pay more.
That’s right, 74-percent of Americans support raising taxes on the wealthy. 74-friggin’-percent! So somebody please explain to me why now isn’t the perfect political climate to put a millionaires tax on the ballot?
Goldy–
You obsession with taxing rich people and creating class warfare has reached maniacle proportions. Of course, when polled, folks who tend to say “sure, raise the taxes on other people”. But once the tax issue is drafted and put on the ballot…you will see a debate that tempers the knee-jerk reaction with some reality of the consequences.
Goldy, I doubt you have ever had a real job (at least haven’t had one in a looooooong time) where you worked for someone else who risked capital and made sacrifices.
Obviously you believe everything must come thru the government. You are a hardcore Socialist despite your squeals to the contrary.
Might I remind you of the words of 6-time Socialist Party Candidate for President:
– Norman Thomas
Goldy is a lot more impatient than Norman Thomas. He is right in our face with it…every day. All the while disavowing his Socialistic dogma.
Goldy,
Since many fewer than 74% of people are rich, it stands to reason that “taxing the rich” would be attractive!
It’s like asking everyone “Would you support something that benefits you but costs you nothing–since only others have to pay?”
Actually, I’m impressed it’s only 74%. That means a LARGE number (20%+) actually think through the question instead of automatically saying “sure, tax someone other than me”.
@1: Klynical:
Might I remind you of the words (or pathetic mantra) of the libertarians/republicans:
Less government regulation is best: Wrongo!
Less government regulation led to the banking crisis and to the great depression.
Less taxes create more tax revenue: Wrongo! Never have, never will. The Laffer curve is false and has NEVER worked.
The greatest expansions of the economy have come during budget deficits.
Budget deficits stop recessions: Wrongo! Never have.
The American economy is the best system: Ooops, looks like even China has more growth than we do.
American health care is the best: Oops. We pay far more than anyone else in the world and get lousy health care.
We spend more on defense than the next 9 countries combined.
Why do republicans lie and accuse people who think of being socialists?
Because republicans cannot refute the facts and are used to a simple-minded philosophy that is antiquated and doesn’t work.
Goldy, are you really so dense as to not understand that it’s a slam dunk that people making under $250k think is just a dandy idea to raise taxes on those who make more? Furthermore, this poll has nothing to do with imposing a state income tax. I think nearly everyone believes it’s just a matter of time before the income threshold is lowered. See Monday’s WSJ for a discussion on the “millionaire” tax in other states. The comments on the Times’ website ran probably 20-1 against an income tax. Time to puke up one of your predictable rants against the Times?
But Gooooldy, the poor millionaires would have to pay more!
Where would they get the money to pay for the yachts?
Why should we tax the bonuses of the incompetents who screwed the financial system?
Why should we ask the rich to pay their fair share?
I do like the proposal to not to necessarily raise the rate – but to simply take away their deductions so that their slick accountants and a pliable IRS can’t allow themn to pay MUCH less than they should – as they do now.
Apparently, in Mr. Klynical’s world, fair taxation of the rich so that they pay their fair share is seen as “adopting socialism”. Just yesterday he was telling us how “grateful” he is that they pay a much lower percentage of their income in taxes than he does.
Goldy breathlessly exclaims “74-percent of Americans support raising taxes on the wealthy!”
Goldy, are these 74% the same people that can’t find New York state on a map? Or think Columbus was Spanish? Or think Benjamin Franklin was a President?
Aww… you kids are just so cute in your breathless desire to depict the world the way you wish it to be, rather than the way it is.
Democrats in this state are corporate whores:
http://www.seattlepi.com/local.....onors.html
Whining about about Republicans on the national level is nothing but attempts to divert attention from the self-serving corporate whoredom that epitomizes the state and local level Democratic Party.
You fucks were bellowing for a big regressive sales tax increase for Sound Transit which is a massive transfer of wealth to developers and international contractor firms – all paid for by those who can least afford it, most of whom won’t benefit from it.
Let’s hear one of you argue that sales tax increase is just as important as the income tax increase you want now! Not that I object to an income tax of the type described – it would be a good thing. I just want one of you lame fucks explain how much sales tax ST is going to confiscate over the next 40 years and why that is so important now that some new tax suddenly seems important.
“So somebody please explain to me why now isn’t the perfect political climate to put a millionaires tax on the ballot?”
Well Goldy, for starters- the NYT/CBS polling data is bullshit and heavily weighted towards leftists, who everybody knows- are dickheads.
I’ve got an idea. When I pick up my 3rd grader tonight, I’ll ask his class how many want free cupcakes and candy at the end of each day, provided by their teacher. I’ll see if I can get 74% to agree.
And, it’s cute when you all talk about “fair share”, as if there’s some sort of magical number we all agree is fair. The “rich” already pay a disproportionate amount of the taxes. But, you’re all so sure that a 36% marginal rate is unfair, but, by god, 39% is fair. Your hairsplitting abilities are astounding.
@8 Aww… you kids are just so cute in your breathless desire to depict the world the way you wish it to be, rather than the way it is.
———
But the way it is Goldy is Gregoire swore no more taxes time and again during the campaign. And you supported her enthusiastically along with the other good citizens of the state as she stuck to this position through thick and thin until victory day.
That’s what we/you voted for only 5 months ago, that’s what we got.
That’s the way it is.
Goldy–
You have reasched an all-time low..
Which for you means, lower than whale shit!
@1
Damn straight I’m for class warfare and I’m much more literal about it than wanting a little tax. I say it is time to confiscate property and hang the wealthy from lampposts. I’m talking Paris 1789 or Moscow 1917.
Off with their motherfucking heads I say!
You know all you whiny wingnuts should just move to Dubai. Sounds like your kind of place: an authoritarian regime, slave labor, little or no regulations, no taxes.
The wealthy have run this country the way they want it for far too long. Certainly KKK and co. want to keep it that way. I’m leaving the country but I surely hope the remaining citizens engage in just the class warfare that Chris advocates.
I will be more than happy to ship back some rope.
“Roger Rabbit” is a 39 year old former lawyer now working for a PR firm with a good-sized public-sector client base. He works this board in a way designed to keep his masters happy. Thought you’d want to know!
Mor @11,
Free cupcakes works for Tim Eyman, why shouldn’t it work for me?
Tax rich people? Makes practical sense, according to “Sutton’s Law”.
However, if we really want to see justice done, we should specifically tax the living daylights out of Republicans. After all, since they’re the assholes who got us into this mess, it’s only fair that they should pay to fix it.
Chris Stefan @ 15
Dubai is truly a REPUBLICAN PARADISE. A small city state which produces nothing of intinsic value whatsoever. It does have some oil, but that is less than 6% of the economy. The emirate’s main revenues are from tourism, trade, real estate and financial services. Which means that it is propped up by a bunch of non-productive speculation — the favorite economic activity of Republicans.
Of course, the bubble has now collapsed in Dubai. Real estate and stock values are plummeting. If it wasn’t for the Bush bailout, Dubai would have collapsed even further.
Tiny Dubai has built up an impressive $100 billion foreign debt. Over 85% of its estimated 2.2 million people are foreign worker types. Dubai’s foreign debt is an incredible $400,000 per capita for each of its 250,000 actual citizens.
Artfart @ 18
I hear the oft-repeated charge that Republicans got us into this mess, with absolutely no evidence. Unless you’re blinded by partisan rage, I think most people would agree that there’s plenty of blame to go around. I’d put most of it with private companies, not the gov’t. Should they have been more tightly regulated? Of course, but the rollback of regulation was truly a bi-partisan effort. Dems were front and center in encouraging home loans to unqualified buyers. Deregulation of derivatives took place under Clinton, I believe. Allowing Fannie and Freddie to go nuts started before Bush II.
Someday I’ll see an unbiased analysis of how to parcel out the blame. When that occurs, I’m sure Repubs won’t shoulder 100% of the blame, but you’d never know that by what you read here.
Summary of troll comments: In other words, you all think making the poor pay 6 times as much of their income to taxes as the rich pay is dandy, and that system shouldn’t be changed.
Fuck you. We’re going to change it. We don’t care how you feel about that.
20 For the last forty years, we’ve heard a constant drone from the right that if we keep cutting taxes, deregulate everything in sight, “get government off the backs of business” and beat our enemies (currently defined as little brown people on the other side of the planet) to a bloody pulp, everything will be just hunky-dory.
That this hasn’t worked out very well is pretty evident unless you spend your every waking hour watching Fox Noise and listening to Rush instead of going out into the place we call “reality” and taking a look around.
Poor RogerTurdRabbit- can’t make any money on his own so he wants to take it from others. Fucking loser! Even in a fully communist society he’d be on the shit bottom of the scale.
Goldy,
The poll is weighted almost 40% democrat and 23% republican.
Total Weighted
Total Respondents 998
Total Republicans 264 230
Total Democrats 349 391
Total Independents 385 377
Gee whiz, who would of known that democrats want to tax the “rich”? Which is now, thanks to MSM, settled at income at or above 250k per year.
24 “John 425” must not have read Matthew 5.
Then again, there seem to be a lot of self-proclaimed “Christians” who stopped at Leviticus, or skipped straight from there to reading Revelation on acid.
Well now I know the exact percentage of parasites in America. Time to start sending them all to re-education camps to make then believe in Milton Friedman!
That’s why I say “Screw Christianity”.
Someone making $40,000 a year would have to work over 31 years to make what someone pulling in $250,000 a year would make in five.
25 If I ever get to the point where I’m making 250K a year, I don’t think I’ll mind paying some tax on it. In the meantime, my response to those who do is “Cry me a river”.
I wouldn’t be surprised if a great many other people who don’t make that much feel about the same way. The rich can damn well take care of themselves without asking me for help.
No matter how many times the right wing nuts repeat it, ‘giving home loans to unqualified applicants’ didn’t cause this crisis.
http://mediamatters.org/items/200810100022
Most poor folks pay their loans back, and still suffered from being sold loans from predatory mortgage brokers when they would have qualified for conventional loans.
I think ‘class warfare’ was created when the first group of thugs got together and formed a government, and then started backing up the thieves known as monopoly capitalists.
@26 The right-wing extremist Christians threw Jesus under the bus long ago. They’re content to cherry pick the books of Moses for laws that suit their political agenda and then they make the leap to Revelations to indulge in some apocalyptic doom and gloom. But, by golly, you never hear them quoting Jesus. Just look at all the scripture spewed forth here by Mr. Klynical. Not one quote from Jesus.
Steve and Art. My comments were directed more to the fact that “rich” is now defined as income at or above 250K a year.
How many small business bring in 250K+? How many do they employ? How much is 250K a year in NYC v Helena MT?
But back to the post – Both CBS and Goldy completely overstate the results of the poll.
” New CBS/NYTIMES poll confirms Democrats want to raise taxes on the rich.”
@31 Nice source.
http://online.wsj.com/article/.....96381.html
@31 “‘giving home loans to unqualified applicants’ didn’t cause this crisis.”
@34 I’m not sure what your response to @31 is about here. WSJ quotes of Democrats in the years 2003 to 2006? Republicans ran the show. It’s not like they gave a rat’s ass what Democrats thought or said.
30. ArtFart spews:
Well FartyArt, you’ll be surely surprised at the level of taxation at that AGI.
And the Democrats had two years of running the show. Why didn’t they do anything if the approaching crisis was so evident?
Some generations ago, a newly minted Republican conservative congressional candidate in S. Carolina won a close race by accusing his opponent of being a heterosexual.
This is the same way conservatives use the word ‘socialist’. It’s not gaining any traction. Rich people are gonna get taxed. Deal with it.
Right Stuff, great polling detective work. Have you ever seen a CBS poll that wasn’t skewed Donkey? Puddy can’t remember one.
37 No, they didn’t.
39 Puddy seems unable to remember a lot of things. There are “nice” places with pink flowered wallpaper for people with dementia.
FartyArt, produce a CBS poll that was balanced with Democratics and Republicans? Go on FartyArt.
If you can find one maybe you can stay out of “pink flowered wallpapered rooms for people with dementia.”
40-
Really? Gee, I must have misread the results of the 2006 elections. And, Bush wasn’t real aggressive with the veto pen either.
Congress makes the laws. Democrats won a majority of both houses in 2006. Please elaborate.
Dave @ 12,
“But the way it is Goldy is Gregoire swore no more taxes time and again during the campaign. And you supported her enthusiastically along with the other good citizens of the state as she stuck to this position through thick and thin until victory day.”
Goldy supported Gregoire enthusiastically, but not because of her “no income tax” stance. Goldy has long been a supporter of tax reform and an income tax in Washington state.
That’s the way it is
Nope…like Goldy said, you’ve attempted to depict the world the way you wish it to be, rather than the way it is.
I’m still waiting on the day Goldy finally quits being a deadbeat leech on society and becomes gainfully employed……..then he can blubber on about an “income tax” on the actual producers in this state that prop his sorry ass up.
What is it? 3 years and counting, Goldy?
Rick – I’ve noticed this site is filled with deadbeats like Goldy, Roger Rabbit, Daddy Love, etc..
@42 “produce a CBS poll that was balanced with Democratics and Republicans”
Whatever for? There’s more Democrats than Republicans. There’ll be fewer Republicans come 2010. Hell, there might not even be a Republican party at all by 2012.
@44 Nope…like Goldy said, you’ve attempted to depict the world the way you wish it to be, rather than the way it is.
—————
Well . . . the state of the world is: (a) we have no income tax; (b) the Governor made a “no tax” pledge a central tenet of her winning campaign; and (c) the Governor reaffirmed that solemn pledge only last week (no doubt in response to Goldy’s incessant rants).
That’s the way the world is, not the world Goldy wishes it to be . . .
MOR @ 43
“Really? Gee, I must have misread the results of the 2006 elections.
Quite possibly. But it looks like the real issue is that you don’t understand political power in Washington.
“And, Bush wasn’t real aggressive with the veto pen either.”
Umm…not too up on the facts, either.
Bush broke records by not vetoing ANY bill under six years of a Republican (or, briefly, a split*) congress. In his last two years, after Democrats gained control of both chambers, Bush vetoed 12 bills (with none being overridden). His veto rate during those last two years is about average for the last half-decade.
“Congress makes the laws. Democrats won a majority of both houses in 2006. Please elaborate.
That’s one way to explain it…if you’re a fucking simpleton. Otherwise, a deeper explanation is needed to demonstrate who is “running the show.”
*The Congress was split from mid-2001 through 2002 when Sen. Jim Jeffords left the GOP to caucus with the Democrats, giving Democrats a one-vote Senate majority. The House remained under Republican control.
dave @ 48,
“That’s the way the world is, not the world Goldy wishes it to be . . .”
Sure, but thats the whole point of being an activist….to change the world.
@50
To be sure. And despite all the rancor on these pages at times, they – Goldy included! – serve a critical role.
And how many of those 74% are unemployed or unable to keep a real job like Goldy or YLB (who is “between” jobs) for example? It’s easy to have an opinion about other people’s money, when you make none of your own to be taxed to begin with. Give it up Goldstein, your argument has no merit. Until you become employed yourself, shut the hell up until then.
Role? what role does Goldy serve? an [x] marks the spots where he does.
Bad parent of the year? [x]
Deadbeat that can’t find a job in 3 yrs? [x]
Contributes nothing to society while decrying those that do should contribute even more? [x]
Runs a website full of fellow societal leeches, miscreants and reprobates equally worthless in their productivity level? [x]
on second thought, Goldstain does serve a role. An example of not what to be when we grow into adulthood.
@72 “how many of those 74% are unemployed”
Well, thanks to countless Republican failures, quite a few.
@73 A fascist fucktard goatfucker such yourself talking “what to be when we grow into adulthood”. That’s a good one.
You guys are going to have to do more than that to contend for this week’s Golden Goat. Have you considered tossing out the “N” word? Puddy won’t mind. Seeing as you’re both lunatic wing-nuts, he’d be OK with it.
Yeah unlike these deadbeat losers, Sound Politics contributors are gainfully employed, usually to highly paid positions. Eric Earling is a good case in point! Maybe Goldy can get a job flipping burgers.
Next time i see you Goldy you will be asking me – “Would you like fries with your order SIR?”?
LOL!!!!
Apparently, in addition to being leeches, miscreants and reprobates, Goldy’s petting zoo crew are also confused by the thread post numbering as well. Where do you hire these trolls from Goldstain? Losers r’us?
…and Lee/thehim wonders why a drug addled brain is a bad thing. Just look at Steve for exhibit A , Lee.
Little Ricky Dimwitted,
Look at your own, slow boy, when accusing others of being “leeches, miscreants, and reprobates.” Quick to judge, quick to be judged. Guilty, Little Ricky, on all counts. Damn, it must hurt to be you.
Pop Quiz “proud leftard”, (maybe you can clue steve in as well):
Do the number 72 and 73 come before the number 54?
You’re on the clock son, think long and hard and no asking Goldy. It’s time I teach you trolls the numbers system.
Pop Quiz “proud leftard“, (maybe you can clue steve in as well):
Do the numbers 72 and 73 come before the number 54?
You’re on the clock son. Think long and hard and no asking Goldy, as he has no job and plenty of time to look it up for himself.
It’s time I teach you trolls the numeral system.
Tax the rich, tax the poor, tax ’em all!
interesting conversation so far, have had it with friends at http://www.affluence.org many times… i am so shocked that people do not realize longer term effects of this. the rich are those that create jobs and innovate. if you take away their incentive to get away and compete, America won’t be able to keep up
@58, 59 Geez, I just made the double-posting RickyD’s day by getting a couple of numbers mixed up. You’re just too easy to please, RickyD.
@60 “Tax the rich, tax the poor, tax ‘em all!”
I can agree with that. The poor should be taxed as well. We probably differ when it comes to progressive or regressive taxation, such as the flat tax, which I believe would be unfair to the poor.
Hey Rodger… Anal @17 thinks you’re 39! You wish.
the rich are those that create jobs and innovate.
I was just making a power point presentation about how Thomas Edison and Paris Hilton are in the same league.
…
I disagree, the rich don’t disproportionally create more jobs. I’ll bet, because they feel they have more to lose, they are more conservative and don’t risk as much.