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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mr. Whist who wrote (199719)	11/4/2001 11:21:58 AM
From: Bald Eagle	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

If you're paying tax in the 28% range, then you must be earning a decent salary. Do you never consider that taxing companies too much would cause even more layoffs and/or pay cuts, then less people would have to pay tax in the 28% range, because they have much less income! It is the companies in this country that create the wealth of this country. If they are taxed so much that they can't make a profit or ever expand, then everybody loses. It used to be that 5% unemployment was considered full employment, because some people aren't looking for a job when unemployed. We are barely above that number now. The US economy is still very strong despite the temporary recession, IMHO, and I don't think we'll see unemployment go above 6%. Also, adversity makes people stronger, so being out of work for a while isn't necessarily a bad thing in the longer term. BTW, I do agree that some CEO's are way overpaid, but I believe that's up to the shareholders of individual companies to deal with.

To: Mr. Whist who wrote (199719)	11/4/2001 11:30:21 AM
From: RON BL	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 769670

Flap while I agree with you I have to say that I am tired of the Democrats passing law after law and tax regulation after tax regulation. It is the Democrats who favor a tax code so complicated that it takes 600$ an hour consultants to figure it out. The Democrats are fond of saying they are for the little guy but the tax laws favor the big guy. That is why you see the big corporations lobbying and not small business or the individual tax payer. They cannot pay off the politicians. There are 52,000 pages governing the sale of cabbage and while Bill CLinton said he was for small government the number of laws passed while he presided increased more than ever. All in all I believe all these laws make every one of us guilty at some time or other. It is an insane system that robs our economy of billions yearly. That is a fact. A flat tax or consumption tax as advocated by Forbes is needed.

To: Mr. Whist who wrote (199719)	11/4/2001 12:14:11 PM
From: greenspirit	Respond to of 769670

flapjack, contrary to popular rhetoric, a "business" does not really pay taxes. Individuals bear the burden of all taxes sent to the government by business. The corporate income tax, for instance, is a tax on the income of the owners of the corporation. This same income is taxed a second time at the "individual" level. Federal income tax withholding is a tax on workers, even though the business sends the money to Washington. The practice of having businesses pay taxes on behalf of individuals is known as taxing income at the source. Taxing income at the source contributes to the popular misconception that taxes, and other burdens imposed on business do not hurt individuals. It is hard to imagine how anything could be worse than the existing Internal Revenue Code. The complexity of the code alone should give intelligent Americans enough incentive to throw it out! The business side of the tax code makes the 1040 form, with its various attachments, seem simple by comparison. All that complexity carries a huge price. Small business are hurt the most by the complexity of the system. Therefore, the best long-term solution is to replace the present system with a flat tax. Politicians would have a hard time manipulating the tax code if we had an across the board simple flat tax. Having said that, guess which party and political leaders opposes the flat tax concept? Guess which party has fought tooth-and-nail to maintain our current complex system? Guess which party screams bloody murder every time some conservative Republican attempts to educate the public about the benefits of a flat tax? You guessed it, the very party which focuses all their energy on focus group spin language, instead of looking for lasting long term solutions. If modern liberal Democrats spent half as much energy devoted to getting rid of our current tax system, and replacing it with a flat tax. Instead of constantly looking for ways to use it as a rhetorical political football, "big businesses doesn't pay it's fair share", we might actually shift directions and get to a "fairer" system of taxation for everyone. Until then, they have no leg to stand on moralizing about a tax system they call "unfair" to some. While not having the courage to deal with the systemic root cause of the problem. Catch phrases and rhetorical spin might work to get people like Gephard and Dashle elected. But in the arena of ideas, it's a transparent shell void of depth.

To: Mr. Whist who wrote (199719)	11/4/2001 12:27:23 PM
From: Ish	Respond to of 769670

<<and while average CEO compensation has risen more than 500 percent during the decade of the '90s.>> Wow. I didn't know the Republicans mandated what companies paid their CEOs.