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Politics : Clinton's Scandals: Is this corruption the worst ever? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: jbe who wrote (8999)	11/15/1998 2:54:00 PM
From: mrknowitall	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 13994

jbe - re: Gas taxes and socially-progressive economies. You should know first hand that almost all "socially-progressive" European countries purposefully use their forms of taxation to redistribute wealth. That is one of the tenets of socialism where it is not the absolute ruling entity - it must use whatever influence it has to assist its constituency to the greatest degree possible. What I apparently failed to adequately point out, is that the affluent will spend their money on driving no matter how high the tax and no matter what the gas consumption of the car. They will, because they can, drive more miles in more expensive vehicles. They will also operate boats, airplanes, recreational vehicles, etc. Thus, they will spend more overall, and pay far more in taxes than the poor, who, if they own a car, drive very little in comparison. Hence, in any such leveraged "progressive" tax system, the wealthy pay more (in total) and the excess goes to preclude the necessity of taxing the poor with some other tax. I call that "penalizing" the rich. IMO, the only truly fair tax system is one that disregards the person it taxes. A flat income-tax is closer to fairness, but it misses far too much of the real income of so many that it is inherently unfair. The only reasonable tax system in a free economy is a flat tax on spending. Mr. K.

To: jbe who wrote (8999)	11/15/1998 6:27:00 PM
From: Axxel	Respond to of 13994

OK, Here's the gas deal: MPG Tax 5-12 + $5.00/gal at the pump 12-15 + $4.00 15-20 + $3.00 20-25 + $2.00 25-35 + $1.00 35-50 credit of 50 cents at the pump 50+ credit of 75 cents at the pump Elimination of the gas guzzler tax on new purchases. All money goes to the Federal Debt [100%]: objective lower interest rates for all...lower for my, you, government...and what is the cost..matching auto usage with cars that fit their intended work. A Lincoln Nav is NOT DESIGNED or needed to take the Mrs. to the A & P or to commute to the train station. If we as a country don't wake up and take care of problems with very easy solutions, we will not have any money or time to deal with really important problems like our children's high cost of education, or "building an expensive Star Wars" defense system. Thowing money away, DAMAGES, our long-term security. Just think about it instead of reacting. IMPLEMENTATION: Politically a massive problem. A president with guts would have to announce that this program will go into effect in five years to give people plenty of time to react, plan and switch to more fuel-efficient cars. Maybe the time frame should be seven years...but it surely could not be done overnight. So there, Ive said my piece and that is the last missive on this subject that I will present so as to not bore everyone to death with it.