by the way...
for the dummies out there who incessantly prattle on about the bush tax cuts being "only for the rich..."
remember the liar-in-chief stating during his 2008 marketing campaign that he would not increase taxes on anybody making over $250,000.00? well, i certainly do.
During the campaign, the tax rate was at 1.25 mil. Then it was 500k. Then it was 250k. Biden was an absolute gaffe machine on the campaign trail, always giving a different figure.
I forget what recent column this was in, but a point was made that the reason why most working-class democrats don't buy liberal class envy/tax the rich bastards shtick is because they still believe what our parents, grandparents etc believed -- by working hard, ingenuity, elbow grease + and a little luck America is still the land of opportunity where a governing body can't limit/cap one's potential.
In my early 20s (I'm 41 now), my friend married a woman in her 40s that was a successful business owner. I wasn't privy to her exact 'salary', but in 2010 dollars I'm guessing she was close to $250k. With taxes and everything else, they were pretty much mac-n-cheese people, rent a VHS instead of going out... by no means austere, but not a wildly lavish lifestyle that someone making minimum wage might expect. The only difference is this couple pretty much dictated their own schedule on their own terms and didn't have to repeat 'would you like fries with that?' 100 times a day.
The problem with this tax is $250k covers a *lot* of subchapter C corporations... you know, people in your hometown that own the pizzaria, the dry cleaner, etc. People that are spending 14+ hrs a day to make something of themselves. People that are saving to send their kids to college. Don't even get me started on the new $600+ 1099 for businesses.
Again, it's easy to beat the class envy drum and think yeah, those rich bastards making over $250k need to pay their fair share.
Another issue -- someone making $250,000 in a place like, say, Fargo, North Dakota vs. Manhattan or San Jose.
Yet another issue -- do you really think Kennedys, Rockefellers et al are paying this? Really, liberals? Of course not. Liberals know the filthy rich 'landed' old wealth (unlike the unwashed parvenue wannabes) always skirt this shit. Foundations (ie, tax-exempt Clinton Foundation). Off shore laundering. Simple stuff like John Kerry saving hundreds of thousands by docking his yacht in RI instead of Mass. All this tax talk is to rattle the cage of union workers and to step on the hose of the free market.
My friend's wife eventually got wiped out due to EPA regulations.
Me? I've been building momentum since 2006 to launching my own business and had targeted mid-2011 to becoming legit. I would not be making outrageous money. It would never go beyond hiring a few part-time people. Through tax breaks, it would allow me to pay the rent, have pocket money and maybe blow $75/month on mindless bullshit. Above all, I'd be independent.
With the recent changes, there's no way I'm starting up. Generate a 1099 for anything over $600? Fuck that. I'd have to have a part-timer just for paper work.
