Democrat Thinking

[Andy L]

I agree MT. Im making a hell of alot more now than I was ten years back and paying about the same tax.

BUT, the RATS are back. That will change.

[M.T. Pockets]

I know Andy, I just wanted to point out that the "tax breaks for the rich" sure have helped the poor working stiff like me.

[fabsroman]

Good Lord MT,

With tax rates like that in your state, I would be crying.

Yes, the standard deduction is pretty high, along with the personal exemptions.

For 2006, the standard deduction was $10,300 for a married couple filing jointly and the personal exemption amount was $3,300. So, a married couple with two children would get standard deductions and personal exemptions totaling $23,500. So, the first $23,500 would be tax free. Now, the tax rates for 2006 were the following for a married couple:

0$ to $15,100 = 10%
$15,100 to $61,300 = 15%

The tax code also provides for a $1,000 tax credit for each child, but the specifics (i.e., phaseout) gets a little tricky. For this example, lets assume that each child qualifies for the tax credit.

So, a married couple with two kids would have to make above $41,866 before they had to pay anything in taxes.

The highest rate right now is 35%, which only applies once a married couple gets above $336,550 in Taxable income. The old rate used to be 38%.

I think the current tax code is the best one that we have had in a long time for everybody. Granted, $41,866 is tough to live on in these parts, but it can be done. Plus, the tax rate after that amount is only 15% until the couple gets to $84,800. Now, $84,800 is a lot easier to live on around here, and I would assume that most people throughout the country would be living pretty well if they were making $84,800 as a couple. They wouldn't be poor if they didn't spend their money foolishly.

I find that a lot of the "poor" thing is about priorities. I went to lunch with some high school friends, and I started talking about college funds because I have a daughter on the way. I was surprised to find out that neither of them had started college funds and their children were older than 5. For one couple, I could believe it because they didn't live extravagantly, but not for the other. They owned a brand new mini-van that cost $30,000 and an Infiniti 35 series that must have cost $35,000 to $40,000. They were astounded when I told them that I plan on putting $500 a month away for college, but the reason I can do that and not feel any pain is because I took some of our savings and paid off all of our vehicles which saves us on interest and it provides a positive cash flow to us of $1,100 a month. I refuse to buy a new car until everything else is taken care of (e.g., single family home, college funds, retirement) or until one of our current cars breaks down. I drive a 1998 Taurus with 160,000 miles on it, and I am hoping that it will make it to 2018. I went to another friend's place over the weekend and he was crying about how he couldn't afford life insurance to protect his two kids and his wife because he is the only income earner. I felt sorry until I saw the $3,000 HD TV hanging on the wall and the new entertainment system.

There is another quote I like to use. If we took all the money in the US, divided it evenly amongst everybody, the poor would be poor in two years and the rich would be rich again in two years.