We Make Millions

[PHL]

We can raise the minimum wage all we want. But this means those companies actually paying people minimum wage will do one of 2 things - 1.) reduce the number employees, thereby creating more unemployment or 2.) increase their prices to keep their business alive. What's it going to be?

Oh, to the original poster - take a look at the inheritance tax laws and statistics. A HUGE majority of people who inherit something as simple as Mom and Dad's house, cars, etc. are getting wallopped. These are MIDDLE CLASS people, not the elite rich. But that's just like an narrow minded lefty to think any laws proposed by a republican are only designed to help the top 5% of the country's wealth. Do you really think the GOP would be in the majority if that were true?

Oh - and go ahead and stage your nationwide walkout. You'll cripple the economy for sure, but it will be a blip in the longer term economics. You'll also reinforce the general feeling out there that unions are too stubborn to roll with the economic ebbs and flows.

You also won't have a job to go back to while your employer starts hiring people who WILL work for the wages being offered.

 

[700UW]

700UW:

No one is raising a family on the minimum wage. NO ONE! Your argument about making it so hard to do is nice, but it only occurs in the fantasyland made up by the political left. The reason so many unions fight for a raise in the minimum wage is not because they are trying to stand up for anyone at the minimum wage, but because they have contractual pay rates tied to a percentage of it (note I am not saying any of US union workers are tied to it).

I see my quote is right on the money.

People are trying to raise families on those wages, take off your republican rose colored issued glasses.

And I have never seen a contract that ties raises to the minimum wage, Karl Rove tell you to post that?

Raises in all contracts are usually step increases, % increases or COLA increases, any union would be foolish to tie raises to the minimum wage as it takes forever to get an increase, prime example is it has not been raised since 1997.

Do you actually believe what you post?

 

[Flying Titan]

PHL -
I'd like to see these middle class people who are getting walloped by the Paris Hilton tax.

Did you know that the estate tax doesn't even apply to an estate until it exceeds $1 million? If you are the sole beneficiary of an estate worth $1.1, million then you only pay taxes on that last $100k. If that $1.1 million estate is split in a way where no single person receives more than $1 million then there is no tax to be paid.

As for the farmer example that was raised... they have an additional exemption of up to $1.3 million.

Again, the people receiving this payout didn't work for this money. It may sound crass, but a valid comparison would be to winning the lottery. I don't know too many people who think that those winnings shouldn't be taxed.

Perhaps Warren Buffett said it best -- (paraphrasing) I want to leave my children enough to do anything in the world, but I don't want to leave them enough to do nothing. He's a supporter of the estate tax. The nation's founding fathers also warned against the ills that come from generational wealth that results in a permanent upper class. Paris Hilton??? British Royal Family, anyone???

 

[wench]

rjh,
Taylor Hick's high school teacher is Laura Bush's asst.

It pays to know ppl in high places!

 

[Seatacus]

As for the farmer example that was raised... they have an additional exemption of up to $1.3 million.

What about the farmer who inherits his dad's 1000 acre farm (a small farm)worth ten million dollars and want's to keep farming it? He would need to pay a major tax just to keep it or sell. Many farms are property rich and cash poor and having to sell to pay taxes will force some out of the business. Selling the farm would probably put the land in the hands of some mega-farm or a developer.

 

[dxBrian]

Surely you noticed that Buffett is giving most of his money away to charitable foundations, so there won't be that much collected from his estate by the US government. Most people aren't that liquid.

The "death tax" is wrong. The USA is one of the few countries that apply a death tax. It doesn't raise that much to the government coffers, and can devastate many families who are just over the line of having to sell the family home or business to pay the taxes. How much taxes are enough? We pay income tax, capital gains taxes, real estate taxes, sales taxes, and on and on.

Bring on the Fair Tax.

 

[Flying Titan]

Seatacus -
It matters a lot whether it's the farmland that's worth $10 million or the farming "business" that's worth $10 million.

If it's the land that's worth $10 million, then the son's just been handed a huge windfall and, yes, it should be taxed. If he's got a ten-million dollar asset, he ain't no little aw shucks middle class farmer. It's also probably a lot bigger than a thousand acres unless it's sitting very close to a fast-growing metroplex.

If it's the farming business that's worth $10 million, there are already sections of tax law that allow for that to be passed from one person to another without estate issues. Of course, these need to be handled while dad's still alive -- e.g. setting up a corporation and naming the son as one of the officers. Easy to do and it's something most people with a $10 million dollar business take care of long before it gets to the point of death.

The farming example is really a ruse cooked up by the GOP. Cases like this are the rare, rare exception - not the rule - when it comes to the Paris Hilton tax. All it takes is a little common sense planning.

 

[Flying Titan]

Surely you noticed that Buffett is giving most of his money away to charitable foundations, so there won't be that much collected from his estate by the US government. Most people aren't that liquid.

The "death tax" is wrong. The USA is one of the few countries that apply a death tax. It doesn't raise that much to the government coffers, and can devastate many families who are just over the line of having to sell the family home or business to pay the taxes. How much taxes are enough? We pay income tax, capital gains taxes, real estate taxes, sales taxes, and on and on.

Bring on the Fair Tax.

Brian,
How many people are truly devastated by having to "sell" a multi-million dollar home that they never owned??? Fact is, it just doesn't happen that way. The VAST MAJORITY of estates will never reach the threshold necessary to even pay a penny. For those that do, the family mansion is not usually the only asset being passed down.

As for the taxes that we pay - you're right. We do pay a lot of taxes and our government wastes a lot of our money. But I find it odd that you would take a stand on the Paris Hilton tax, which 99 out of 100 of us on this board will never have to pay. BTW, if it ever goes away, you can be sure that a tax that we do pay will go up to make up the difference.

BTW, I (and others) call this the Paris Hilton tax because she is the true poster girl for it. She is and has been wealthy enough to do nothing constructive for all of her life...and that's what she's done. Her biggest claim to fame is having sex and posting a tape of it on the internet. Is that really the image of America that conservatives want to champion???

 

[Seatacus]

If it's the land that's worth $10 million, then the son's just been handed a huge windfall and, yes, it should be taxed.

Yeah, but the land is only worth $10 million if you sell it or want to tax it. If you just want to farm it then it is just dirt.

 

[Flying Titan]

Remember, this thread started with the juxtaposition of multiple cuts in the Paris Hilton tax vs. no increase in the federal minimum wage over the last decade.

It's evolved to the point where we are arguing over whether someone who is handed $10 million worth of land shouldn't have to pay any taxes on it.

Interesting set of priorities. WWJD?

 

[Doc]

Need I say more


On the estate tax, the bill would exempt $5 million of an individual's estate and $10 million of couple's taxes by 2005. In addition, estates valued at $25 million would be taxed at the current capital gains rate of 15%, a rate that is scheduled to rise to 20%. The remainder of the estate would be taxed at a rate targeted to fall to 30% by 2015.
Under the current law, the estate tax is due to be phased out completely by 2010, only to be reinstated in 2011, with a tax rate of 55% on estates larger than $1 million.

 

[sentrido]

Raising the minimum wage actually hurts businesses, and it hurts those who are working at a minimium age level because it reduces the number of jobs out there.

Ask any respected economist, its very simple math.

If you don't like your job or pay, get a better one and quit whining.

If by respected you mean the think tank they work for is funded by Rebulicans, then yes, you are right.

Actually, historically when the min wage is increased job increases have followed. There can be many reasons for this not directly related to the wage increase, but thats the data we have. And thus the problem with simple math based economic models.

 

[sentrido]

FYI, Farms are, and always have been exempt. And any real small business. If the assest value of your busniess is more than 3 mil then you aint small, and if you think you are your accountant sucks.

Also, the TAX begins at the threshold, e.g. if the arbitrary shelf is 3mil, and the taxable portion of the estate is 3mil and a dollar, your only taxed on the dollar.

Oh, and one more thing, these assets are almost never actually passed along at death, but long before. Often in neat ways avoiding taxes altogether.

Anyway, the poor family angle is bullshit, proven out by the lack of examples provided by the estate tax opponents. Nobody loses thier farms and nobody loses thier business. It just a way to get people who actually benefit from the tax to oppose it. people like you.