Public Is Ready to Raise Taxes on Corporations and the Rich, Oregon Vote Shows

www.alternet.org...

Conservatives have been crowing loudly about their victory in last week’s special election in Massachusetts, but voters in Oregon also “sent a message,” when? approving two measures that imposed progressive taxes on earners making more than $250,000 per year and on large corporations.

The measures are expected to raise the $733 million dollars needed to close the state’s budget gap. The measures -- 66 and 67 -- passed by a decisive 54-46 margin. According to The Oregonian, “the results triggered waves of relief from educators and legislative leaders, who were facing an estimated $727 million shortfall in the current two-year budget if the measures faile

This is an interesting turn of events and to me shows growing discontent with the upper tiers in the economic strata. ex. People thinking the rich and corporations get preferential treatment in the tax structure.
I favor a federal flat tax on everyone, no exceptions, no fancy tax lawyers claiming bogus deductions, no offshore accounts and a higher sales tax on luxury items.

Will this Oregon vote signal a trend?

[edit on 29-1-2010 by whaaa]

When you start penalizing people for being wealthy it will backfire. They will just stop spending and investing their money or they will simply move to friendlier territory and will take their businesses with them. I still vividly remember the days of Clinton's luxury tax. People of means stopped buying yachts, RV's, luxury autos etc. It was a failure and workers got laid off because of it.

The class warfare BS has to stop. Obama has been harping on this notion since his campaign and the people of Oregon appear to have taken the bait.

A flat tax would be a fine idea.

This method will also fail misserably. The only thing that will work in this situation is for the government to simply stop wasting money. They throw billions and billions of dollars away each year on bridges to nowhere. Taxing the wealthy and their businesses will end up taxing everyone all the way down to the poorest of people. It is the trickle down effect. They will not simply just eat the new tax. They will pass it down the line by increasing the cost of their goods or services.

reply to post by whaaa


I will have to agree with jibeho on the penalizing the rich.

Our progressive taxes are inherently skewed to the super rich. Yes, they do take more from the rich that do not make enough to use all of the loop holes provided by such things as foundations and other tax exempt entities.

What makes this all so funny is that the vast majority of people do not realize that this is another way the elite keep normal people from reaching wealthy status.

Did you know one of the best ways to hide wealth is to create one of these tax exempt entities. SKL goes into it on a few of his threads. Ever hear of the foundations set up by the Kennedy family?

How about the Rockefeller Foundation? Do you think that just maybe, this is another obfuscational way to keep the average person down?

Whaaa, you are beginning to become conservative and you do not even know it.

A consumption flat tax is the only true way to tax fairly no matter what your level of income. No matter how much money you make, even if you just buy assets as a tax exempt entity, you would still have to pay the consumption flat tax. Exempting such things as food, clothes and your domicile would be an easy way to give the poor an even playing field.

If all other forms of taxation were removed, I would be all for a flat consumption tax. If a VAT would be applied on top of all the others it would be totally unfair. Otherwise I could back it.

Whaaa, I knew you were a closet conservative.

As for the raise in taxes on the "supposedly" wealthy or rich, the super rich elite will "again" be not subject to this tax and the outcome will be the same as before. Corporations will pass it down and ones that can avoid the tax will.

[edit on 1/29/2010 by endisnighe]

Wow, what a great idea. This is fantastic. Now a simple question. Who are they going to tax after the rich leave Oregon?
Tax corporations? Guess what the cost for what ever the corporation makes just went up and you the consumer will be paying more for that, or driving that company out of state or out of the country. Great idea.
Will these great ideas ever stop?

Oh, I forgot to add, I wonder if raising taxes on Corporations will make more of them move to China?

The case of Unintended Consequence or Intended Consequence?

reply to post by whaaa


No it says that a bunch of brain dead sheeple live in Oregon (me exluded) usually California transplats .

Originally posted by endisnighe
reply to post by whaaa

 

Whaaa, you are beginning to become conservative and you do not even know it.

Whaaa, I knew you were a closet conservative.

Strange as it may seem to some, I consider myself a progressive conservative and I don't feel this is a contradiction in terms either.
I subscribe to no particular ideology; I can see the good and bad even in[gasp] communism, socialism, benevolent Monarchy's and Anarchy.

I'm a wild eyed liberal when it comes to social issues but an arch conservative when it comes to personal responsibility. I despise elitism and preferential treatment to those that already enjoy the bounty of this land but realistic enough to know that money is power and power corrupts.

I am an entrepreneurial hippie and admit that I have moved some of my manufacturing to Mexico and in the past have hired illegal aliens that were some of the most hardworking, loyal employees I ever had and to a man were much superior workers to any anglo I ever hired. They treated me with respect and worked. All the anglos were interested in was getting laid and getting paid and had no gratitude to me for even giving them a chance to work.
I have enjoyed the wonderful free enterprise spirit in America and have profited handsomely and I only hope for future generations that those wonderful days return. But I'm convinced the GOP won't bring them back.

I was lucky in that I saw the trend of this economic downturn early in the Bush administration with the spike in energy costs and bailed into other ventures. Thankfully I made the bulk of my juice during the Clinton years. Those were the good old days for me.

This message of divisiveness promoted by IMO the right wing will eventually tear this nation apart. It's already started as evidenced here on ATS. [see above post] Soon we better start hangin together or we will all hang separately.







[edit on 29-1-2010 by whaaa]

reply to post by whaaa


Alright, you pretty much described me in this post.

So why is it we always bump heads.

Me-constitutional libertarian, fiscal conservative, social liberal.

Have never voted party lines, I usually never even vote in National elections, I will not vote for lesser of two evils.

Yes, I to have found that some forms of socialism are required, like helping the handicap and such.

We have to get a third party going or we will see the end of entrepreneurs like you and I, go the way of the Dodo.

I also ran my own business until only 8 years ago and then went to work for others due to regulations. Now that I am back in my home state, old employees are asking me to start up again. I do not want to waste the little assets I have left though. It is too big a risk when I have no idea what next tax schema the asshats have planned.

Oregon is hurting already and by passing this it just will make many small businesses cross the river to Vancouver.

This will not work sadly unless all states adopt it.

The US needs to get back into production and exporting and pass a flat tax or "fair tax"

Originally posted by endisnighe
reply to post by whaaa

 

Alright, you pretty much described me in this post.

So why is it we always bump heads.

I'll take responsibility for that. I'm a contrary, ornery old cuss.

reply to post by whaaa


Okay, that is just downright weird.

I have always been and always will be an #.

I believe the last 10 years has made me despise government in general and it has rubbed off on me while posting here.

I just get frustrated and then go off the deep end when trying to cuss and discuss my positions. I am really trying to nip that in the bud. It probably has a lot to do with being the youngest of 5 brothers. I never bumped heads with my sisters-3, but until I was old enough to woop some sibling butt, I always had to listen to my brothers crap. After that, we were on even ground, but I think the upbringing had a lot to do with my success in later life. So I hold no ill will to my brothers and actually credit them for my attitude and demeanor. I may be a contrarion as you put it, but I do excel when it comes to business and management.

Penalizing the rich?

Shouldn't they be penalized for using tax breaks to:-

1. Hoard up their money or speculate on stocks and shares instead of creating jobs?

Easy isnt it, to just sit down and dump billions into the market and watch it rise the next second instead of working your sweat off to grow companies? Better than casion betting for sure.

2. Screw the american workers. They are a lazy and unappreciative bunch who WILL never work for $1 a day. The wetbacks are more loyal and after a few years, they go back to their poor 5th world country and become rich like american bosses and do what they did - to screw their own countrymen.

3. Runing off to China with american tech and hardwork by workers to build up their companines and create a new slave society there working on $1 a day, as well as teach them how to screw their own countrymen in the name of profit, to hell with social responsibility? Even when they had tax breaks then?

4. Need me to illuminate further on the terrible mistakes made by Bush and Greenspan to screw the american economy over the past eight years?

Pander to the rich by all means and label anyone else as commies, socialists, liberals, etc for speaking out. Greed is still greed by any other label.

The problem is bush shouldn't bail out the corps in the first place, and obama should not follow suit either. This is what happen if you don't have the stomach for free market capitalism. Now barack is becoming a too eager debt collector. And in this case, monkey see monkey do. I totally get it, if the middle class want to "punish" the wealthy.

And if the corps want to move to china, they should. I kinda want them to.
But I don't think they have the guts to do it.