Its both frustrating and disheartening that so many people can fall for this ponzi scheme. When will Americans wake up and get educated about simple basic economics? The people who fall for this rich against poor rhetoric are the same ignorant idiots that say we should go after big oil and large corporations to "pay their fair share". The truth is higher taxes hurt the poor more then anyone else. As a simple example take a hot dog vender.If the government says they want 25 cents more in taxes per hot dog...what is the first thing that vender will do? If your scratching your head, the answer is he will raise the price of his hotdogs by 25 cents. This makes it more expensive for the least able to afford it. This basic rule of economics holds true even in the biggest corporations. If Obama says he wants Exxon to pay 25 million more in taxes what do you think will happen? Do you think the board members will sit around the table and discuss selling the corporate jet or tell the board they have to cancel their golf trip to Hawaii? Hell no! They will raise the price of gas and maybe even lay-off a few thousand employees which hurt the poor and middle class who are trying to get by. In reality the corporation may write the check to the government but YOU are the one footing the bill! It's not some anomaly or coincidence that in the last 6 years the poverty level has more then doubled and the middle class is shrinking all the while the rich get richer.
It really sounds great when a politician says these things but its really just a way to get more money from the people who don't pay income taxes...the poor.
Just ask yourself who are these "rich people"? Yes, sure there are a few Dr's, lawyers, stockbrokers etc. But the vast majority of the "wealthy" are business owners like Hair and Nail salons, your neighborhood food market, clothing outlets etc. By taxing the "rich" makes everything you buy more expensive.
Its unbelievable that there are even people who don't know the government has no money of its own, that its all OUR money they are spending so foolishly.
It's time our politicians who take our credit cards and go on spending sprees to live like we do...on a friggin budget! No more raising taxes! Stop spending our money on finding out how fast a shrimp can run on a treadmill or what the social life of a Chinese prostitute is like, and tighten your belts like the rest of us!
And most importantly, Stop the class warfare!

The centerpiece of the plan, described by administration officials on the condition of anonymity ahead of the president’s speech, would eliminate what Mr. Obama’s advisers call the “trust-fund loophole,” a provision governing inherited assets that shields hundreds of billions of dollars from taxation each year. The plan would also increase the top capital-gains tax rate, to 28 percent from 23.8 percent, for couples with incomes above $500,000 annually.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/18/us/president-obama-will-seek-to-reduce-taxes-for-middle-class.html?_r=0


investments(equities, assets) and inheritances have little to do with the price of hot dogs,,,


this is not an income tax issue , this is inheritance tax and capital gains tax issue

and I thought only Putin was stupid.

you must not really read the boards often,,,,lol


btw, I'm not calling people stupid, just observing that people do post unintelligent things,,,

all Taxes influence Prices,even if the NYT and Krugman say different!

The pretense that it is not an income tax is just another charade. First, there should not be an inheritance tax at all...that money has already been taxed and payed for by the individual who earned it.
Secondly the capital gains tax among other provisions in his plan will seriously degrade and diminish everyone's 401k plans..not just the rich. Since most corporations have done away with traditional retirement plans, most people rely on their 401's for retirement.
Having said that, If Washington started being more fiscally responsible there would be no need for any new taxes... period!

really? so If I own a hot dog stand (using the ops example) and my grandmother leaves me 1 million and instead of receiving 762,000, I received 720,000, it would force me to raise prices on my hot dogs?

lol

ok

And this goes to searchin4myredwine you are 100% right.

ok, so we aren't worried about the price of goods going up

we are concerned about 401 ks?

and how diminished are those going to get with a 3.2 percent increase in capital gains?

I can see you do not understand the Issues involved!

actually, its the field Im studying, so I think I have a bit more understanding than what is displayed here

an inheritance tax has no affect on the price of a hot dog,,,neither would a capital gains tax


so the debate has switched to how it affects ones 401k and Im patiently waiting to read how that question is answered here,,,

particularly, how much one believes a 4.2 percent increase would DIMINISH employees 401ks

The question should be if your grandmother worked hard and earned that money and already paid the government all her taxes on that money then why should they get their grubby little hands on another 300,000 of your inheritence?

"If what is called the state may forcibly take one dollar or one shilling out of what a man owns, it may take what it likes up to the last dollar or last shilling. Once admit the right of the state to take, and the state becomes the real owner of all property." Auberon Herbert

"All taxes, even those placed upon the rich, injure those who are poor. They disturb the course of production and trade; they make traders timid, and so contract industrial enterprise and depress wages; they make considerable payments in ready money necessary, and thus favor a few large houses as against the small traders, and thus again facilitate corners and monopolies; they disturb natural values, depreciating the property which is specially taxed; when heavy, they discourage a useful service, which the rich perform unconsciously, of encouraging those inventions which must at first pass through an expensive stage before they can be widely produced in cheap forms; they spoil markets, which in great measure depend for their cheapness and excellence upon their extent; but above all, they misdirect the efforts of the working part of the people. Grasping greedily at the common compulsory fund, out of which every sort of thing is provided, the people lose their faith in free enterprise and their natural inclination to form voluntary societies of their own in order to provide for all the growing wants of life; and instead of setting themselves to build up with their own hands a new civilization,the real work which cries aloud to be done,they waste priceless time and energy in struggling for miserable handfuls out of the devil's quarreling fund as it has been well called,thus playing the politician's game to his heart's content." Auberon Herbert

LOL...if your studying economics you would certainly know that 4.2% is huge! This is just the INCREASE...if a bank offered 4.2% interest rate on a savings account there would be lines around the block. When it comes to savings, 4.2% over the life time of your 401 would amount to a huge chunk of change.

you keep changing the question,,lol, but that's alright

so , to recap,, an increase in inheritance or cap gains taxes has little to do with the price of a hot dog

no answer as to 401k

people will always disagree on the reasons for inheritance tax, but in America , like many other countries, we have them and have had them for many administrations,,,

three different animals,,, interest on a savings account and capital gains taxes and inheritance taxes,,

Its not two different animals at all...capital gains taxes directly affect savings accounts in many ways. Banks are one of the biggest investors and by raising their taxes directly affect the customers like with any tax. Banks will pass these taxes on in the way of new fees or lower saving rates.
In EVERY case regardless of the NAME of a tax it directly takes money from the economy and makes goods or services more expensive.

this may be slightly off topic....but could someone explain how the cap (118,000 for 2015) on taxable earnings for social security (fica) is fair to all...?

round numbers here for ease of math...

i earn 100,000 and pay in 6% ...i pay 6,000 dollars on my total earnings
ceo draws a salary of 1 million dollars....he pays in, you guessed it...
6,000 dollars only on his first 100,000 of income...the other 900,000 of income he enjoys without contributing anything to ssa...this is six tenths of his total income....how is this fair ? and how large a chunk of change would this be, if the cap was eliminated entirely..?..

and then the CEO digs a big hole in his back yard and buries all 900,000 dollars.