Alternative Minimum Tax

[Truth_and_Power]

Why our lawmakers set hard fast cutoffs for things and DON'T tie them to inflation or some kind of economic number, I'll never understand. Now the AMT that was designed to stop the rich and clever from avoiding taxes altogether is going to hit the middle class, especially those that work hard and have kids to raise.

Too bad congress is more intent on blaming each other for this and that than fixing no-brainer things that really need it. Our country is run so badly, why can't we just forget about Gay Marriage and just see about the business of running our country.

[Mayberry]

Our country is run so badly, why can't we just forget about Gay Marriage and just see about the business of running our country. TaP, that is the best thing I've heard you say. How we need a little injection of common sense.

[Marley]

The funny thing is, everyone clamoring for a flat tax with no special deductions is looking straight at that exact tax -- the AMT.

[Mayberry]

The funny thing is, everyone clamoring for a flat tax with no special deductions is looking straight at that exact tax -- the AMT.
Precisely why we need the Fair Tax. People like me, who buy used, wouldn't pay much tax at all.

[Marley]

The problem with the fair tax is how fine tuned it is.

The USA, as it currently exists, has to rely on the congress to enact tax policy.

And the US congress is very unruley, no subsequent congress ever obeys the rules a previous congress places on itself.

Tax policy MUST be like an AK-47, the beauty of the AK-47 is how crude it is, yet RELIABLE. It's its simplicity and reliabilty that make it the death machine of the planet. "Smart" sophisticated weapons are expensive and don't function at all unless those wielding them have the technology and sophistication to deploy them. The dumb ol' Ak-47 keeps on rolling along, even if it was buried in the mud for a few days.

The Fair Tax isn't an AK-47, it's too fine tuned, any adverse influences will derail it, prevent from functioning as designed and intended.

That's the real world truth, EVEN IF the fiar tax is a GREAT idea.

[Mayberry]

The Fair Tax isn't an AK-47, it's too fine tuned, any adverse influences will derail it, prevent from functioning as designed and intended.
Explain? State and local sales taxes seem to function just fine. Why not a federal sales tax? (With repeal of the income tax, of course!)

[Marley]

Well, when I listen to Boortz, he;'s like "no, no you can't do this, you can't do that, do it thusly, yadayadayada..."

Well fine, but in the real world, tax law is enacted by the US congress.

The real tax system must be crude in a certain way, so it can withstand what congress WILL do to it.

Another thing I've heard that makes sense, is BEFORE enactment of a fair tax, the 16th amendment MUST be abolished so we don't end up with BOTH taxes. Again, congress does what it damned well pleases, remember "budget caps?"

Another metaphor would be the fair tax is a sleek, low-slung, efficient sports car, but it only has rutted dirt roads to drive down, it'll bottom out and break something in a mile, where a crude Model T or whatever will keep roilling and get us where we need to go.

[Mayberry]

BEFORE enactment of a fair tax, the 16th amendment MUST be abolished so we don't end up with BOTH taxes. DUH? Another metaphor would be the fair tax is a sleek, low-slung, efficient sports car, but it only has rutted dirt roads to drive down, it'll bottom out and break something in a mile, where a crude Model T or whatever will keep roilling and get us where we need to go. Metaphors don't tell me what the problem is. The Congress needs to abolish the income tax, enact the Fair Tax, AS IT IS, WITHOUT MESSING WITH IT!!!!!!! We need to hold these SOB's feet to the fire, and end the games they play, screwing around with everyone's livlihood! I'm tired of feeling like a damned checkers piece, getting shoved back and forth, and having some God damned politician yelling "king me"!!!!! Why "We The People's" blood isn't boiling is beyond me! I can't stand it anymore. How can you?

[Marley]

"The Congress needs to abolish the income tax, enact the Fair Tax, AS IT IS, WITHOUT MESSING WITH IT!!!!!!!"

EXACTLY!!!

Congress does not submit to anyone, anything, the US congress is all powerful and does damned well what it pleases at any given time.

THAT's why the existing tax code is the cluster f**k it is, and that's why ANY tax code will be exactly the same!!!

"We need to hold these SOB's feet to the fire,"

WE DO!!! Every other year! Yet they keep winning reelection huh?

See, it's never YOUR congressman, or MY congressman, it's always that "other guy's" congress man that's the problem LOL


"I can't stand it anymore. How can you?"

LOL Go take a vacation somewhere offshore, it's gets worse! Much worse.

And, the raw power of the USA is astronomically massive. You WANT something all f**ked up at the head of that!!!

It would be nice to "Get throught to" one of you Fair Taxers and get you to understand where the flaw in your thinking is.

Hugo Chaves could easily, perfectly, implememnt the fair tax, the US congress inherently can't.

[Mayberry]

the US congress inherently can't. Exactly why we need to vote the bums out. But that won't happen until the money is separated from politics, which isn't likely either. We've got to fix some of our problems, government is too corrupt. But how? That's the big problem.

[Marley]

"Exactly why we need to vote the bums out."

LOL You are free to do your part, every other year, as always, to do exactly that.

"But that won't happen until the money is separated from politics, which isn't likely either."

Money is nothing but an expression of power, a quantification of power.

Look into lottery winners, most of them are broke in a few years. Why? They have no power nor the ability to hold power.

Money = power = money = power

I prefer living in a system where cash and influence are manifestations of power, instead of guns and midnight death squads!



"We've got to fix some of our problems, government is too corrupt. But how? That's the big problem."

The "black hole" of power, sucking everything in, is the current US federal government. IMO, FDR created a monster. First he got through Soviet style power with his socialist programs, then he ramped up the military victor of WWII.

Post Newt, pre Pelosi had been educational.

Republicans proved to be mere mortal humans incapable of resisting the seduction of the absolute power of the US federal government.

Taxes need to be cut past the optimum point (taxes are too high to the point where historically rate decreases result in revenue increases. Rates need to continue to be cut until revenues shrink, then cut some more. States will not need to be prompted to increase their rates and devolve the centralized power)

Conservatives need to continue to appoint the judiciary so the 10th Amendment can be resusitated.