Real patriots dont pay taxes!

We are a country which has historically built on the notion that what we make is ours ... and are pretty damned independent about a lot of things. Currently the US has one of the highest tax-costs for any of the "industrialized" nations, including trying to tax earnings made in foreign operations ... which, let's see, about no one else does.

Given that, you better believe US companies and individuals that make money on business abroad don't want to bring that capital home. They'll have to pay a whopping tax for the pleasure of it. For some of the businesses and individuals, they'd have to pay on the foreign business earnings as earnings and then AGAIN on the same money as it's brought into the US. So ... would you be that stupid?

Problem with quoting those post WWII tax rates is there were so many different "loopholes", exemptions and what-if's in them that the actual tax payments per dollar of income-rate wasn't near what so many insist it was. One of the main things the tax changes did in say the Reagan years (with a Demo controlled congress & senate) was drop the "rates" but eliminate a TON of the exceptions. Rates dropped but actual taxes paid went up over the next couple years ... dramatically. In the intervening years we've added a ton of exemptions/exceptions/what-if's back into the tax code, which is why the whole things damn near unworkable.

So ... after your comments, I suppose you look at your tax figures, deduce you should be paying more, and chuck a bunch of extra in, right? I don't know anyone who does that, but I do know a lot who are SURE that a ton of others aren't paying their fare share.

I'm one of those who would rather just set a damn simple rate and pay on anything. No lawyers, no accountants, no headaches ... income, pay X. Although I realize that most of my acquaintances who get paid a salary don't have a clue realistically what it's like to run a business. Such as ... profits are EVIL! Right. "Profits" are what I take home to pay the mortgage, gas, & living expenses. Their salary is a "right" but my profits are "evil".

Not a lot of econ knowledge there ...

I suppose you look at your tax figures, deduce you should be paying more, and chuck a bunch of extra in, right? I don't know anyone who does that, but I do know a lot who are SURE that a ton of others aren't paying their fare share.

Like most people, I'd be prepared to pay more, if it went to something I approve of -- not, for example, military spending, price supports for agribusiness or subsidies to the oil and gas energy companies, etc. If that makes me a hypocrite, so be it.

Also bear in mind that if you factor in the cost of health insurance and expenses health insurance doesn't cover (pre-Obamacare, for the sake of the argument), the U.S. doesn't have low taxes for middle-income people compared to places like France or Germany. We just get much less for our contributions.

As for the very rich, they pay less than they ever have before, despite record profits. And the excess profits go back into the political system, to ensure they continue to pay less than ever before. If you consider that "just", I'm not sure we can have a useful discussion.

For myself, don't think anyone consider profits are evil -- I'm also a [very!] small businessman, not an employee. It's just that some people get inordinate benefits from markets, or have arranged markets to get inordinate benefits, but don't seem willing to either pay their way (despite all the feigned concern about deficits) or provide for future generations in the way prior generations provided for them.

Obviously, we need a good old total revolution. We need to go all Ukraine on Washington.

You mean that you prepare to give Alaska back? :-)

It's funny how experience owning a business in the US, any business whatsoever, even porno or scams or cheating employees, and you're conferred with superhuman power and capable of leaping tall buildings with a single bound and possess superhuman intellect.