tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post8656478504622144045..comments2024-03-28T00:18:25.641-07:00Comments on Calafia Beach Pundit: The tax code is still highly progressiveScott Grannishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14028519647946868684noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-36483627482327273952020-01-10T07:09:29.857-08:002020-01-10T07:09:29.857-08:00BC, because of the USA’s unique position in the wo...BC, because of the USA’s unique position in the world of finance we don’t seem to get the benefit of market signals when imbalances occur…like the Japanese yen, the American dollar just seems to chug right along enjoying its advantage of being the world’s leading reserve currency despite huge federal deficits and misappropriation of funds…it seems to me to be a false sense of security …at some Jimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06774701281961294976noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-68965484607305398572020-01-09T16:17:28.910-08:002020-01-09T16:17:28.910-08:00Jim--- plenty of businesses get wiped out, have yo...Jim--- plenty of businesses get wiped out, have you not been looking at the retail scene? <br /><br />There was, after 2008, a bailout of banks, but the shareholders were wiped out. I contend that moral hazard was limited in that particular case.<br /><br />One might argue that the Department of Agriculture promotes a misallocation of resources to the farm sector, as its entire purpose has been Benjamin Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14001038338873263877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-51311093493057904312020-01-08T07:07:17.770-08:002020-01-08T07:07:17.770-08:00It seems to me "moral hazard" is the big...It seems to me "moral hazard" is the biggest threat to both the economy and our way of life resulting from MMT...despite the "prevailing level of interest rates" being historically low and benign...market failure and the subsequent misallocation of resources is off the chart...checks and balances of government and the free market economy have been overridden by unelected Jimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06774701281961294976noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-74767324176152633402020-01-06T16:50:25.328-08:002020-01-06T16:50:25.328-08:00SS isn't a scam, the design is out in the open...SS isn't a scam, the design is out in the open. Yes, it's some weird fairy-monster of a wealth transfer tax designed to look like an annuity but also much more than that. Yes, I could grow that money so much more, but on the other hand, what is a guarantee worth? Most people are bad savers and bad investors, we'd just be throwing them to the wolves. So anyways, I really don't Flying Robothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03083255627164328015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-23668049985535022322020-01-06T13:54:55.911-08:002020-01-06T13:54:55.911-08:00Mr. Grannis
After the long "vacation" I ...Mr. Grannis<br />After the long "vacation" I expected you to come back relaxed !<br /><br />What happened ?<br /><br />SS is not a "scam".<br /><br />It is a senior citizen welfare program (transfer payment) <br />passed by Congress a long time ago.<br /><br />Like all welfare programs, eventually people become<br />dependent, come to see the benefits as "entitlements&The Cliff Claven of Financehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13541954550199246606noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-61632538347809351992020-01-05T15:41:18.616-08:002020-01-05T15:41:18.616-08:00WealthMony, re "I am having a hard time seein...WealthMony, re "I am having a hard time seeing the regression in the SS/Medicare tax system." What you describe is exactly the sort of thing I'm referring to, with a regressive system being one in which the low- to upper-middle class bear exceedingly high effective tax burdens—much more so than what the 1-10% face. And to repeat, SS is a scam, for everyone. Just about everyone wouldScott Grannishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14028519647946868684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-46683149485667464522020-01-05T12:01:21.389-08:002020-01-05T12:01:21.389-08:00Scott, I greatly appreciate this post but even mor...Scott, I greatly appreciate this post but even more I appreciate your response to Grechster---very insightful. <br />I am older than you---age 73---and I have pretty much paid the maximum into Social Security all my life, after growing up poor and working my way through college. I paid for private school for my three children and for more grandchildren. I have also paid high real estate taxes WealthMonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04230914888633165083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-88509441065731155562020-01-04T16:43:15.904-08:002020-01-04T16:43:15.904-08:00Unknown said "Subtract from this the +/- $2.5...Unknown said "Subtract from this the +/- $2.5 Trillion in the SS "trust fund."<br /><br />What SS trust fund? <br /><br />But I like the idea overall. <br /><br />BobBobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18190525712352815677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-89923879716178249812020-01-04T08:44:11.777-08:002020-01-04T08:44:11.777-08:001. Calculate, actuarially, how much is needed tod...1. Calculate, actuarially, how much is needed today to fully fund the current liability for future promised payments by Social Security.<br /><br />2. Subtract from this the +/- $2.5 Trillion in the SS "trust fund."<br /><br />3. Finance the balance by selling special-issue 50-year bonds at 2.5%.<br /><br />4. End all Social Security Taxes.<br /><br />5. Replace with mandatory Tim Hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05273406292168887521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-21660375198678668572020-01-04T07:10:17.705-08:002020-01-04T07:10:17.705-08:00Great post, but gadzooks, personal and corporate i...Great post, but gadzooks, personal and corporate income taxes have become a domestic and international shell-game Gong Show.<br /><br />The figures posted above should also have an asterisk: they are reported income and adjusted gross income. You can sail the Queen Mary through such blind spots. With a loose rudder.<br /><br />Actually, I don't think income should be taxed at all. Place taxesBenjamin Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14001038338873263877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-63502443698912846452020-01-03T23:03:54.045-08:002020-01-03T23:03:54.045-08:00Instead of taxing the rich they should tax capital...Instead of taxing the rich they should tax capital inflows and prevent the current abuse by foreign markets.<br /><br />There has to be some redistribution of wealth to households in order to balance the economy, one way or the other.Royhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09325498485905547125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-37618505488430395352020-01-03T17:43:18.713-08:002020-01-03T17:43:18.713-08:00Given a choice, any rational person would choose t...<i>Given a choice, any rational person would choose to opt out of social security in favor of directing his social security deduction to a real investment vehicle.</i><br /><br />That would be true if said rational person were financially literate. For a complex set of root causes, the vast majority of Americans are not (and arguably, many are actively discouraged from achieving that level of Balthazar Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16885808071911019695noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-28200745288697468702020-01-03T16:55:05.660-08:002020-01-03T16:55:05.660-08:00Great post, but gadzooks, personal and corporate i...Great post, but gadzooks, personal and corporate income taxes have become a domestic and international shell-game Gong Show.<br /><br />The figures posted above should also have an asterisk: they are reported income and adjusted gross income. You can sail the Queen Mary through such blind spots. With a loose rudder.<br /><br />Actually, I don't think income should be taxed at all. Place taxesBenjamin Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14001038338873263877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-91641506931589260852020-01-03T14:51:14.007-08:002020-01-03T14:51:14.007-08:00Re Social Security: Above all, let's be clear ...Re Social Security: Above all, let's be clear that SS is a scam. It's a tax masquerading as an annuity, an annuity that is overseen by politicians instead of actuaries. The return on investment the average retiree receives is dismally low compared to almost any other alternative. Given a choice, any rational person would choose to opt out of social security in favor of directing his Scott Grannishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14028519647946868684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-55223237059685279992020-01-03T14:20:09.512-08:002020-01-03T14:20:09.512-08:00@Grechster, it wouldn't surprise me that many,...@Grechster, it wouldn't surprise me that many, if not most of the mega rich to whom you refer have *never* paid payroll taxes and are thereby ineligible to collect Social Security and related benefits. This would be the case if most/all of their income has come from equity/bond distributions and capital gains, professional fees, inheritance, real estate, crop sales, and the like. And if they Balthazar Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16885808071911019695noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-47068781905172595102020-01-03T12:46:25.406-08:002020-01-03T12:46:25.406-08:00Well, yes, progressivity has increased over the ye...Well, yes, progressivity has increased over the years as it relates to the income tax. But the payroll tax, which accounts for a full 38% of the UST's inflows, is decidedly regressive. We actually cap the amount of income subject to the payroll tax! This makes about as much sense as paying social security to billionaires. Think of it. We tax a 20 year-old with a low-paying job so we can Grechsterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08898953158865778397noreply@blogger.com