[serious] Why is the UK so amazing?

[MikeH]

Increasing gap is important, it increases unhappiness, the poor become more and more disaffected and disengaged with political process, which is a vicious cycle they become less and less important, crime rates increase, social mobility decreases.

[Jon Miller]

Savings also decreases, debt increases... the consumer economy grinds to a halt.

JM

[MikeH]

We'd probably all agree that social mobility is a good thing, and making the most of the potential of your workforce maximises productivity?

[Fistandantilus]

Savings also decreases, debt increases... the consumer economy grinds to a halt.

JM

Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!

[Jon Miller]

Some of the most prosperous periods in US history (1950s and 1960s) have come during periods of super-high marginal income tax rates. And some of the most disastrous periods in US history (1930s, 2010s) have come after periods of super-low income tax rates.
In the good periods, moreover, the middle-class boomed and inequality between the country's highest earners and everyone else shrank. In the bad periods, meanwhile, inequality soared, and the richest 1% of the population came to earn a staggering amount of the country's income. (In the past, this inequality was addressed by a massive hiking of tax rates, which we imagine will eventually happen this time, too. See "DEAR RICH FOLKS: A (Tax) Revolution Is Coming To Take Your Money Away.")


Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/do-lo...#ixzz1SkhB948S

JM

[DinoDoc]

The rest of the country does not deserve to owe the current debt because it has not benefited them.

The largest portion of the US budget and one of the largest drivers of its debt is the Welfare State. So explain how you feel that the debt is the fault of selfish rich people who support Republicans?

[Jon Miller]

Because they have set up the system so that the poor can not survive without welfare (and the wealth that would otherwise go to others goes to the wealthy instead), and lowered the taxes of the wealthy so that the wealthy do not pay for it.

JM

[DinoDoc]

The wealthy pay the largest portion of taxes in the country.

[Dinner]

I can agree with DD that medicare is an effective wealth transfer as part of the welfare state but SSI is fully funded by regressive taxes. The wealthy even have their SSI contributions capped while the middle and lower classes do not.

[Dinner]

The wealthy pay the largest portion of taxes in the country.

Survey says? BUZZ!!!!!!!!

Income taxes are not the only taxes and in fact pay roll taxes make up ~50% of all Federal tax income; pay roll taxes are highly regressive so either educate yourself or stop lying.

[giblets]

Survey says? BUZZ!!!!!!!!

Income taxes are not the only taxes and in fact pay roll taxes make up ~50% of all Federal tax income; pay roll taxes are highly regressive so either educate yourself or stop lying.

No, payroll taxes do not make up 50% of federal tax income.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Un...federal_budget

[DinoDoc]

Do you ever get tired of being wrong, Oerdin?

[Tupac Shakur]

Face it, the disaster that is the current US economy can be entirely laid at the foot of the selfish wealthy americans

Yes. They're called Baby Boomers.

who mainly support republicans.

This is inaccurate.

The rest of the country does not deserve to owe the current debt because it has not benefited them.

The wealthy should be taxed appropriately until the debt that was taken out for their profit is decreased.

Agreed. Consumption tax + cuts to Medicare/Social Security = win for the put-upon young.

[Dinner]

~35%-36% for payroll taxes while income taxes are about 44% so if my numbers are off so are yours. The rich do not pay the "largest proportion of taxes" so you're wrong too, bucko.

Edit: Also those are 2009 numbers so it will be interesting to see 2010 or 2011 numbers as a bad economy usually means income tax receipts go down (well, so do pay roll taxes but I'd bet income tax receipts go down faster then payroll recepts in a bad economy).

[Tupac Shakur]

Increasing gap is important, it increases unhappiness, the poor become more and more disaffected and disengaged with political process, which is a vicious cycle they become less and less important, crime rates increase, social mobility decreases.

Finally! Now I can point out that the UK is also more inegalitarian than all the Anglo countries other than the US and apparent ****hole NZ.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...ncome_equality (Use either Gini index)

At least the poor in America get to enjoy one of the world's highest standards of living while they stew about how inequitable their society is. The poor in the UK don't have that luxury.