Fornits

Fornits Home for Wayward Web Fora
An open discussion about the troubled parent industry

Greg, you cannot really be serious with your statement in a previous thread that low and middle income earners "hit the jackpot" with their Social Security income, because they lived long enough?? Hit the jackpot? Hit the jackpot??? What world do you live in Greg? I was thinking the other side of this world but now Im beginning to think it may be on another planet! Do you seriously think that my father's $475 dollars a month is hitting the jackpot??? That is his ONLY income. His 11 medicines if he didnt have medicaid, would cost him over 800 a month. Not to mention, food, rent if he rented a place, electricity, phone, etc. I know good and well $475 is probably half your car payment so it probably isn't a concept you can relate to that some people LIVE on $500-700 a month in Social Security. Hitting the jackpot wouldnt be what Id call it.

Greg, assuming your argument was valid about property taxes, the entire taxing world would have to change. Everything is taxed based on its value. If the home is worth more, its taxed more. What part of that doesnt make sense to you? Or are you purposely being dense on this one because youre the one with the bigger tax bill?

Ok, Ill go down this road again..since you dont seem to comprehend the concept. When you buy a lexus, you pay much more in sales tax then when you buy a chevy. When you buy a bag of groceries that costs 200 dollars, you pay more for those groceries than a bag of groceries that costs 50 dollars. When you buy a house, you pay more in recording fees for the more expensive house than you would for a cheaper house. IF all those things are true, why wouldnt a more expensive house have a higher tax bill? With your logic, the bag of expensive groceries should have the same sales tax as the cheaper, the lexus should be taxed the same as the chevy, etc etc. There is no logic in that Greg. If you have the money to buy a million dollar home, and a lexus, you have the money to pay more in taxes.

Oh, and Greg? displaying your world travels doesn't impress me. Ive traveled too. I used to live in Europe. I know what medical care is in other countries. I'm not that sheltered. [ This Message was edited by: SHH on 2006-05-24 09:44 ]

Greg what is your solution to the elderly who retire and havent been able to afford to put money in a 401k because of their 500 a month medical insurance premium? How do you propose they survive? You havent specifically stated YOUR solution to the problem.

Also, I dont have time to address the points of your 2 last posts right now, but I will take issue with one thing in your previous post. You stated this:
"For example, explain why a more expensive house pays more in property taxes than a small house...is this fair?"
Why wouldnt a more expensive house have higher taxes? Are you suggesting that a 500,000 dollar house have the same tax as a 100,000 dollar house? What is your rationale for that? That makes no sense Greg. OF COURSE a more expensive house should have more taxes. Just like a 20 acre tract should be taxed higher than an acre lot.

Greg youre missing my point entirely. If I am making 35,000 a year, and I get taxed on my entire income, why doesnt John Doe down the street get taxed on his ENTIRE 150,000 a year salary? Assuming they changed it and didnt have a cap on the amount you receive when you retire, why does he get a break, when I dont? When I pay my county tax bill of 1,300 at the end of the year, it hurts me far more in my pocketbook than it would him. When I pay 500 a month for health insurance, and he pays the same, it isnt nearly the strain on him that it is on me. When I have to pay 20% of my uncovered health expenses for my household of 6, its a much larger chunk of my income than his. So why do I have to pay the same health insurance, property taxes, sales tax, etc on 1/4 of what he makes, and he doesnt have to pay SS tax after 90,000 of his salary? I dont want HIM to pay MY bills, I just want him to pay his fair share of his own bills.

Like I said...take away the cap of income placed on when SS taxes are taken out....so EVERY level of income pays into the system...and take away the cap of income received as well....so everybody pays in....everybody takes out a percentage....there is no reason why the wealthy should not be required to pay in if they can take out that same income percentage come retirement...more money would be in the system and it would be fair to ALL income levels. And while were at it lets reform the medical insurance system so people can actually pay into a 401k each month instead of having to shell out 300-600 dollars a month for medical insurance that sucks like I do.

What kind of statement is this???

"It is always the piss poor who refuse to try to get ahead in life or are bitter over failures that advocate voting the money out of people's pockets that have taken tremendous risks at great sacrifice in order to get ahead."

Refuse to try to get ahead? Refuse? Do you seriously think that people CHOOSE to be poor? Do you think that the only reason people are not wealthy is because they didnt want to take risks??? Greg what planet are you living on? I have worked like a dog every year of my adult life with the exception of 3 when I was a stay at home mother. I make less than 35,000 a year. And Im educated and have 22 yrs experience in my field. However, I could not continue college because I didnt have the money for tuition, I couldnt qualify for assistance, and I couldnt afford to pay my bills without working fulltime and to finish college would have required me to not work at all. I left home at age 18. I worked my way into 10-12 cars, and 3 homes over the years without anybody's help. But if I had an opportunity you can bet I would have taken it to become more financially secure. I have a 401k but can only afford to put 3% into it. Thats not going to make me financially secure in 20 yrs for sure. YOu make it sound as if all a person has to do is take a risk and suddenly become wealthy. What about those poor saps who work for 25 yrs as a self employed electrician, painter, or plumber, fixing YOUR 400,000 dollar house, and cannot afford to put money aside due to bills and medical insurance, and have to rely on Social Security when they turn 65? Are you going to tell THEM they didnt take risks? That they just wanted to be poor? Try volunteering at an abused womens shelter sometime. Try serving food at a soup kitchen. Maybe then you will see the REALITY of what shape this country is really in.