Quote from Hanna;1251779:
I guess the problem is when the rich keep pushing for more and more tax breaks spouting the "trickle down theory"
I'm not for or against trickle down as a general idea, as I'm not qualified to make a proper judgment on it (and you shouldn't go by what you hear about the debate surrounding it in the media, as it's mostly BS.) It's a complicated issue which likely has advantages and disadvantages in different areas. In the US, for example, there is the problem of extremely high corporate tax, which leads to most large American companies being unable to bring in their overseas profits back to the US. In this case, it simply makes more sense for these companies to invest their spare cash into growth overseas (and/or use tax avoidance loopholes), which is pretty nice for said foreign countries, but not so much for Americans.
To me it's more about fairness; ideally, each citizen should chip in equally. Unfortunately, the world is not an ideal place and this would not be practical, so tax has to be paid as a % of one's income, with people who make a lot more money paying a lot more tax, at the same %. But going even further and increasing the % of tax to be paid on those who make more money just doesn't feel right--it's like taking from someone twice, for a lack of a better word. The fact that the government raises taxes when they fuck up spending and/or the economy doesn't sit well with me, either--it's reminiscent of bankers asking for bonuses when they fuck up. The over-bloated government needs to be put on a harsh diet.
Here in Canada, our Conservative government did quite a bit of cleanup when it comes to increasing the government's efficiency, and the country is now on track to have a significant
budget surplus next year. Technically, even this year's budget is a surplus, though the government set aside a few billion into an emergency fund, which tipped the budget to the negative side. I hope this trend will continue and I hope that the US will be able to bring its fiscal house in order sooner, rather than later. If the US can't fix its spending by the time the US dollar loses its reserve currency status, the US economy will be in a lot of trouble--and will screw over other global economies in turn, sadly.
Quote from TLCBonaparte;1251797:
Really? Going to college is not hard enough for me, now you are going to rub that in my face? That's a cheap shot.
Don't worry. You're in school, so you're fine. Keep working hard! \o/