Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Our Current Tax System

KMA-628 · 11-26-2004, 07:52 PM

to everybody, thanks for the input, I took a few days off for the holiday (with another break coming up for my son's b-day on Sun.)

I have not had a chance to check out any of the links posted, but I will as soon as I can.

Smooth -

I read your post, but haven't had time to draft an appropriate response.

Sob -

Thanks.

A couple of quick things:

1) I had a talk with an old "friend" who is an economist in the academic sense. I don't really talk too much to the guy because we differ on many different aspects of the economy. Anyway, I asked for his opinion regarding the "regressive" idea of a consumption tax. His answer, and he is a decidedly liberal economist, is that regardless of how it looks, the low income riders make the plan progressive. The theory behind it is that most affluent people will always pay a higher proportion of their taxes because of the free ride that the lower incomes would get. A half of a percent would still be higher, propoertionally, to zero percent.

I kind of look at it this way: if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it must be a penguin.

2) As is obvious, I am in favor of taking strong looks at any proposal that involves replacing our current system. The evidence is just too vast against giving our system another "chance". At the onset of my research, I would have to say that I leaned towards the consumption tax as opposed to the "flat tax". I think my biggest reason had to do with the potential of the IRS to be abolished; that made any proposal look good in my mind.

That being said, after several discussions over the holiday with some extremely bright, but very liberal family members, I think that the "flat tax" needs to be looked at closely as well. I am wondering if it would be an easier transition as compared to a consumption-based system.

Anyways, it is better to be openly discussing the options rather than to be silently accepting a system that is flawed down to its very core.

Also, I found a couple of studies related to potential economic benefits. The numbers looked very good and I will post the study info when I have more time. The only problem I had with the studies is that they were not very current (i.e. pre-recession and pre-9/11).

Oh yeah, one more thing:

Smooth -

I only keep receipts related to my taxes, nothing else. The (what seems like) daily trips to Wal-Mart get discarded once I see that nothing needs to be returned.

On that note, I would like to look into maybe getting a research grant to do a long-term, in-depth study of the idea. I would like to have a cross-sampling of people who's finances would be scrutinized (over, maybe, five years) to see how they would be affected by (a) the current system, (b) a consumption-based system and (c) a flat tax.

11-26-2004, 07:52 PM	#89 (permalink)
KMA-628 ....is off his meds...you were warned. Location: The Wild Wild West	to everybody, thanks for the input, I took a few days off for the holiday (with another break coming up for my son's b-day on Sun.) I have not had a chance to check out any of the links posted, but I will as soon as I can. Smooth - I read your post, but haven't had time to draft an appropriate response. Sob - Thanks. A couple of quick things: 1) I had a talk with an old "friend" who is an economist in the academic sense. I don't really talk too much to the guy because we differ on many different aspects of the economy. Anyway, I asked for his opinion regarding the "regressive" idea of a consumption tax. His answer, and he is a decidedly liberal economist, is that regardless of how it looks, the low income riders make the plan progressive. The theory behind it is that most affluent people will always pay a higher proportion of their taxes because of the free ride that the lower incomes would get. A half of a percent would still be higher, propoertionally, to zero percent. I kind of look at it this way: if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it must be a penguin. 2) As is obvious, I am in favor of taking strong looks at any proposal that involves replacing our current system. The evidence is just too vast against giving our system another "chance". At the onset of my research, I would have to say that I leaned towards the consumption tax as opposed to the "flat tax". I think my biggest reason had to do with the potential of the IRS to be abolished; that made any proposal look good in my mind. That being said, after several discussions over the holiday with some extremely bright, but very liberal family members, I think that the "flat tax" needs to be looked at closely as well. I am wondering if it would be an easier transition as compared to a consumption-based system. Anyways, it is better to be openly discussing the options rather than to be silently accepting a system that is flawed down to its very core. Also, I found a couple of studies related to potential economic benefits. The numbers looked very good and I will post the study info when I have more time. The only problem I had with the studies is that they were not very current (i.e. pre-recession and pre-9/11). Oh yeah, one more thing: Smooth - I only keep receipts related to my taxes, nothing else. The (what seems like) daily trips to Wal-Mart get discarded once I see that nothing needs to be returned. On that note, I would like to look into maybe getting a research grant to do a long-term, in-depth study of the idea. I would like to have a cross-sampling of people who's finances would be scrutinized (over, maybe, five years) to see how they would be affected by (a) the current system, (b) a consumption-based system and (c) a flat tax.