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Originally posted by Sparhawk
First you start out with an ad hominem attack, then you mischaracterize the estate and capital gains tax. Bravo.
Most families save through tax-deferred savings plans, so when they 'cash out' the government is taking a chunk of it, yes. And when they die, they are taxed on a percentage of their estate if it is worth a ridiculous amount of money (and that no longer makes them most families, or even 'a lot' of families - more like 'tiny minority' of families), yes.
The policies may say that spending powers the economy, and that will eventually trickle down into benefits to the consumer, but the average consumer isn't seeing it. Like the author said, the fourth quarter '03 saw real wages drop 0.7 percent.
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I will absolutely point out the idiocy of an article/writer that attempts to describe the current economic climate and completely ignores perhaps the most important economic fact since WWII. We have seen unreal levels of productivity increases but you ignore that fact as well, so I guess it's no surprise that you hold this article in such high regard.
Real wages dropped by .07 percent, more productivity means fewer hours needed to produce an equal amount of goods. When productivity reaches a certain point it means, not only are fewer hours needed, but fewer workers are needed.
Where did the money for investment come from? How about the money that's in these estates? They came from income. Income that was already taxed when either you or the deceased earned it and put it away with the hope that it would fund your retirement or your family's futures. You complain that the budget deficit is robbing America's children of their futures, what do you think taking 30%+ from the estates of their dead parents is doing?
Capital gains taxes and estate taxes are not to recoup the taxes delayed in tax deferred savings programs. Quite a substantial amount of personal savings is a home's value. The limits on gains for homes is far from a "ridiculous amount of money".