8 Things Poor People Could Afford If We Had a Fair Tax System

[Playinghardball]

States are taxing their way to greater inequality through a regressive tax system in which the poor are taxed at a higher rate than the wealthy. Regressive taxation limits state’s revenues and worsens income inequality, and it’s happening across the country.

According to the Institute for Southern Studies, when you combine all state and local taxes, the average effective percentage rate for the poorest non-elderly people is 10.9 percent. For the middle fifth it’s 9.4, and for the top 1 percent it’s 5.4. The poorest Americans are paying double what the very richest Americans are paying. Where’s the logic in that?

In my state of Florida, our regressive tax system has created a percentage tax rate of 12.9 percent for the poorest fifth of taxpayers, while the rate for the richest 1 percent is just 1.9.

So let’s get real here, folks. By burdening the poor and the middle class with the highest tax rates, we are effectively guaranteeing that the economic inequality chasm will continue to grow, and all but the top 1 percent will continue to suffer for it.


Here are a 8 “luxuries” the poor might be able to afford if the tax system wasn’t fundamentally unfair:

1.Food
2.Medicine
3.Gas
4.Birth Control
5.Childcare
6.Clothing
7.Heat for their homes
8.School supplies

H/T: Institute for Southern Studies

http://bluenationreview.com/8-things-poor-afford-fair-tax-system/

[liberal N proud]

1. Birth control?

Heat for their homes?
School supplies?

Oh My, the right wing wants them to propagate so they can freeze to death and to hell with education.

[Democrats_win]

2. These ideas are so important but rarely understood by Americans.

This, more than anything, is like the lobster slowly having the heat turned up and never noticing until it's cooked. The way the opening post has put it, does give people some idea of how dire and illogical the situation has become. However, we need a sledge hammer to attack the libertarian reasons for limiting taxes on the rich

In addition to what has already been lost, consider that the GOP wants to privatize the roads. The rich Fraud street types will argue that they don't use the roads so why should they help pay for them. This is even though all of the companies that Fraud Street types make their money from, use the roads. It's as if they're arguing that their excrement doesn't stink. Instead of helping to "pull the load," these Fraud Street welfare queens will earn even more money off of people paying tolls on the privately owned roads.

All we want is for things to work out. However, what should really happen is for the weight of the universe to fall on the heads of these dirty bastards. They deserve to suffer more than any beings in the history of time.

[pampango]

7. Wells said. The role that regressive taxes play in creating income inequality is underemphasized.

A progressive tax system would go far in funding an adequate safety net, sound infrastructure, a more progressive government - which is why conservatives fight so hard to prevent it.

[freshwest]

3. This is the concern of my 'blue state' Dems. We've failed to get fair taxes on ballot initiatives,

as we are half red and blue. Libertarians are the new kids on the block who want to pay no taxes at all, and demand all be privatized. So they can get their cut.

A common demand is that every single public service must explain why it even exists. Meaning they deny the reality that not everyone is immune to the inhuman market forces and natural and man-made catastrophies.

Their solution to the needs on the list are that such people should be taken care of by their families or churches (the Koch agenda) when some do not have families and churches are allowed to discriminate.

They want to go back to the Gilded Age and expect that they will never need anything. If they do get government help, they still despise the government social safety net because they consider it to have robbed them all their lives as Ron Paul told them that.

Add in sexism and racism and it's their rationale for them to prosper from it, and to deny 'the other' the same chances they were given by the Commons.

If this is not reversed, per my reps, the elderly, poor and disabled are in great jeopardy. Business has not kept up their part of the bargain when the state has given incentives to keep jobs here. They refuse to pay workers a sufficient wage, so the system is collapsing.

Income inequality is next to insufficient taxes on the wealthy to create chaos and social disorder. That is exactly why Libertarians and Tea Partiers insist they be armed to the teeth, at this time to fight the tyranny of taxes and the nanny state, and worse they ascribe to government.

But really, they want those arms to kill people after they've killed off all services to them. And their mathematics is that they each need to get a few millions, by hook or crook, or working jobs overseas or anywhere, to get their nest egg.

[undergroundpanther]

4. Well

Low income and section 8 housing is being sold off to investors so they can raise rents and put the poor residents out on the street. I got my investor notice a few days ago at the low income housing place I'm at and it was built by a bank,"donated"has been low income a little over a year and now they are selling it off to "investors". Guess I'll have to move pretty soon can't afford much more renti on my income already I don't get enough to last for the whole month I'm broke the last two weeks.

[madville]

5. How does a person in Florida pay 12.9%

When state and local sales taxes typically don't exceed 8%? Fuel taxes are around $0.33-0.37 a gallon usually so that could boost it up some.

I agree with most everything else, just curious how that number was arrived at since Florida doesn't have a state income tax for individuals. State revenue is mainly generated through sales tax, fuel tax, and corporate income tax.

[quaker bill]

8. even the poorest workers

pay 6.2% of every dollar they earn to Social Security and a bit more to medicare. In FL the standard sales tax is 6.0%, this gets you to 12.2%. Most Counties add at least 0.5% in optional sales tax with many adding 1.0%. This gets you to 12.7% or 13.2%....

You don't even need to add gas taxes to get there.

[WillowTree]

9. But Social Security and Medicare aren't state or local taxes.

[Major Nikon]

6. 9. Guns and ammo

I thought I'd throw that one out there since it's the only thing wingnuts seem to give a shit about.