Of candidates, air travel and reality

[tk2kewl]

There was quite a brewhaha last week in this thread about HRC taking a 30 minute flight in a lear jet with discussion about CO2 and the 99% v the 1%. There is one thing that I didn't see mentioned in the thread that I though was worth throwing out there.

We have a completely upside down society when instead of levying massive luxury taxes on such transportation we in fact provide(d?) tax breaks for them.

Sanders' supporters are continually told about various realities of money in politics and how he can't compete with the money machines of the right - only HRC has the organization to do this, as if we just don't get it.

However in a just society, one that protects the planet in order to provide healthy living for all of its citizens, one that reduces income inequality to ensure that everyone can have access to the necessities of life, we would certainly make such luxuries inordinately expensive with hefty taxes.

Not only would we have massive luxury taxes on such things, we would also have confiscatory tax rates on all income over a few million dollars a year, making it virtually impossible for anyone to afford such luxuries.

Those taxes would educate our children and youth, build our 21st Century energy and transportation infrastructure, provide health care to all of our citizens and ensure none of children live in poverty.

This is my reality.

[MineralMan]

1. We used to have a federal luxury tax, back in my youthful days.

I wasn't aware of it as a 16 year old high school kid in 1961. I was aware that I needed a special gift, though, for my girlfriend, whose birthday was just days away. So, I visited the only jewelry store in my home town and looked at the most affordable things. The jeweler was sympathetic to my limited budget and instinctively led me to a tray of nice, but less costly items. Price tags were visible.

I selected a 10K gold necklace with a pearl in a gold cage. The price, with the state sales tax added, would empty my thin wallet, but that didn't matter. Young love will out. So, I said I'd take that one. The jeweler brought it to the register, carefully arranged it the usual white box and rang up the purchase.

That was when I discovered the 10% federal luxury tax on jewelry. The total was just a bit higher than my available funds. Thinking quickly, I asked if he could put it aside for a short time, and hit up my father, who worked down the street, for a loan of the shortage until I got paid for my part-time job. He agreed, and I returned to the jeweler and paid up.

My girlfriend loved the gift. I paid my dad back, and all was good.

Luxury taxes are not necessarily progressive taxes, as I learned that day. There was a luxury tax on all gold jewelry in 1961, even the very modest jewelry a 16-year-old boy wanted to buy as a gift for his girlfriend.

[tk2kewl]

2. and we also used to have confiscatory top income brackets too

luxury taxes properly implemented need not prevent one buying simple, relatively inexpensive items like the one you describe.

do you not think things like yachts and planes should have hefty luxury taxes?

[MineralMan]

3. Actually, they did have such a tax for some time.

A luxury tax on expensive boats and cars was put in place by George the Elder Bush, in 1990, as I remember. I'm pretty sure it is no longer in effect, since it didn't work out well, but I am not in the market for any such thing.

Defining what is a luxury is where the problem arises and setting price levels that define luxury. All too often, such things are done on an across-the-board basis, which doesn't really work out so well.

I was describing an instance when a luxury tax was applied even to non luxury items. I won't even tell you how little that necklace cost at the time. The price of gold, then, was fixed at $35 per ounce, though, and there was not much gold in that piece of jewelry, I guarantee.