tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post6512858069887769708..comments2024-03-28T15:48:11.151-04:00Comments on The Philosopher's Stone: ROMNEY'S TAXESRobert Paul Wolffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11970360952872431856noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-19736077676785029722012-08-24T04:27:01.094-04:002012-08-24T04:27:01.094-04:00Obviously I was referring to Federal income tax. P...Obviously I was referring to Federal income tax. Professor Wolff's post was mostly about the 1040 forms, exemptions etc, not the general level of taxation, which would be a different discussion. GTChristiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14390368105725901371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-73863231351988589812012-08-20T22:24:21.919-04:002012-08-20T22:24:21.919-04:00Bob, since you probably know of Harry Frankfurt...Bob, since you probably know of Harry Frankfurt's little book, you might appreciate this take on Romney's claim:<br /><br />http://victorfleischer.com/archives/299Kent Schenkelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15465672862382742882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-86981712011138960692012-08-20T16:58:01.967-04:002012-08-20T16:58:01.967-04:00To GTSChristie: That 40% pay zero in federal incom...To GTSChristie: That 40% pay zero in federal income tax. They may, depending on state, pay state and local income taxes, property taxes (either directly, or as part of their rent), if they are employed they pay social security and other payroll taxes, and, in most places, they pay sales tax. The total percentage tax burden, counting everything, is actually pretty flat over the median 90% of the income spectrum.Aardvarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11542829906846611402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-55986906901996774862012-08-20T06:20:30.249-04:002012-08-20T06:20:30.249-04:00Regarding inequality, socialists' points of vi...Regarding inequality, socialists' points of view, and the current political scene: I wish there were more attention paid to the "surplus." Not long ago, when a snooty American passed through my art gallery in Italy and I mentioned that taxes were relatively high in Italy (as compared to the US), she said, "Well, that's what you get when non-producers take from the producers." In my mind, I thought "exactly." But of course, she was trumpeting the right wing talking point as opposed to the Marxist insight. I can think of nothing more politically valuable at the moment than to explain the Marxian concept of surplus. But here's my question: apparently even left (Marxist?) economists believe that the "labor theory of value" doesn't hold up mathematically; but in my mind, the "surplus" is one thing and the "labor theory of value" is another. Or are the two necessarily one and the same? Jerry Fresiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01427077490696059928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-55382427254483952982012-08-19T23:20:40.139-04:002012-08-19T23:20:40.139-04:00IRS says 40% of income-earning Americans pay zero ...IRS says 40% of income-earning Americans pay zero in tax. That 40% is almost entirely composed of people at the bottom of the income scale, not the top. GTChristiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14390368105725901371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-68041028363850226842012-08-19T16:06:07.345-04:002012-08-19T16:06:07.345-04:00From Robert Reich--'Even Adam Smith, the 18th ...From Robert Reich--'Even Adam Smith, the 18th century guru of free-market conservatives, saw the wisdom of a graduated tax embodying the principle of equal sacrifice. “The rich should contribute to the public expense,” he wrote, “not only in proportion to their revenue, but something more in proportion.”'Don Schneierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12751277350617015241noreply@blogger.com