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Pity the Poor Couple Who Make $450,000 Per Year

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Re: Pity the Poor Couple Who Make $450,000 Per Year

#51

Post by liedra »

houseabsolute wrote: post #39
liedra wrote: post #38

This is ridiculous. Any American (or Australian for that matter!) who whines about their taxes should come and work for a few years in Europe. In Belgium, on an entry-level salary (for a post-doc academic position) I was being taxed at over 50% (my communal tax was at 8%): "For 2010, marginal income tax starts at 25%, rises to 30% over EUR 7,900, 40% over EUR 11,240, 45% over 18,730 EUR with a top limit of 50% for in…

While it may be true that Europeans are taxed more heavily than Americans, that does not necessarily mean that Americans being taxed more heavily is a good thing to happen. Your argument seems to boil down to, "You think that frying pan is hot? Join me in the oven then you'll really have good reason to complain." Thanks, but what if the best thing is to sit near the AC instead? I'm not claiming, by the way, that it w…

Whereas I'm all for experiencing how others live, and thereby gaining a greater appreciation and experience of how the world works :) My argument isn't that Americans should be taxed more, just that Americans should come and see how the rest of the world works before having a good old whinge ;) (which is basically the theme of all the objections to this article -- I'm just expanding it out from rich/poor). 'tis the same with socialised medicine -- if those against it lived in Europe/Australia/Canada/etc. for a bit and saw how well it worked and how well loved it was in these countries, they'd probably have a different idea about it for their own.

Re: Pity the Poor Couple Who Make $450,000 Per Year

#52

Post by houseabsolute »

liedra wrote: post #51
houseabsolute wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While it may be true that Europeans are taxed more heavily than Americans, that does not necessarily mean that Americans being taxed more heavily is a good thing to happen. Your argument seems to boil down to, "You think that frying pan is hot? Join me in the oven then you'll really have good reason to complain." Thanks, but what if the best thing is to sit near the AC instead? I'm not claiming, by the way, that it w…

Whereas I'm all for experiencing how others live, and thereby gaining a greater appreciation and experience of how the world works :) My argument isn't that Americans should be taxed more, just that Americans should come and see how the rest of the world works before having a good old whinge ;) (which is basically the theme of all the objections to this article -- I'm just expanding it out from rich/poor). 'tis the s…

OK, I see your point, and I think it is a fine one. Not very practical because of immigration policies and whatnot, but definitely of an idealism that I can subscribe to.

Re: Pity the Poor Couple Who Make $450,000 Per Year

#53

Post by jasonkester »

guelo wrote: post #50
jasonkester wrote: post #42

As somebody who stands to get clobbered by this high tax bracket, I sometimes feel like I'm the only one out here who thinks it's just fine. I've always been in favor of a flat tax with a lower bound. So, say 50% of all income above $20k. Let the regular folk (like me last during the last couple years of getting a bootstrapped startup off the ground) get off without paying any tax whatsoever. Take up the slack by mak…

There is no "50% tax bracket". Obama's proposed plan would raise the 33% and 35% brackets to 36% and 39.6%.

Thanks for that. This was actually the first I'd heard of this tax hike, since the little bit of news I get generally comes filtered through HN.

I've modified the number in my comment for you.

Re: Pity the Poor Couple Who Make $450,000 Per Year

#55

Post by loewenskind »

jasonkester wrote: post #42

As somebody who stands to get clobbered by this high tax bracket, I sometimes feel like I'm the only one out here who thinks it's just fine. I've always been in favor of a flat tax with a lower bound. So, say 50% of all income above $20k. Let the regular folk (like me last during the last couple years of getting a bootstrapped startup off the ground) get off without paying any tax whatsoever. Take up the slack by mak…

>I mean sure, losing half your income to taxes is a problem

This is a big issue I see in America (being American myself). Money spent in taxes is always considered "lost" [1]. Consider somewhere like Sweden. Tax rates go above 50%, but for that money they get health care, college for as high as they're capable of going (even room and board while they're attending!), etc., etc. So those are all things they don't have to spend their own money on. At the end of the day should we care about how much of our money the government touches, or about the quality of life we can have?

[1] Of course in America there may be some truth to it given the kinds of things money gets used for by the US government.

Re: Pity the Poor Couple Who Make $450,000 Per Year

#56

Post by loewenskind »

thaumaturgy wrote: post #41
houseabsolute wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Please tell me where things went wrong. Among other things, you've failed to demonstrate that Obama believes Capitalism is inherently exploitative. Even if you'd managed that, you'd still need to prove that he also supports the other tenets of Marxism, like the one I called out in my comment. A person is not automatically a Marxist merely for having some affinity to any part of the overall philosophy. Instead, one…

The commenter you were replying to was just a troll, and they were just using the term "Marxist" as an epithet. Here's an incomplete list of other "red-flag epithets": communist socialist liberal democrat muslim islamist apologist etc.

So you're saying a very popular news station in the US is actually a collection of trolls? :) I don't know if that should make me feel better (at least they don't believe what they're saying) or worse (so many viewers do).

EDIT: silly spelling mistake

Re: Pity the Poor Couple Who Make $450,000 Per Year

#57

Post by thaumaturgy »

loewenskind wrote: post #56
thaumaturgy wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The commenter you were replying to was just a troll, and they were just using the term "Marxist" as an epithet. Here's an incomplete list of other "red-flag epithets": communist socialist liberal democrat muslim islamist apologist etc.

So you're saying a very popular news station in the US is actually a collection of trolls? :) I don't know if that should make me feel better (at least they don't believe what they're saying) or worse (so many viewers do ). EDIT: silly spelling mistake

Actually, yeah. I know it sounds horribly cynical and conspiracist and so forth, but they have gone so absurdly out of the way of simple, verifiable facts, that it's impossible for me to accept that they really believe what they're saying.

They're just taking advantage of people's anger, and doing it well, and getting rich in the process.

Re: Pity the Poor Couple Who Make $450,000 Per Year

#58

Post by nhebb »

What's with all the class warfare in the US lately? There isn't anything wrong with making money. I'm no where near the 450k/yr earnings range, but I certainly don't begrudge anyone who is. Some people seem to have the perspective that your earnings are the government's money, and they, through the goodness of their hearts, let you keep a percentage of it.

Re: Pity the Poor Couple Who Make $450,000 Per Year

#59

Post by geekman »

To a certain extent this guy has a point. You are rich if you can afford a good lifestyle without having to work for a living. These people have a high income, but they also have high level of spending and they have nowhere near the assets to support their lifestyles.

So, rather than being rich, they are wage slaves with high incomes.

When you have enough money to stop working and still have the lifestyle you want, your life is completely different. It buys you the one thing that is really precious - the time to do what you want with your life.

Although I am not extremely wealthy, I have enough savings to stop working and to spend my time the way I want.

The other interesting aspect of this case is that it is a classic example of the hedonic treadmill. No matter how rich you are, how successful, how productive, after a while the joy wears off and you think: If only I had a bit more, then I'd be happy. The millionaire thinks he or she needs $10m, with $10m you think $100m, etc. "The only way to win this game is not to play".

Re: Pity the Poor Couple Who Make $450,000 Per Year

#60

Post by davidw »

iamwil wrote: post #27
einarvollset wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You, sir, are an idiot. I can't even be bothered to argue with it.

This is HN. Tell him why he's wrong. No need to call him names. Attack the ideas, not the person. If you think he's just being a troll, just ignore him.

Articles like this shouldn't be here in the first place because they beget this kind of trolling and flame wars.
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