Fishhead, you say "make taxes equal between working class Americans and the wealthiest"! Does this mean that we should have a flat tax, say 15% on everyones income so that everyone pays the same and the lowest approximately 50% will now pay something rather than the nothing they now pay?

Is this the new way we do things in america? When the majority demands change and votes in a majority and the minority doesn't agree with the changes they simply riot and disrupt the whole system? And with the blessing of the president and his thug machine they bring in a rent a mob? The leftist 60s radicals and the unions are going to make this a very interesting year. What will the POTUS do when we the majority go Egypt on him? Shoot us in the street like dogs?

I think we have become a selfish society.

Look at some of those teachers in Wisconsin for instance. They are not on board with any shared sacrifice. They are calling in sick from work to walk around Madison with vitriolic and offensive signs. Meanwhile schools are being shut down, students not being educated, and parents forced to miss work to watch their children. The selfish teachers are creating a lot of unnecessary unshared sacrifices because of their refusal to temporarily pay for 12% of their health insurance and half their pension.

Meanwhile, in Minnesota, our governor has presented a budget that nearly doubles the tax rates on a minority of our population. I'm glad these people aren't in St Paul committing crimes and participating in hate speech. It's probably because they are unselfish and understand that desperate times call for desperate measures. So, I guess we aren't all selfish. We could all learn a thing or two from Minnesota's highest earners.

Taxes should be based on ability to pay. Too much of our tax code allows the hiding of wealth.

I've read that the hedge fund managers who make a BILLION dollars each year only pay 15% tax on those billions because that source of wealth is treated differently than payroll income.

Imagine what your payroll tax would be if you were paid that much in payroll. Why should we pay extra to make up for that loss in tax revenue?

I was commenting on the accuracy of this opinion piece. Mr Prickett unintentionally hit the nail on the head with this. Most people are selfish.

As far as the public employee unions in Wisconsin being willing to share in the sacrifice. Good for them. I wish I could give each and every one of them a gold star.

One question though, did these highly intelligent incredibly caring people not know that there was a ugly budget situation looming? It seems to me that most people who aren't insulated from reality know that states are having budget issues. It seems almost fake that they would offer to negotiate only after the harsh reality of shared sacrifice hit.

By fishhead:

"I've read that the hedge fund managers who make a BILLION dollars each year only pay 15% tax on those billions because that source of wealth is treated differently than payroll income."

Fish,
You stated the same exact thing a couple months ago and I posted all the links that proved your statement was incorrect and you admitted you were mistaken. Now you are posting the exact same thing again.

I mean, really???? I didn't know whether to laugh (first impulse) or get angry.........

tax cuts the last 10 years and still a shortage of jobs

it's NOTTTTTTTtttttt working!

We are not a poor starving third world country. We owe organized labor the higher wages and benefits and safety measures that they have won for all of us, whether we are members or not. We have grown used to a safe work environment, and take it for granted that we will always have it. If unions are eliminated who will speak up for the American worker? I have no wise answers, but I know Gordon is a kind person to put people ahead of profit. I would be proud to call him a friend.
If you read Forbes article on Effective Corporate Tax Rates for the Top 25 companies, you will find that the 15% lowest rate for Americans is MORE than any of those companies pay. So all their moaning about high corporate taxes is just a smokescreen. The newly elected Senator from Wisc. uses Prison labor in his company. He eliminated jobs which working Wisconsinites needed. And, oh yes, he still manages to be a millionaire. Maybe someone knows what his tax rate is. I come from a family of teachers who are not greedy and overpaid. After reading these comments, I am proud to stand by my teachers and would go to Wisconsin to show my support if I could.

Evergreen. Excellent post. The federal laws that are supposed to duplicate union protection are almost useless unless you are independently wealthy and can fight through the court system on your own dollar. And then....should you make it all the way to the Supreme Court the Roberts led court will side with the corporation against you just like they have consistently been doing.

llr, I believe you are mistaken about showing me some link that says there are not hedge fund managers making a billion dollars a year. I'd like to see it if you have one.

I heard those 2 numbers from Robert Reich's speech last summer and trust that he knows what he's talking about.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-reich/the-republican-strategy_b_825...

"The Republican strategy is to split the vast middle and working class -- pitting unionized workers against non-unionized, public-sector workers against non-public, older workers within sight of Medicare and Social Security against younger workers who don't believe these programs will be there for them, and the poor against the working middle class."

Watch for this protesting to spread as employees get pay cuts with no insurance and corporations get wealthier.
Wish us luck Egypt.

http://money.cnn.com/2011/02/16/news/economy/middle_class/index.htm

Incomes for 90% of Americans have been stuck in neutral, and it's not just because of the Great Recession. Middle-class incomes have been stagnant for at least a generation, while the wealthiest tier has surged ahead at lighting speed.

Maybe we should let the US fail and that way all the pensions, programs, government employees, civil rights, personal freedoms and the highest standard of living the world has ever known will be gone. I'm quite sure that will make some of the people who post here very, very happy.

GREAT NEWS!

Now the unions that Governor Walker protected from his union busting effort are joining forces with the unions that he is attacking. He deliberately omitted the unions that supported him from his union busting attack.

Evidently his re-election is more important than his beliefs.

I don't know much about Soros other than he's associated with humanitarian projects around the world. Sounds pretty evil to me.

I hear more about Rupert Murdoch and his attempts to influence OUR elections through his Faux News network that disseminates Republican lies.