2% Tax Raise

pandora

Employers have been paying full match over the years while employees enjoyed
a break on their Federal Social Security rate that is now going back up.

Can it be the employers turn now? Boost the economy ... I thought not.

know1

Cosmo wrote:

know1 wrote:

Just got the email from HR this morning that our next paychecks will have a 2% increase in taxes due to the social security tax being raised.

I thought they weren't going to raise taxes on middle class Americans?

Our government is evil.

...
From what I understand... the Social Security taxes are not 'being raised', they are returning to the levels they were at prior to G.W.Bush's cuts. That was part of the magic of the Bush era... we seemed to be doing better because we weren't paying for things, in this case, funding Social Security.
Think about it this way... you set aside money to replace the roof on your house, 15 years from now. For the past 10 years, instead of putting away that money, you spent it on things you like... like ice cream and Sizzler dinners. Life was good because you were eating at Sizzler all the time and having ice cream for dessert.
But, you weren't funding the future cost of a roof replacement and it is coming time to replace that roof. So, you re-start your previous savings habit and are forced to give up the Sizzler dinners and ice cream desserts.

That's just spin. It's raising taxes. I cannot be convinced otherwise.

know1

mickeyrat wrote:

At this point if its a warm body that has never run before I'll vote anti-incumbent. Living in Ohio the district I'm in is a lock for milktoast party hack Tiberi. I saw 2 ads(same ran twice) period for this fuck.

We need to get more people to do this. I've done it 2 elections in a row, but I don't think anyone else is.

hedonist

mickeyrat wrote:

I'd like to enact a particular soundgarden song/. Guess which one.

:P

EdsonNascimento

Jeanwah wrote:

EdsonNascimento wrote:

Jeanwah wrote:

Taxes are going up for everyone.

Seriously, there is no way for the country to move forward without raising taxes. Why is it that no one sees this?!

There is - reduce entitlement programs. For, example, this 2% is directly to fund Social Security instead of borrowing from the general "fund" (Which really doesn't exist since it seems more than half the population is just fine with Trillion $ a year deficits).

Not saying Soc Sec should be effected (But not saying it shouldn't). Just answering your query. The Republicans see the answer to your question. But, you don't seem to like the answer.

Cut spending. You can move forward without raising taxes.

No, you and republicans don't like the answer, because it means tax cuts aren't increasing.

How much revenue are the taxes bringing in? How much is the deficit THIS year? It's not even spitting in the ocean.

So, are you saying taxes should have gone up for everyone?

JimmyV

EdsonNascimento wrote:

Jeanwah wrote:

Taxes are going up for everyone.

Seriously, there is no way for the country to move forward without raising taxes. Why is it that no one sees this?!

There is - reduce entitlement programs. For, example, this 2% is directly to fund Social Security instead of borrowing from the general "fund" (Which really doesn't exist since it seems more than half the population is just fine with Trillion $ a year deficits).

Not saying Soc Sec should be effected (But not saying it shouldn't). Just answering your query. The Republicans see the answer to your question. But, you don't seem to like the answer.

Cut spending. You can move forward without raising taxes.

Was there a serious, detailed Republican plan to cut spending?

otter

Jeanwah wrote:

Taxes are going up for everyone.

Seriously, there is no way for the country to move forward without raising taxes. Why is it that no one sees this?!

Because so much money is wasted now; people think why give the government more.

JC29856

JC29856 wrote:

why must social security and medicare be pre-funded but not wars? how come i never hear talk about wars being insolvent in 201x?

the DoD budget was cut $24B about 5%...

According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, the legislation that http://washington.cbslocal.com, at a cost of $7 million to taxpayers, raises $43 in new taxes for every $1 in so-called spending cuts.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/038541_tax_d ... z2GwyEpIH2

Cosmo

know1 wrote:

That's just spin. It's raising taxes. I cannot be convinced otherwise.

...
No. I did have it wrong... but, the 2% rate change is a return to previous levels:
(ref. http://www.savingtoinvest.com/2010/12/2 ... ended.html )
"As part of Bush-era tax cuts extension legislation (Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010), a number of new tax breaks were made available. One was a temporary one year cut in employee payroll taxes, which funds Social Security and Medicare, of 2% during 2011. The current rate is 6.2%, which will be 4.2% of wages paid next year, and equates to a $1000 saving for the average American employee."

Also...
(ref. http://www.nfsnet.com/2012/02/social-se ... in-at.html )
Congress has voted in favor of extending for the entire year of 2012 the temporary reduction in the employee's portion of the Social Security tax. Currently, employees pay 4.2% of their wages in Social Security taxes, a rate that has been in effect since January 2011 and was scheduled to expire at the end of February 2012. HR 3630, the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, extends this 4.2% rate through the end of 2012.

So, you were paying 6.2%... which was temporarily cut to 4.2% during the Bush Administration... extended for 2011... and again for 2012... and has returned to 6.2%.
...
Now... what you did with that 2% during that period... that's up for a spin.

rollings

It is through taxes that a government obtains revenue. This is basic math.

I don't understand why the 2% was decreased in the first place. Social security is hurting the way it is....so what do we do? CUT revenue to it? wtf?

your subject line is deceiving by the way. There is no "2% tax raise". Its merely putting the 6.2% social security tax back to where it was forever. Or at least since 1986. I think.

Everybody celebrates "tax cuts" without realizing all we're doing is robbing from our children & grandchildren & their children. Somebody's gonna have to pay.....

And politicians play on our stupidity by "celebrating" "tax cuts" and use them as bargaining chips. And we all play along....yay! We're all stupid!

Sorry if I offended anybody who bemoans this "2% tax raise"......

rollings

know1 wrote:

That's just spin. It's raising taxes. I cannot be convinced otherwise.

yay!

hedonist

rollings wrote:

It is through taxes that a government obtains revenue. This is basic math.

Basic math - well, basic common sense - also dictates not spending more than your income.

rollings

hedonist wrote:

rollings wrote:

It is through taxes that a government obtains revenue. This is basic math.

Basic math - well, basic common sense - also dictates not spending more than your income.

Right, it's hard to believe that Clinton handed Bush a debt-free balanced budget, isn't it?

(Is that true anyway?)

riotgrl

While I certainly believe there are areas in our budget where we can reduce spending, I would also argue that our population continues to expand which means that our services will need to expand as well. Some of these are services that I may or may not use but would be of benefit for my community as a whole. Population expansion would mean that we could not continue to fund the same enterprises without increasing our revenue.

hedonist

rollings wrote:

hedonist wrote:

rollings wrote:

It is through taxes that a government obtains revenue. This is basic math.

Basic math - well, basic common sense - also dictates not spending more than your income.

Right, it's hard to believe that Clinton handed Bush a debt-free balanced budget, isn't it?

(Is that true anyway?)

I'm not sure about that.

But, I'm not gonna pin anything on any one president; too easy and beside my point.

To me, it's the duty of an administration to be responsible to and for its citizens. I honestly wouldn't have a problem paying a bit more in taxes if I knew everything was being done to eliminate certain spending, and to reduce it in other areas.

Cosmo

There is something we, here in the Military/Industrial Complex, call 'Welfare For The Working'. Government contracts.
Yup. We get paid by Uncle Sam to build what Uncle Sam wants us to build. And it keeps a lot of us employed.
...
Now, because of that, it is not an easy task to cut the Defense Budget. The complex is... complex. There are a lot of people out there that would be affected by cuts... which lead to layoffs.
Take the F-35 program for example. Multi-purpose fighter aircraft that is capable of air superiority, carrier based operations and close air support using vertical take-off and landing capabilities. That is complex... and expensive.
Cancel it. You do not only affect prime contractor Lockheed/Martin, you affect all of the hundreds of sub-contractors in just about every state who are building parts for it.
Landing gear, for example. Carrier landings are basically controlled flat crashes. The gear has to be sturdy, beefy, heavy. While the landing gear for an Air Force fighter has to be light for speed and manuverability and there is less strain on them when landing on nice long concrete strips.
There are a couple of companies sub-contracted by Lockheed/Martin to build and supply landing gear. Those companies buy connecting parts (nutz n boltz and valves and tubing and wheels and tires) to build the gear. No F-35... no landing gear... no nutz n boltz... no jobs.
Now, imagine all of the other components required to build this plane... plastics companies, avionics systems, hydraulics, electronics, engines, etc... it adds up to a lot of jobs... all over the country.
That is why Congress has a hard time cutting defense... there are companies all over ther place building parts. It no longer affects a concentrated region, such as Southern California in the 60s - 80s. Those major contractors know they needed to spread out to all states and many congressional districts... with Congressional Representatives looking out for their state... their district... their people... those jobs.
That is why it is tough to cut defense spending... and why it is called, 'Welfare For The Working'.

JOEJOEJOE

the 2% increase represents the return back to the 6.2% FICA rate...it was 4.2% (for employees) in the past few years, but its now back up to 6.2%.

FICA tax is paid on the first $113,700 of wages you earn, so all wage earners are subject to the increase.

Medicare tax of 1.45% is paid on all wages earned, and once your wages from an employer exceed $200,000, you pay an extra .9% on said wages.

otter

rollings wrote:

hedonist wrote:

rollings wrote:

It is through taxes that a government obtains revenue. This is basic math.

Basic math - well, basic common sense - also dictates not spending more than your income.

Right, it's hard to believe that Clinton handed Bush a debt-free balanced budget, isn't it?

(Is that true anyway?)

Congrats on your non-wavering support of the federal government with Obama!

Why do you call people who don't want to pay more taxes stupid? I think it is stupid to cheerlead a government who wants to take more of the money you earn.

Clinton didn't hand Bush a debt-free balance budget; he handed him a balanced budget there was still a gigantic national debt. Bush handed Obama a budget with 8 trillion national debt and Obama's Dem controlled Senate hasn't passed any budget at all, balanced or unbalanced. And "all by his lonesome, took a credit card from the bank of China" and doubled the national debt. Is Obama immoral and unpatriotic like he accused Bush of being? This is what the next generation and the generation after that is going to deal with.

You...all of you...need to rub your eyes or something because this support of Obama is weird. Forget how cool he is and how sexy is voice is the guy is the President of the US. He's not an actor or a rock star he is the executive of the federal government.

Why in the world would anyone empower the fucking federal government to take more control of our lives?

This shit is super scary.

All the people who came and come to America come for something different than they are leaving.

otter

By the way...a trillion is more than all the stars in the sky. Remember that when these politicians throw "a trillion" around like it's just a pile of money.

Cosmo

otter wrote:

By the way...a trillion is more than all the stars in the sky. Remember that when these politicians throw "a trillion" around like it's just a pile of money.

...
Actually.. there are an estimated 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars out there.
..
But, you are right... to politicians, $1,000,000,000,000.00 is bantied about like nothing.