kufa Posted May 2, 2007 Report Share Posted May 2, 2007 I got my paycheck today and was surprised to see it quite some dollars short of what I was expecting. The state taxes were raised in the lower income bracket by about 6%, they are now at 15%. In January the minimum wage was raised from 6.75 to 7.50. Before then, the taxes taken out were roughly 9%. In reality, meaning on a "size of paycheck" basis, the only people who benefitted from the new minimum wage were the people in the 6.75 to 7.00 bracket. This is a great example of how horribly Machiavellian the US is becoming. The government raised minimum wage to make it look like a good guy, then raised the taxes when nobody was looking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobsponge Posted May 2, 2007 Report Share Posted May 2, 2007 It sounds like it's your lovely state of Californicate who is to blame for the tax hike. At least until the democrats get into power again. Then we're all screwed sans lube. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KendallJ Posted May 2, 2007 Report Share Posted May 2, 2007 This is a great example of how horribly Machiavellian the US is becoming. The government raised minimum wage to make it look like a good guy, then raised the taxes when nobody was looking. That is a really great observation. The devil is in the details when it comes to sorting out economic policies, and politicians put favorable spins on what the bills really will do. Always look for the neglected aspect. For example, when California "deregulated" the power industry it did so only in the generation of power, not the distribution grid (not wanting the customer to see price increases). It's not really deregulation. When the grid collapsed in 96, private industry (including Enron) was blamed and frankly it wasn't there fault, because the industry was still really regulated. Some of it I'm sure is conscious and "Machiavellian". Some however is a lack of proper principles and innocent (but confoundingly stupid). Other examples. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galileo Blogs Posted May 2, 2007 Report Share Posted May 2, 2007 I have a similar story of one of these devious government tricks with our money. A few years ago New York City raised property taxes 23%. Then a few months later, the city gave all property owners a tax rebate check for $400. By curious happenstance, those checks arrived several weeks before the mayoral election. This "program" of giving our own money back to us was so popular that the city has repeated it several times since then, each time giving a fixed dollar amount "back" to property owners. Notice the Robin Hoodism of this program. Effectively, it steals from the "rich" and gives to the "poor". Certainly, it steals from those who own more valuable properties in order to give to those with less valuable properties. There are many ways to purchase votes in a democracy. All of them involve stealing from one group, generally the wealthy, and giving to another group, generally the less wealthy. While the morality of altruism remains in place, this practice will continue until the minds that are the motor of the world quit. If John Galt doesn't do it, rebellion over paying high taxes will. In economic terms, this means that the rich will stop producing and creating capital, and will consume it instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
utabintarbo Posted May 2, 2007 Report Share Posted May 2, 2007 "The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money." - Alexis de Tocqueville Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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