[Ninong]

...did NOT approve this message:

[Timesailor]

Every year an independent tax watchdog group analyzes the average tax burden on Americans, and then calculates the "Tax Freedom Day". This is the day after which the money you earn goes to you, not the government. This year, tax freedom day was April 11th. That's the earliest it has been since 1991. It's latest day ever was May 2nd, which occurred in 2000. Notice anything special about those dates?

Recently, John Kerry gave a speech in which he claimed Americans are actually paying more taxes under Bush, despite the tax cuts. He gave no explanation and provided no data for this claim.

Another interesting fact: Both George Bush and John Kerry are wealthy men.

Bush owns only one home, his ranch in Texas. Kerry owns 7 mansions, all worth several million dollars. (His ski resort home in Idaho is an old barn brought over from Europe in pieces. Not your average A-frame).

Bush paid $250,000 in taxes this year; Kerry paid $90,000. Does that sound right? The man who wants to raise your taxes obviously has figured out a way to avoid paying his own. Pass this on. Only a few days until the election.

[Ninong]

Well lets see. What could be significant about those Tax Freedom Dates? Gee, that's a really, really hard question isn't it.

The "average tax burden" dropped after 2000 because the AVERAGE INCOME DROPPED! It dropped drastically. To be perfectly honest about it, it dropped because the dot-com bubble burst in 2000 and the average incomes in the late '90's were artifically inflated by stock market gains.

Bush's tax cuts? Hmmm...


Ten-year cost of Bush's proposed tax cuts including additional costs for interest on the national debt. = $2.2 trillion


Percent of tax cut for the top 1 percent of wage earners under the Bush "growth" plan. = 32.4 percent



Percent of tax cuts for the bottom 60 percent of wage earners under the Bush "growth" plan. = 8.5 percent



Number of taxpayers (48 percent) who receive $100 or less under the Bush "growth" plan. = 64 million


Average tax cut for the top 1 percent of taxpayers under the Bush "growth" plan. = $30,127


Average tax cut for the middle 20 percent of taxpayers under the Bush "growth" plan. = $289


Amount Bush tax proposal would cost states. = $4-5 billion


Number of taxpayers the Alternative Minimum Tax affected in 1999. = 1 million


Number of taxpayers the Alternative Minimum Tax will affect in 2010 because of Bush's tax cuts and his failure to address the AMT. = 36 million



Yes, both Bush and Kerry are wealthy men. Kerry's wife is extremely wealthy. Her personal net worth is estimated by a well known Republican financial magazine at $750 million, plus she controlls two charitable trust funds worth a couple billion dollars more.

I don't know if Laura Bush filed a separate tax return for 2003 or not but I do know that Teresa Heinz-Kerry did. And she paid a whole lot more in taxes than George W. Bush. Sounds like George W. Bush had more income than John Kerry last year. In his 2003 federal return, Kerry reported total income of $395,338. He also reported charitable donations of $43,735. So if George and Laura Bush paid only $250,000 in taxes last year, they must be poorer than I thought. Maybe we should take up a collection for them. John Kerry AND his wife paid millions of dollars in taxes last year.

I'm sure you are aware that most of the mansions you are talking about were the property of Teresa before she married John. I believe he still retains a part interest in a chateau in France that was the home his mother was raised in. (She was a Forbes!) You forgot to mention that. Most Republicans never forget to bring that up. They usually say John Kerry looks French. Well, maybe so. But then, that George W. Bush looks Saudi Arabian.

[Timesailor]

Originally Posted by Ninong

.... So if George and Laura Bush paid only $250,000 in taxes last year, they must be poorer than I thought. Maybe we should take up a collection for them. John Kerry AND his wife paid millions of dollars in taxes last year.

Actually those "millions" you refer to them paying were exactly $718,976.00. My math can't convert that to "millions" without rearranging the decimal points.

I am glad you mentioned the collapse of the dot-com bubble. It seems that everyone conveniently overlooks that very small matter when it comes to the problems with the economy and jobs.

Another tiny matter that no one mentions is the absolute devastating effect 9/11 had on that same economy and job loss throughout the country - which exacerbated an already bad situation coming on the heels of the dot-com collapse.

It seems that all those problems are laid at the feet of one man - a man who had no control over either of those events.

There is a title for someone who has responsibility but no authority (control over the situation) - that person is called a "scapegoat".

Personally, I would like to see a flat tax on everyone in the United States. The millions and millions (54 million estimated for filing year 2004 out of 150 million - that's one third - 1/3) of people who now pay no taxes due to income or deductions and credits would pay something and each and every person, corporation, and business would pay their fair share according to a percentage of their income or assets - whichever is larger - regardless where it was located in the world. Just call it the cost of doing business in the USA.

Our tax system sucks and always has. But I don't see anyone, democrat or republican alike, out there really doing anything about it. As for those people who create jobs getting tax breaks - well my town just gave 130 million tax-break to a business which is coming here to build a store. So, each administration has its giveaways and perks. I would love to see them all go away.

God it's late - I'm off to bed. My best to you. All I hope is that the best man wins, whomever that may be - and regardless of anyone’s opinions or desires.

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by Timesailor

Actually those "millions" you refer to them paying were exactly $718,976.00. My math can't convert that to "millions" without rearranging the decimal points.

I guess I should have looked it up instead of guessing, but my, $718,976.00 sounds a lot better than your first post: "Bush paid $250,000 in taxes this year; Kerry paid $90,000. Does that sound right? The man who wants to raise your taxes obviously has figured out a way to avoid paying his own." BTW, did Bush ever pay the taxes yet on the loan that Harken forgave? Sounds like income to me.