Lisa Benson by Lisa Benson

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rikoshayrabbit said, about 1 month ago

Is “Anandy” an abbreviation of Amos n’ Andy?
LibrarianInTraining said, about 1 month ago

If I gotta hear one more person talk about tax cuts for the rich, I think I’m gonna be sick.

A Simple Introduction to Our Tax System

Here is a very simple way to understand our tax system. Let’s put tax cuts in terms everyone can understand. Suppose that every day, ten men go out for dinner. The bill for all ten totals $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this.

The first four men - the poorest - would pay nothing, the fifth would pay $1, the sixth would pay $3, the seventh $7, the eighth $12, the ninth $18, and the tenth man - the richest - would pay $59.

That’s what they decided to do. The ten men ate dinner in the restaurant every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement - until one day, the owner threw them a curve (in tax language, a tax cut).

“Since you are all such good customers,” he said, “I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily meal by $20.” So now dinner for the ten only cost $80.00.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay taxes. So the first four men were unaffected. They would still eat for free. But what about the other six - the paying customers? How could they divvy up the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his “fair share?”

The six men realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody’s share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would end up being paid to eat their meal. So the restaurant owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so the fifth man paid nothing, the sixth pitched in $2, the seventh paid $5, the eighth paid $9, the ninth paid $12, leaving the tenth man with a bill of $52 instead of his earlier $59. Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to eat for free.

But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings. “Hey, out of the $20 savings, I only got a dollar, but he got $7!” declared the sixth man as he pointed to the tenth.

“Yeah, that’s right,” exclaimed the fifth man, “I only saved a dollar, too… It’s unfair that he got seven times more than me!”

“That’s true!” shouted the seventh man. “Why should he get $7 back when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!”

“Wait a minute,” yelled the first four men in unison who have never paid for anything, “We didn’t get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!”

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up. The next night he didn’t show up for dinner, so the nine sat down and ate without him. When it came time to pay the bill, they discovered a little late something that was very important. They were fifty-two dollars short of paying the bill!

Imagine that!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college instructors, is how the tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up at the table anymore.

Where would that leave the rest? Unfortunately, most taxing authorities anywhere cannot seem to grasp this rather straight-forward logic!

Figure it out!

(BTW, I found this on the net ages ago and copied it to a word document I saved. It’s not mine, but I have no clue who wrote it.)
bradwilliams said, about 1 month ago

Wow! Now I feel so bad for those billionaires paying out all that money. How will they paint their yachts? Will they have to buy domestic? Will it ever end?
harleyquinn said, about 1 month ago

Those bags are the income tax burden around the neck of every worker. We only work until July to pay both the our income tax and the embedded income tax.
A better way.
FAIR TAX!
HOWGOZIT said, about 1 month ago

Think they are heavy now, wait till the Demons ram through Health, I mean Insurance reform.
wminfield said, about 1 month ago

Maybe Gov’t could live within its means and reduce the weight of those bags by reducing waste, fraud, and spending. If any of us common people can’t afford something we don’t print more money and spend spend spend. We reduce spending. Yes, we may use credit cards, but even that dries up at some point of no return.

For all those that complain about tax cuts on the wealthy (those that create private sector jobs for the most part), how do we reduce unemployment now and looking forward? Gov’t jobs not included because taxpayers are paying their salaries.
lalas said, about 1 month ago

Librarian – go INTO a library and read the history of taxation in the US. For a while the highest tax rate (tax on $ over 2 milllion) was in the 80-90% range. This would keep the money in the company rather than 10 houses for the CEO. It eventually dropped lower and lower until now the CEOs are ripping off the companies and firing as many people as they can. Clinton and W helped by cutting rates even further. W cut taxes during his (unnecessary) war for the first time in history.

Also, percentage of income is the LEAST regressive way to determine taxation.
lalas said, about 1 month ago

Hey Meganut – check out that discussion about Drs from the previous toon:
http://www.gocomics.com/lisabenson/2009/10/06/

Unlike you I have reference materials.
wbr said, about 1 month ago

dear lib in training your only prob is you exspect people like live in lala land to think
harleyquinn said, about 1 month ago

lib in training, I know where it came from but I am not telling. And it is way to true.
old bull you are right the joke is on the rich guy, He then moves from NY and Cali for Florida. Taking the jobs with him. And if the USA raises the taxes he moves the jobs over seas.
A better way.
FAIR TAX!
scottfreitas said, about 1 month ago

The young Marxists who post here are living reminders that government schools are worthless propaganda centers which should be frankly abandoned.

Yes, little Leftists, government is the PROBLEM with the economy–not the solution.

Tell me, little Leftists, why when the Constitution was ratified–and for many decades afterward, clear until the era of FDR (our first female President)–was there NEVER even ONE politician who dared claim he “created” jobs? Why when you read the Lincoln-Douglas debates does neither Abe Lincoln nor Stephen Douglas ever reference “TEH!!1!!1 ECONOMIEZ!!!, or promise to “create jobs”?

Did money not exist during all those years when the US was busy rising to become the world’s leading superpower? Did no one work?

You publik-skewl zombies think like SLAVES. Like scared little girls. You neither want liberty nor even understand what it means. You think government is God and God never existed. You want other people to do everything for you, give everything to you.

You’re such weaklings and wretches…
mustbeunique2 said, about 1 month ago

Recquring taxes is a form of terroism.
rikoshayrabbit said, about 1 month ago

Hello Scott. Almost every one of your posts infers that men are women, or feminine, at least. Would you care to elaborate on this frequent focus of your commentary? You should know that for the first several weeks of formation, ALL human beings are female, until the Y chromosome is added alongside the X. Perhaps the “pure” formulation into maleness doesn’t meet with your criteria in all cases, however, I would truly like to hear from you regarding this almost daily subject matter you inject into your commentary.
M Kitt said, about 1 month ago

Scott can’t be for real, maybe if he’s channeling Groucho Marx who’s having a joke at our expense.

Could still be a really religiously impaired bot, I suppose. A cut-and-paste text dump from some maniacal, amphetamine driven evangelist looking for a gay male hooker.
NoFearPup said, about 1 month ago

Why do “liberals” use the “he must be a secret homosexual” meme? No. 1: It demeans those people of gender-confusion that you purport to respect. No. 2: It’s illogical No.3: It’s name calling.
Librarian, excellent post.
Doesanybody have a response to ScottFrito’s main points? When did our government become a means to redistibute wealth and hand out favors? Was it mainly because it was necessary to involve the populace and government in a closer relationship? Is this arrangement inevitable? You may be able to convince moderates this is the case if you could find serious rebuttals to Scott’s points. Personally, that’s where I’m at. “True” conservatives claim the pre-eminence of free-markets, yet don’t seem to honor this belief. I should vote for the Free-Market people when they fill their pockets (apparently) at the expense of the rest of the populace? I don’t think either party is entirely safe enough to leave to it’s own devices…
ReasonsVentriloquist said, about 1 month ago

Librarian in Training,

TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH ARE BAD FOR THE COUNTRY! TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH ARE BAD FOR THE COUNTRY! TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH ARE BAD FOR THE COUNTRY! TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH ARE BAD FOR THE COUNTRY! TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH ARE BAD FOR THE COUNTRY! TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH ARE BAD FOR THE COUNTRY! TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH ARE BAD FOR THE COUNTRY! TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH ARE BAD FOR THE COUNTRY! TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH ARE BAD FOR THE COUNTRY! TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH ARE BAD FOR THE COUNTRY! TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH ARE BAD FOR THE COUNTRY! TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH ARE BAD FOR THE COUNTRY! TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH ARE BAD FOR THE COUNTRY! TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH ARE BAD FOR THE COUNTRY! TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH ARE BAD FOR THE COUNTRY! TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH ARE BAD FOR THE COUNTRY! TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH ARE BAD FOR THE COUNTRY! TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH ARE BAD FOR THE COUNTRY! TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH ARE BAD FOR THE COUNTRY! TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH ARE BAD FOR THE COUNTRY! TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH ARE BAD FOR THE COUNTRY! TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH ARE BAD FOR THE COUNTRY! TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH ARE BAD FOR THE COUNTRY! TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH ARE BAD FOR THE COUNTRY! TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH ARE BAD FOR THE COUNTRY! TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH ARE BAD FOR THE COUNTRY! TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH ARE BAD FOR THE COUNTRY! TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH ARE BAD FOR THE COUNTRY! TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH ARE BAD FOR THE COUNTRY! TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH ARE BAD FOR THE COUNTRY! TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH ARE BAD FOR THE COUNTRY! TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH ARE BAD FOR THE COUNTRY!

Now go get sick and know that whatever you vomit up will be better than that tired old simplification for the simple minded lugee you hocked above.

I’ve debunked that pos more times than I can remember but then I noticed that not a single parrot that plopped that bleeep down had the ability to defend it against scrutiny. So I don’t bother doing it any more.

You’re free to believe what you want, but the fact is, unless you are among the mega wealthy you’re getting screwed by them.
treered said, about 1 month ago

we’re supposed to cut the ropes? last time we did, the balloon kept going up, up, up, never down, everyone thought it would keep going up forever, like house values…..
mustbeunique2 said, about 1 month ago

Recquiring taxes is organized crime.
rikoshayrabbit said, about 1 month ago

Fascinating observation, Kitt. This Scott guy might be a fabricated character? Manufactured by several ultra right-wingers, or maybe even government folks attempting to draw out the offended and insulted bloggers?? It is interesting how he never answers a question. I’ve asked Anandy several times now where she got this name… wondering if it’s from that old radio show Amos ‘n Andy… and she never answers that simple question, either.
LibrarianInTraining said, about 1 month ago

I dare any one of you to look me in the face and tell me if you were rich, you wouldn’t have excessively expensive toys.

And if you were one of the wealthy, and your taxes went up, I’d bet dollars to donuts you’d pay off some sicko in Washington (who are a percentage of the wealthy you’re all griping about. And I have friends in DC, so I know) to lower your taxes so you could keep playing with your pricey toys.

I’d still rather live in a country where I have the potential TO be wealthy than live in a country where to government decides how much I make whether I like it or not.

It’s called capitalism, and it’s what’s been driving this nation for going on 400 years. Ever since John Smith quoted the Bible and said “He who doesn’t work, doesn’t eat.”

You didn’t need tax money for welfare. There was no welfare. There was RESPONSIBILITY.
NoFearPup said, about 1 month ago

Winky, if you have read my post, you should have realized that I took the middle position. It is precisely scary people like you that prevents me from accepting Lib-Think to any degree. Since the Libs are attempting to remake this democratic-republic after their own distorted impression of the world…this is even more scary and leads me to vote Republican every time.
cjr53 said, about 1 month ago

I must agree,

Tax cuts for the rich are bad for the country.
M Kitt said, about 1 month ago

Yeah, sorry Pup. Wasn’t trying to demean gay male hookers :-)

Fascism is defined as the merging of Corporate entities and the State, GOP pushes that agenda on the rest of us to the greatest possible extent.

The corporatists have always been comfortable with the right wing in pursuit of their agenda, W’s support of the petroleum industry (& their support of his party) is an outstanding example, our middle east oil ventures bear that out on a much larger scale specifically regarding the Iraq exportation agreements in progress and our occupation of that country in the first place as imposed on us by W Incorporated.

The latest SCOTUS decision is another good example, providing the rights given people under the constitution to corporate entities opens the floodgates for them to directly effect the outcome of elections (in comparison to the “indirect” campaign contributions). Roberts and the other GOP policy supporters have prevailed just as they did in 2000 Florida.

To continue in this vein, corporate wealth has been magnified under right wing policies by tax breaks for the wealthiest and corporations, the current huge prevailing disparity between pay scales in corporate settings closely reflects this mindset too, largest in any industrial national economy.

Our current healthcare reform proposals closely parallel corporate right wing policies too, only the “blue dogs” support the corporate interests on the left but the entire GOP is solidly in support of the current unsustainable (yet highly profitable) system.

Business as usual for the Corporate GOP.
cdward said, about 1 month ago

So let’s just go back to the good old days of the 50s. Whatever the tax rates were then, let’s just go back. Those were, after all, the golden days of American capitalism.
NeoconMan said, about 1 month ago

LibrarianinTraining: I’d like to thank you for your kind words supporting the rich. But you don’t have to defend us. Hell, I haven’t paid taxes for over a decade! Taxes are for little people. Do you think we would have even gotten rich if we didn’t know how to exploit the system and get around something as silly as taxes?
harleyquinn said, about 1 month ago

” Have you ever played MONOPOLY ? If you have, what happens at the end of the game ? That’s why we need redistribution, or we would be at war with each other forever.”
Wow old bull what insight into our financial ways i am suprized Obama has not personally called you up and asked you to be a czar.
How about something that has 3 years and a few million $$ in research behind it.

FAIR TAX!

Librarian in Training. Good show
harleyquinn said, about 1 month ago

WT what T? “The government is in a unique position to redistribute / spend money”

So you admit that is the grand plan? Have the government do what you can not. So how much do you like being a ward of the government? Where do you go to turn your personal responsibility and self worth over to the Big mother government.
Please I used to read your post but 1st it was the big bad private company has my money now it is I want my mommy government.
Thanks you just made it easier to read these post, skip..
Ronshua said, about 1 month ago

1Ti 6:10 For the LOVE of MONEY is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some, by longing for it, have strayed from the belief, and pierced themselves through with many pains.

The ” love of money “is your root of all your evil .
NoFearPup said, about 1 month ago

WT*allthenames,etc. Nice rebuttal to Librarians post. Now, some one take the other side and fine tune this thing. I can’t, my mind’s numb.
I actually support something like Harley’s Fair Tax…We should start from scratch with known quantity/quantities.
Just think…If we could settle up American citizen’s incomes we might be able to get the illegals to leave and people like Dr.Canuck, and the so-called High-Tech immigrants that Big-money wants to import.
Vasmosn said, about 1 month ago

Why do so many people from the right hate our country and our Constitution? It says clearly in the preamble that one of the goals is to “promote the general welfare” of its people. It isn’t to make sure that the rich can stay rich.
cdward said, about 1 month ago

They used to have it right – in the 50s. Why doesn’t someone from the right go along with that? Didn’t Ike have it right?
furnituremaker said, about 1 month ago

Fair tax? Why not a sale3s tax on EVRYTHING, for EVERYBODY? That way, when the millionaire buys a new yacht, he pays the same amount (percentage)_ of sales tax as did the plugger whjo buys a sixteen foot jonboat…Then the money is split between state and fed, state splits with counties, counties with municipalities, etc. If you don’t want to pay tax on say, groceries, plant a garden and raise rabbits and chickens for our proteine…that way you only pay tax on their feed…probably would get more money to run the governme3ntrs that way, and nobody could complain they are being taxed unfairly…maybe we could require a compulsary day a month or something to perform work for supporting the infrastructure…sounds like a plan to me.
harleyquinn said, about 1 month ago

old bull has lost it “employs the most people in the Country ? Like over 50% ? That’s right your government” and this gem “HQ you need to live in a country that dont have taxes.”
Give Obama a chance I am sure his anti private all things government crusade will push that number even higher.
And I want a tax
FAIR TAX!
harleyquinn said, about 1 month ago

Funtituremaker look into fairtax.org
I think you will find something you like. If you make something and sell it, at the point of sale at the retail level is the only place you will be taxed. Really you would not be taxed, it will be printed on every receipt. 23% embedded. So your cunstimer pays 100$ it will be right on his receipt 77$ sale +23$ tax = 100$
DrCanuck said, about 1 month ago

Poopydog: America tried very hard to import me. Almost succeeded (oh, those headhunters!). But I escaped.
harleyquinn said, about 1 month ago

Oh but I am doing something. senor old bull I am exposing the left like wtfall for the Marxist socialist they are and the whinny making no since person you are. So thank you for making my point, yet again, for me.
wbr said, about 1 month ago

ReasonsVentriloquist sounds like the people in robes at airports my suggestion for you take an econ course
deadheadzan said, about 1 month ago

Some of these posts are full of insults and some of them make lots of valid points. My opinion is that the tax structure should go back to a point when an average CEO made 20 times what the average worker made and not the rate it is today which I have heard runs between 150 to 300 times.
ReasonsVentriloquist said, about 1 month ago

cdward,

I would bite but I know where you’re going and you are 100% right.

Why you can’t catch any right winged fish is sorta beyond me, but they’re a skittish bunch who see that there is a death panel in every woodpile. (Metaphore salad anyone?)

Let me tell the tale of a guy I worked with once upon a time in a commissioned sales position.

The guy did above fair business, he was clearing 125 when that was a good number anywhere and was nearly twice the local middle class income.

Well this guy never told his wife that he was doing so well, in fact he had been telling her that they were barely scraping by and he was banking over half his pay, the family was living on pb&j. OK fine.

She found that he had plenty enough money to be shtupping his old college girlfriend. Then her atty’s found his bank account. The shtupping she could forgive, the lying about the money…NO!

Divorce, alimony as a percentage of his income. We were talking and he said “This is a disincentive to working! I work for my money and I have to give 25% of it to her! What’s my motivation?” He would say the same thing about taxes.

Fact is that his motivation was exactly the same as it ever was and he grew his business to the point where he was pocketting the same money he did before. He did so well that he got recruited by a different firm and they raised the payout that he received from 35% up to 55%!

Based on his logic, one would expect the contrapositive; that increase in payout would be an incentive for him to do more business, because it would mean more money in his pocket!

NO, he does LESS business but just so much less as will put the same money in his paycheck as was there before.

People often assume that money is the prime motivator (especially of the rich) but the fact is that it is only a secondary motivator it is only the method by which people keep score.

This country had it’s greatest growth spurt at the same time it had it’s highest tax rates. Regulation (which can be seen as a first cousin of taxation) doesn’t stiffle growth, it redirects growth. Growers will grow through cement if they have to. Regulation brought about the plywood industry and then the particle board product line.

When folks worry about taxes and regulation stunting growth they are essentially being Luddites of the modern age.
ReasonsVentriloquist said, about 1 month ago

wbr said, about 2 hours ago
ReasonsVentriloquist sounds like the people in robes at airports my suggestion for you take an econ course

What are you trying to pick a fight with me?

You think you got what it takes?

I don’t think you do, besides I’m takin the rest of the weekend off.

When I get back we can tangle it up then if you still feel your Wheaties.

Bring something good wouldja?
charliekane said, about 1 month ago

I was kinda thinkin’ that when they took them bags off is kinda when the balloon started comin’ down.

If you can follow Reasons post, you’ll understand why.
harleyquinn said, about 1 month ago

” CEO made 20 times what the average worker made and not the rate it is today which I have heard runs between 150 to 300 times.”
Ben and Jerry tried that. And they failed
harleyquinn said, about 1 month ago

Anyone understand what old bull is babbling about? I am sure there is a point in there somewhere but I sure the heck can not find it?
The best I can come up with is the failed stimulus that Obama promised us that unemployment will not go above 8%. Obama’s trickle down from good government jobs has failed. The government is still the only one hiring and the private is still laying people off. And Obama wants more.
harleyquinn said, about 1 month ago

Fair tax
blah blah
fair tax
blah blah
wt and old bull crazy
Fair tax
old bull crazy
fair tax and fair tax again
pionting out crazy old bull
Failed soicist dream of Ben Jerry
old bull still nuts
nope still do not understand what you are babbling about senor bull
deadheadzan said, about 1 month ago

No, Harley, I’m talking about the tax structure in the 1950’s and 1960’s when CEO’s made 20 times that of average worker. That was a FAIR TAX system.
NoFearPup said, about 1 month ago

Well, Winky made a good point : We apparently need MORE taxes, not less. But, every plan for tax reform always ends up with a LARGER tax base due to rescinded tax breaks and shelters…
And yet, I believe the “RICH” will find ways around paying their burden like the Lib hotheads say here; hence, the need for scales and tools to extract taxes from the populace, rich or otherwise.
harleyquinn said, about 1 month ago

“No, Harley, I’m talking about the tax structure in the 1950’s and 1960’s when CEO’s made 20 times that of average worker. That was a FAIR TAX system.”
And I am telling you it has been tried and failed in many a company. Ben and Jerry’s ice cream is just the biggest and best example of how that kind of thinking fails. If you can find someone to work for the wage you set forth then good for you. But when you start making it about into what everyone else makes history says you will fail. That is just a simple fact and old bull why would anyone click on a link you provide? I am backing off because you are starting to worry me.
senorbullwinkle said, about 1 month ago

I’ll make a deal with you HQ, I wont read or comment on your post if you’ll do the same for me.
deadheadzan said, about 1 month ago

Harley, I’m talking about the distribution of wealth in a country, what is fair, and what is exploytation of the average worker. CEO’s should not amass their fortune on the backs of labor. That is what is happening today. It is the banking and insurance industries that are doing this today and that is why Wall Street was bailed out and health insurance costs so much.

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