Tom Toles for April 07, 2011

“Everything is funny, if you can laugh at it.” — Lewis Carroll

Return the top rate to 90%.

Amen!

I’m getting tired of the rich being depicted this way. “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need”…. isn’t that Socialism? I do think the “haves” could do a better job of charity but to hate a class simply because it has something another doesn;t is just plain dumb.

Charity? Economies are based on a balance and when the money is hoarded in one area, it deprives the rest of the economy of a share to help keep up the economy. When the ability of the middle class is restored to its equitable share, then the complaints will diminish. As it is, we have progressively seen the wealth redistributed UP at the expense of the middle class for the last several decades. Unfortunately, humor is the only way to get back at them. Live with it.

^^Why are you depending on someone else for Charity?

We have Socialism for the rich, Capitalism for the poor.

mnsmkd,

You’re sort of right. The quote is from the Communist Manifesto, and it was a paraphrase of how Acts in the New Testament describes how Christ’s apostles chose to live after his death.

“Acts 2:45 And they sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all, according as anyone had need.”

“Acts 4:32-35 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.”

I’ve always thought that the behavior of the first Christians, as described in Acts, represents the most direct manifestation of Christ’s teachings, seeing as they had heard him preach and had lived with him and seen his example. It is very clear that their interpretation of Christ’s words is diametrically opposed to what the right wing in America is seeking.

Oddly, it’s only class warfare if someone points out the massive wealth transfer upward over the last 30 years. Killing Medicare and Medicaid to fund more tax breaks for the upper class and corporations is somehow not class warfare.

Oh, Harley, that old “class warfare” thing again? It’s real; the rich are winning the war on everyone else. The rules are constantly rewritten to favor the super-rich. We’re headed the way of Central American banana republics.

Just curious harley. What do you think of Jesus’s first followers? They seem to have abhorred any sort of economic class system at all.

^ “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:24)

Jmatt. you made a couple of minor grammatical errors in your post

Not to worry, I corrected them for you

Of course not, harley! When you have no good arguments, you rely on the fact that your base still buys the stale old stuff. They seem to still think “Class warfare” and “you hate him because he’s rich” are the freshest and most revolutionary arguments of all time.

There….MUCH bettah!

BTW, is anyone else looking at this cartoon and thinking of Mr. Creosote, from Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life?

Simon, I thought of Monty Python immediately.

On another note, C. A. Brobst, you can raise the tax rate to 100%, but as long as the loopholes exist it WILL NOT MATTER. GE made $14.5 billion this past year and paid NOTHING in taxes due to loopholes. I paid more in taxes this year than GE because I cannot afford a fleet of accountants and tax lawyers to find enough loopholes to get me down to owing zero.

When you consider that we have an entire industry dedicated to understanding and manipulating our tax system it basically means that it is to complex and ultimately flawed. I said it before and I will say it again; flat tax rate with NO, I repeat NO loopholes is the best way to go.

And no I shall be attacked for my outrageous statements that the tax code be redone so the wealthy have to pay taxes. Not by supporters of the wealthy but by those who think that only the wealthy should pay taxes and not themselves. Happens every time I make this argument. So I say “have at thee”.

So Harley, I have wealth envy because I think someone who has a higher income than I do should pay at least the same percentage as I do in taxes? You may be right I do envy them. I envy that they have tax attorneys and accounts who shelter their enormous income while people in the middle class struggle to pay bills, hold onto our houses and support the government (fed and local) services that society needs like police, fire departments, schools, and social services that I may soon need if the wealthy do not start supporting our economy.

If they don’t want to pay taxes the wealthy should at least do what all the trickle down proponents have said they will do - create jobs and spend money on goods to contribute in a positive way to the US economy. All I have seen is the wealthy collecting money from government bailouts (while railing against socialism), tax credits, and bonuses for screwing up the economy. I personally find driving the US economy into the toilet very unpatriotic, and instead of blaming middle class public employees we should look to the real problem people and corporations who buy elections and distract the rest of us into fighting amongst ourselves.

“It is [falsely] assumed that labor is available only in connection with capital; that nobody labors unless somebody else, owning capital, somehow by the use of it induces him to labor. This assumed, it is next considered whether it is best that capital shall hire laborers, and thus induce them to work by their own consent, or buy them, and drive them to it without their consent. Having proceeded thus far, it is naturally concluded that all laborers are either hired laborers or what we call slaves. And further, it is assumed that whoever is once a hired laborer is fixed in that condition for life. “Now, there is no such relation between capital and labor as assumed, nor is there any such thing as a free man being fixed for life in the condition of a hired laborer. Both these assumptions are false, and all inferences from them are groundless. “Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration. Capital has its rights, which are as worthy of protection as any other rights.” –Abraham Lincoln, that famous Marxist…

What harley ,and that completely unbiased organization the Heritage Foundation forgot to mention is a big reason the deficit increased under Obama was the until he took over, the cost of the Iraq war wasn’t being figured into the deficit.

Obama changed that, and gave us an honest look at our fiances

linder - those were individuals doing charity with own goods – gov can do do chartity because it is others goods it is giving —— yes 99% tax on c a brobst and bubba boo

harley,

So you’re a biblical literalist, eh?

Those passages that you quoted are widely considered to be referring to wealth of the soul, not actual monetary wealth. Surely, you’re familiar with the expression, “poverty of the soul.” That’s what nearly everyone believes Jesus was trying to address in his teachings, not how to get rich.

And I think Acts shows pretty clearly that his disciples thought so too.

“Tax cuts cost NOTHING.”

So why don’t we just reduce everyone’s tax to zero percent, then?

Won’t cost us anything, right?

I love it when atheletes (in this case, I’m talking about the UFC) thank god for their win.

Why don’t they ever say, “Gee, looks like god doesn’t like you” to their opponents?

Seriously, that’s what it comes down to.

Me neither, and neither are the fighters.

Mr. Creosote (aka Mr. Goldman, Mr. Sachs, Mr. Morgan, Mr. Chase, Mr. Citi, Mr. BOA, Mr. Merryl, Mr. Lynch, Mr.&Mr. Koch, etc., etc.) are all doing obscenely well, thank you.