Ted Rall for July 08, 2015

Considering how Goldman Sachs is behind both messes (Greece and US), is anything going to be done about them?

This problem has been brewing since the start of the Euro and the 2002 Olympics

Some bungeejumps without ropes would be helpfull – for the ones which were in charge the last 20 years (like our EZB Boss Dragi)

Years ago, Guenter Grass proposed that East and West Germany swap systems every ten years (“The Democratic Republic would have an opportunity to relax under capitalism, while the Federal Republic could drain off cholesterol under communism.” (as cited by John Updike)

Somehow it seems kind of reasonable that if you make a ton of money you should have to pay a lot in taxes. It is rather difficult to squeeze money out of people who don’t have any. Instead of killing social programs how about outlawing tax inversions so multi billion dollar companies pay the taxes? How about reducing defense spending so our military is only bigger than the next three countries added up? And those oil and peanut subsidies?

Well said. This country spends far too much money subsidizing those who already have money.

That’s less than their share of income.

You have to understand that your figure is a percentage of all federal taxes collected not a percentage of a persons income. The people responding to you are talking about percentage to an individual’s earnings. The top 20 % pay about 14% of their income in federal taxes. Not surprising since they also get the larger proportion of income earned.”The analysis of IRS records back to 1913 found that the nation’s very wealthiest — those making more than $394,000 — earned 19.3 percent of all household income in 2012, while the top 10 percent took home a record 48.2 percent of total earnings, The Associated Press reported.”http://www.newsmax.com/US/wealth-inequality-income/2013/09/11/id/525061/But if you go beyond federal taxes and include things like sales taxes the poor real start to pay more of their income earned because they live pay check to pay check and spend more of a portion of their income on things like food, clothing, etc.

The rich are buying the world one politician at a time. Then the bought politicians enact laws to enable the rich to make more money to buy more politicians who will enact more laws to enable the rich to get richer so they can afford more politicians who etc etc etc. Meanwhile, that money has to come from somewhere, so the Middle Class is sinking further and further into lower class living conditions ever day. If it hasn’t happened to you-YET- look around you. You have a friend, relative or neighbor who’s already there.

But, the one good thing about a “bought” politician is that you can count on them not to have the integrity to stay “bought” if it will keep them from getting reelected. We have to get it together and elect the people who are least in the pockets of the 1%ers- none of them are completely clean of corporate money, but there’s a better and worse candidate in every race. Do your research into their voting record and find out which one is fighting for the rich and which one is for the Middle Class ( at least relatively), and vote accordingly. If we don’t vote for our own best interests, and do it soon, the Middle Class is toast."

Some people don’t know that the rich pay all the taxes. And by ‘rich’ I mean those stupid enough to write a high taxable income on their 1040s. Anyone with any sense will buy tax shelters like thoroughbred racehorses, which takes a huge amount off your taxable income, so you’re not rich and don’t have to pay much..Or, of course, you can borrow money, buy a 51% controlling interest in a company, use your control to pay yourself 100% (or more than 100%) of the company’s assets, structure the deal so that almost none of the income is taxable, and, again, be in the poor house as far as your 1040 shows (actually, in one of your many poor houses that all have 50 or so rooms and elevators for your cars and limos and a pad for your helicopter).

You ignore reality to point out a legal technicality. They obviously have some sort of coercive power to force governments to make changes.

@Ted Rall

When you Tweeted this strip, you claimed the Greeks work more hours than the Germans or we do. This is incorrect.

It is true the Greeks work the most hours in all of Europe, but you might notice we’re not Europeans. Greece is also an industrialized nation, and guess which industrialized nation works the most hours per week (estimated between 47 to 49 to Greece’s 42), takes the fewest and shortest vacations, gets the least maternity leave and has the fewest sick or family/bereavement leave days of them all.

Yeah, that would be us, as in the US.

The American Way!

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