Do We Really Want To Soak The Rich?

Let's face it.  Everyone wants to be rich.  I find that thought rich with irony.   Let's face it.  An awful lot of us, when we're not thinking tax implications, we're playing lotto or the slots or the ponies or whatever else on which one can wager.  Always hoping.

We know the President wants wealth to be shared.  I have a problem making someone who has worked hard to earn it have to share it with those who have not.   That, however, could be a completely different post.

But let's look at it.  Those billboards that tell you what the current jackpots for Powerball and Mega Millions are.  Let's look at a recent Mega Millions jackpot worth $85,000,000.  A nice tidy sum to be sure.  How much of that would you actually get if you want the lump sum? First, because you take the lump sum you get whacked for an amount the takes it down to $56,000,000.  Whew!  Than the tax man shows up.  The Feds want 25%.  A cool $14,000,000 taking you down to $42,000,000.  Then the states want their share.  In Idaho where I live, it would be 7.8%, another $4,368,000 leaving you with $37,360,000.  Now that's nothing to sneeze at, but neither is what has been subtracted for the tax men!

At $37 million you would definitely be considered rich.  Since it's over $10million, you'd be among the 5% of taxpayers paying 50% of the taxes.  And they would tell you you're not paying your fair share.

It's also interesting to me that 231 of 535 members of Congress are millionaires and 55 of them are over that $10 million mark.  The most wealthy is a Republican, Darrell Issa, who's worth is in the vicinity of $300 million.  Rounding out the top three are  Democrats Jane Harman at $293 million, thanks to her husband's efforts and John Kerry, thanks to his wife's former husband's efforts, the late John Heinz.

If they think the wealthy aren't paying their fair share than they should write a check to the treasury!  Though it seems Kerry was reluctant to pay the taxes on his yacht, docking it in neighboring Rhode Island where taxes are less burdensome than his home state of Massachusetts.  The yacht cost a mere $7 million.  Massachusetts wanted $500,000.

Does he figure what's good for the goose isn't necessarily good for the gander?  Who knows.  I just got to wondering how it would feel if the shoe were on the other foot.  Unless I win that lottery, I'll never know.  I can't even imagine having the dollar amount of what they pay in taxes as income.

I don't resent them.  We're comfortable.  I'm  sure they have tax breaks and loopholes that I couldn't begin to name.  Some should undoubtedly be snugged up; especially if they aren't available to everyone.  But to say they don't pay their fair share.  I'm not so sure when in 2009 47% paid no federal taxes at all.

The next chapter is about to begin.  The President wants to "invest".  He has to pay for investments by raising revenue.  That means taxes.  It's only money. But whose?