Cash for Clunkers has me thinking stupid?
08-10-2009, 02:58 PM
#61
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sig heil!
actually the new ones look nice. there's one new one and one old one (both coupes) parked in our lot frequently and the new one has grown on me more than the old cute one. and smooth cruiser sounds nice once you're over 30.
actually the new ones look nice. there's one new one and one old one (both coupes) parked in our lot frequently and the new one has grown on me more than the old cute one. and smooth cruiser sounds nice once you're over 30.
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08-10-2009, 04:24 PM
#69
I'm glad you don't. It's a shame when government and organized religion dictate what is right and wrong, what's safe and what's not. I prefer the 'ol internal compass. Why the **** do we put handrails up on the edges of cliffs in parks? If you're stupid enough to lean over the edge you deserve to ******* fall! These are the same folks that "deserve" a nice car, free health care, tax incentives when they didn't even pay fricken taxes. Don't even get me started on the entitlement mentality that has grown pervasive in our country over the past 25 years.
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08-20-2009, 05:01 PM
#71
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i think the cash for clunkers also has to do with the fact that newer cars emit far less pollutants the the cars of almost 2 decades ago;its not just about mpg... hence why they still give the majority of the refund (3500$ i believe?) for older cars that get BETTER gas mileage then the newly purchased car.
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08-20-2009, 07:10 PM
#75
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For Tax Year 2007
Percentiles Ranked by AGI
AGI Threshold on Percentiles
Percentage of Federal Personal Income Tax Paid
Top 1% $410,096 40.42%
Top 5% $160,041 60.63%
Top 10% $113,018 71.22%
Top 25% $66,532 86.59%
Top 50% $32,879 97.11%
Bottom 50% <$32,879 2.89%
Note: AGI is Adjusted Gross Income
Source: Internal Revenue Service
Percentiles Ranked by AGI
AGI Threshold on Percentiles
Percentage of Federal Personal Income Tax Paid
Top 1% $410,096 40.42%
Top 5% $160,041 60.63%
Top 10% $113,018 71.22%
Top 25% $66,532 86.59%
Top 50% $32,879 97.11%
Bottom 50% <$32,879 2.89%
Note: AGI is Adjusted Gross Income
Source: Internal Revenue Service
Top 1% pay 40% of the total income tax collected ($410K +)
Top 2-5% pay 20% ($160K to $409K)
Top 6-10% pay 10% ($113K to $159
Top 11-25% pay 15% ($66K to $112K)
Top 26-50% pay 11% ($32K to $65K)
Bottom 50% makes less than $32K and pays 3% of total income taxes collected.
75% of the population pays less than 15% of the income taxes collected. Bump that to the lower 90% and the total is 30%.
Boy those rich guys get all the breaks. (read intense sarcasm here)
Looking at those numbers and where I fall on that chart, I don't feel the least bit guilty taking some money back on the CARS program. I AM paying my fair share + some.
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08-20-2009, 08:42 PM
#76
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i'm gonna say it again. because nobody ever posts it. cost of living is a regressive expense. hence the progressive tax. years worth of food for poor guy might be 20% of his salary whereas it's more like 2% of rich guy's salary.
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08-21-2009, 12:01 AM
#77
As one of the single digiters per Cueball's chart, I really do get pissed off about the entitlement thing. I started with nothing, grew up on a farm, don't have a degree and managed to get my **** together without the help of anyone else. Anyone can if they put their mind to it.
/rant
/rant
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08-21-2009, 12:55 PM
#78
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Yes cost of living is regressive. Food, shelter, etc. You also have the blood from a turnip concept and diminishing returns. It's too darn hard to collect and too little payoff for trying with the lower 50%. Still, it makes me sick when I hear people say rich people get all the breaks. Hell, it's not just the rich but the upper middle class that foots a huge portion of the tax burden. I hate it when liberals in gov't and media demonize those who are making a good living.
I'm not ashamed to be taking advantage of the CARS program. It's one of the few givebacks that the middle and upper classes can take advantage of on an equal footing. I'm as deserving as anyone else who has a clunker to trade in. It's not a sense of entitlement. It takes a clunker off the road, stimulates the economy and is putting my wife in a more efficient car. It's exactly what that program hoped to do.
I'm not ashamed to be taking advantage of the CARS program. It's one of the few givebacks that the middle and upper classes can take advantage of on an equal footing. I'm as deserving as anyone else who has a clunker to trade in. It's not a sense of entitlement. It takes a clunker off the road, stimulates the economy and is putting my wife in a more efficient car. It's exactly what that program hoped to do.
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08-21-2009, 01:07 PM
#79
You don't have to defend your case with me cueball.
My little sister just took advantage of the program as well. She's a single mom with a 1 1/2yr old that was driving a ratty Astro van with a dying transmission and a coolant leak...but kept it legal and kept it covered. Driving it was like skiing on a barstool.
She can make the payments on a new Corolla after cashing in on the program...and it's a good thing she's in a safer, more efficient and dependable vehicle. I got to see my nephew for the first time in months yesterday because she would make the trip from Beaumont in the old vehicle.
There are a few people this program is really made for...and those people shouldn't feel bad about doing it.
My little sister just took advantage of the program as well. She's a single mom with a 1 1/2yr old that was driving a ratty Astro van with a dying transmission and a coolant leak...but kept it legal and kept it covered. Driving it was like skiing on a barstool.
She can make the payments on a new Corolla after cashing in on the program...and it's a good thing she's in a safer, more efficient and dependable vehicle. I got to see my nephew for the first time in months yesterday because she would make the trip from Beaumont in the old vehicle.
There are a few people this program is really made for...and those people shouldn't feel bad about doing it.
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08-21-2009, 01:13 PM
#80
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That's why one low flat tax makes sense. It's extremely equal, like the literal context, and the govt simply has to deal with not having CARRS programs that only people with the means to buy a brand new car can participate in.
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