NY Millionaires petition against tax cut

[dwer.livejournal.com]

"Please, ditch this backwards Robin Hood plan and give all New Yorkers a fair shake."


"Progressive individual income taxation, which asks for contributions to society based on an individual's relative income, is not only right and fair, it's also an essential and long-time part of our nation's social contract. Continuing the existing surcharges on the wealthiest New Yorkers, of which I am one, is without question both appropriate and fair, especially since it will mean less cuts in State aid to education, health care and other essential social services," said Leo Hindery Jr. (Chairman of the Economic Growth/Smart Globalization Initiative at the New America Foundation and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Currently an investor in media companies, he is the former CEO of Tele-Communications, Inc. (TCI), Liberty Media and their successor AT&T Broadband.)

http://readme.readmedia.com/Wealthy-New-Yorkers-Declare-We-Are-Willing-and-Able-to-Share-in-the-Solution-to-Our-States-Budget-Crisis/2230965?utm_source=newswire&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=media_pr_emails

http://www.abetterchoiceforny.org/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/25/new-york-millionaires-off_n_840485.html?ref=fb&src=sp

To me, this is the ultimate in patriotism. Recognizing that the social contract has costs and that the rich benefit the most from what society provides is smart. Preventing cuts in Education is smart. And if rich New Yorkers were going to leave the state over a 2% tax, Manhattan proper would be empty.

I can only hope that these wealthy folks will move on to urging Congress and the President to make the Bush tax cuts expire. The revenue from those taxes would help a lot of people. We are our brother's keeper. And our sister's. And our mother's and father's, son's and daughter's.

Comments

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

If they're willing and able, why aren't they doing so already?

[dwer.livejournal.com]

Excellent, I win the pool.

In part, they recognize that everyone has to participate, because society is a collective responsibility.

In part, because they're like FDR: "It's a great idea. Now, make me do it."

And how do you know some of them aren't?

[mrbogey.livejournal.com]

Look, you and I know that this will go nowhere.

Every goddamned left-winger in this country is no different than any other human on Earth. Their demands and their desires almost always outstrips their actual inclination to do anything.

The poor is just a rally cry for them to feel better about themselves. Actually helping the poor and those without is secondary to their sense of self worth. Because without a cause to harp on their lives would be empty and meaningless. As PJ O'Rourke opined, everyone wants to save the world but nobody wants to do the dishes.

[dwer.livejournal.com]

yes, quite.

[kris-schnee.livejournal.com]

They're not generous, since what they're calling for is for other people to have their property taken by force. If they were talking only about their own wealth they'd simply donate it, as noted already.

"I can only hope that these wealthy folks will move on to urging Congress and the President to make the Bush tax cuts expire. The revenue from those taxes would help a lot of people. We are our brother's keeper. And our sister's. And our mother's and father's, son's and daughter's."

Right, that's the point in question. If you can't get agreement on whether you have a right to take things that don't belong to you, how do you resolve that? Ask rich people nicely to donate more, or use the state to force them to hand it over or else? (Absolute democracy backs up the second idea -- "living in society means you have to do anything the majority wants!") A lot of Christians have a different take on that -- they would agree with the "keeper" line, except that they don't think it's any of the state's business to enforce that moral obligation. Still other people think there is no such moral obligation.

[dwer.livejournal.com]

taxes aren't theft.

[kris-schnee.livejournal.com]

Come to think of it, there's another aspect to this topic. There's a big difference between calling for a state tax hike and a federal one. At the state level I can just grin and say, "Hey rich people, come to my state where we have lower taxes!" At the federal level you're calling for people to have no choice at all about how heavily they're taxed and what kind of social services the government provides in return, unless they abandon their whole country. Why not give people the choice on a state-by-state basis, especially since there's no lawful authority for the feds to be running massive national welfare systems anyway? You can do that "collective action" thing on a large scale -- we have states the size of whole European countries! -- without forcing your will on the entire country.

[nevermind6794.livejournal.com]

No, there isn't a big difference, just an arbitrary distinction. And the idea that people "have no choice at all about how heavily they're taxed" is pretty rich.

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

Well, how about that? I predict that the Right-Wing will be decrying class traitors and that Left-wingers will have a temporary enthusiasm for Corporate leaders.

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

I might note that the real social contract is "I have a nuke, your argument is invalid." The ideas of the Enlightenment Philosophers overlooked the still-very-present degree to which political power rises out of the barrel of a gun. Democracy obscures this, but not too much so. And unfortunately when 1 out of every 5 Americans goes hungry (I notice a paucity of reports on this under the current Administration, BTW) the tendency to have Right-Wingers blame Commie Hollywood Jews for their problems and Lefties to blame the all-powerful Fundie Cabal for their problems obscures the real issue is that 1 out of every 5 people going hungry.

[telemann.livejournal.com]

For what it's worth, The IRS is targeting the richy rich and finding out how naughty they've been. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/27/irs-audits-richest-americans_n_840627.html)

I guess Speaker Bonehead will defund the IRS next?

EDIT:

And for what it's worth, most public opinion polls show significant support of increasing taxes on the richest Americans. Nutwings will not mention this though.

[allisnow.livejournal.com]

most public opinion polls show significant support of increasing taxes on the richest Americans

Well isn't that kind of a no-brainer, seeing as how most Americans aren't "the richest Americans"?

What are we up to on the % of Americans who pay no income tax at all?

[lai-choi-san.livejournal.com]

Sorry for the cliché but when I read "NY millionaires", I can't help thinking they are intellectuals. This could explain that. They attach more importance to real values than to material ones.

[il-mio-gufo.livejournal.com]

NY millionaires as opposed to CA millionaires?

[htpcl.livejournal.com]

Boy, I'm expecting a massive nuclear fallout in this post.

Preparing the asbestos suit, then.

[malasadas.livejournal.com]

For posts like this, the mods need a bot script.

[malasadas.livejournal.com]

Holy crap, everything went all 'splody on a Sunday.

[mahnmut.livejournal.com]

Watch out for the coming tsunami.

The argument thus far:

[meus-ovatio.livejournal.com]

A: Nuh.
B: Nyeh.
C: Psh.
D: Wha
E: Neh.
F: Nuh-uh
G: Ya
H: Whatever.
I: No.
J: No u.
K: Neeny.

and so on

Re: The argument thus far:

[ddstory.livejournal.com]

Plus, the usual suspects.

p r e d i c t a b i l i t y . . . s c a l e
0===10===20===30===40===50===60===70===80===90=@=100
(where @ = "you are here")

[meus-ovatio.livejournal.com]

Taxes are theft, self-defense is murder, profits are exploitation, and sleeping is really a lot like dying.

[the-rukh.livejournal.com]

Oh don't say that, I have a hard enough time sleeping as it is.

[kylinrouge.livejournal.com]

I know someone who says the government shouldn't assist anyone ever. Only provide basic services for the general public such as infrastructure. Every man for himself.

I asked him if he would file for unemployment if he lost his job, and he said no. I would like to put this notion to the test but it sounds like he thinks he'll never lose his job.

[gunslnger.livejournal.com]

Unemployment is insurance, he paid for it, not the government, so he should file for it. Same with SS. It's the other welfare programs and medicare that he should avoid.

[the-rukh.livejournal.com]

I do agree with you on that general statement. I'll even give a little and say I know there are programs that can cut fat and some that probably can get cut.

[the-rukh.livejournal.com]

woah! Do my eyes decieve me? over 600?! Something went BOOM.

[malasadas.livejournal.com]

662.

[malasadas.livejournal.com]

663.

[malasadas.livejournal.com]

665

[malasadas.livejournal.com]

It jumped while I was posting...had to skip a spot.

[malasadas.livejournal.com]

666!

[mybodymycoffin.livejournal.com]

Nice trips

[jerseycajun.livejournal.com]

If nothing else, I think this post has exceeded the sound barrier for rate of commenting, even if it doesn't attain the largest commentary volume.

Next up, LUDICROUS SPEED!

*Waits for plaid*

Congratulations! =)

[airiefairie.livejournal.com]

Just contributing with one more meaningless comment to help you beat my record (715). I am glad I will be no longer cited as the author who hosted the most heavily trolled post in all of talk_politics history. =)

Re: Congratulations! =)

[dwer.livejournal.com]

lol! Uh, I guess I'd like to thank the moderators, and all the participants, and of course, Ayn Rand, without whom there would be much less to laugh at.

This post

[mybodymycoffin.livejournal.com]

>100 posts
>817 posts

[abomvubuso.livejournal.com]

I found this post... useful. It taught me some stuff. Not about taxes, not really. Stuff about people.

*puts notebook down*

[dwer.livejournal.com]

useful is good.

[kawaiimamimi.livejournal.com]

If we aren't careful this post will get OVER NINE HUNDREDDDDDD!!!