Published On #FITSO Motivation

“Give me five minutes to explain taxes to you: The top marginal tax rate is currently 39.6 percent, which remember, is an altogether different thing from the effective tax rate that wealthy people end up actually paying after taking advantage of various tax loopholes. What does that even mean - a ‘marginal tax’ rate of 39.6 percent? Does it mean the average person pays 39.6% in taxes? No. Does it mean that the income earners in the top one percent pays 39.6% in taxes? NO! Here’s what a marginal tax rate of 39.6% means: First, as of 2013 the top tax rate for individuals currently doesn’t begin unless you earn $406,750 dollars. Actually, that tax rate doesn’t even take effect until you make $406,750 + $1 dollar. Got that part? That’s important. Here’s the tricky detail that most people miss: the 39.6% tax rate is only applicable on anything OVER $406,750 dollars. So if you made $406,752 dollars, then only two ($2) of those dollars will be taxed at the highest rate of 39.6%…and the other $406,750 is not. Of course, this does not take into account the numerous tax loopholes that I alluded to earlier. Thus, if the top marginal tax rate is 39.6 percent, then after using any number of tax loopholes, write offs and various other cheats, it’s entirely possible earn over $406,750 dollars per year and still pay even less in taxes than a working class American earning much less. SN: this applies only to people who do actual work for a paycheck. If, on the other hand, your primary income is from inheritance or stock investments and you pay all your bills off of that interest (aka “capital gains”), then your taxes work differently altogether (hint: they’re even lower). Take multi-billionaire Mitt Romney, for example. In 2010 he only paid an effective (real) tax rate of 13.9 percent, odds are that’s much lower than the tax rate you (or your parents) just paid. Here’s the last thing you should remember: Only one percent of Americans make $400,750 a year or higher. Stated differently, the top income tax rate effects around 3.5 million —out of 350,000,000 Americans. And that’s only on the dollars ABOVE $400,750. BOO HOO right? Approximately 3.5 million Americans might, maybe, perhaps *possibly* have to pay the top federal income tax rate…but only on anything above $406,750 dollars…and only if they refuse to take advantage of ridiculously huge tax loopholes so big you could fly a jumbo jet through them. THAT is what conservatives are crying about when they complain about the top tax rate. That’s it.”

— This is why whining about the top tax rate is a joke and Republicans are the party for the Greedy One Percent (and the deluded suckers “future millionaires“ who repeatedly vote for them)

The mind is a powerful Creator.

“Over time our individual sense of identity (social mask) has been shaped into a particular pattern (template) given to us by our society. This is the feeling of exclusivity; belonging to a particular tribe, race, religion or country. If this assimilation of ‘divide and conquer’ is successful (through conformity), you cannot successfully exit this artificial matrix construct.” -Anon I mus (Spiritually Anonymous)

“Most of us go through our entire lives experiencing unnecessary, personal suffering without ever waking up to the light of our true, infinite nature. The prison that we are trapped in exists only as internal programming inside of our heads; a thought-created construct of an illusory separate person (me, myself and my story) and its false conditioning.”  ~Anon I mus (Spiritually Anonymous)