How Your Income Stacks Up

[Jasman0717 9]

All I know is they take a huge chuck of change from my check for federal and state taxes and then there is MEDICARE. Because I am a county employee we don't pay into social security but the county does take 13% of my gross for retirement. I also have to pay extra for belonging to the employee's union and dental insurance not covered in the county health plan.

I just wish our leadership would spend these taxes more efficiently

[SMR 368]

Oh FFS.

Firstly, if you have a trillion dollars you are probably paying tax on the associated investment income. Unless it's stuffed in a mattress your comments make no sense. I can't imagine the thrifty trillionaire lying awake in bed at night wondering where he's going to get the money for the mortgage next month. If not having to worry about money isn't a benefit, then I don't know what a financial benefit is.

I don't get this idea that you have to spend money to have a better quality of life. Sounds like a keeping up with the Joneses mindset. Which is what you were bellyaching about earlier when you declared it was the people who unwisely used credit were the ones who ruined the economy. Consumer spending shouldn't drive an economy. Whether it's money spent by trillionaires or the poor.

Imagine two people. One of them makes 50k/year and the other one makes $1 million/year. They both spend $50k/year to live. The millionaire puts the rest of his money in the bank. Since they are both living on the same income, they have comparable residences, food, cars, clothing, etc. Their standard of living is identical because they are spending the same amount of money. That's what I'm trying to say. Your standard of living is determined not by how much money you have, but by how much money you spend. If you want a higher standard of living, you have to spend more money. (This is ignoring the fact that some people can get more for the same money by finding deals, etc. and that living is more expensive in some places. This complicates the situation, but it's a completely different subject).

Whether or not having enough money that you don't have to worry about it leads to a higher quality of life is really a philosophical question that has nothing to do with taxes, in my opinion. Maybe the millionaire is happier because he doesn't have to worry about making the next mortgage payment. But you can't quantify that and you can't, or at least shouldn't, tax it.

Consumer spending does drive the economy. It always has and it always will. If nobody buys things, the economy collapses. That really isn't up for debate. The only thing that can be debated is whether or not consumer spending should fund the government. I say it should.

Your reference to keeping up with the Joneses is out of place. You don't have to spend more money to have a better quality of life. Some people have great lives with very little money. All I'm saying is that, unless he spends his money, a rich person doesn't have anything that a poor person doesn't. Money is just numbers in a computer.

[rebeccajo 14]

Imagine two people. One of them makes 50k/year and the other one makes $1 million/year. They both spend $50k/year to live. The millionaire puts the rest of his money in the bank. Since they are both living on the same income, they have comparable residences, food, cars, clothing, etc. Their standard of living is identical because they are spending the same amount of money. That's what I'm trying to say. Your standard of living is determined not by how much money you have, but by how much money you spend. If you want a higher standard of living, you have to spend more money. (This is ignoring the fact that some people can get more for the same money by finding deals, etc. and that living is more expensive in some places. This complicates the situation, but it's a completely different subject).

Whether or not having enough money that you don't have to worry about it leads to a higher quality of life is really a philosophical question that has nothing to do with taxes, in my opinion. Maybe the millionaire is happier because he doesn't have to worry about making the next mortgage payment. But you can't quantify that and you can't, or at least shouldn't, tax it.

Consumer spending does drive the economy. It always has and it always will. If nobody buys things, the economy collapses. That really isn't up for debate. The only thing that can be debated is whether or not consumer spending should fund the government. I say it should.

Your reference to keeping up with the Joneses is out of place. You don't have to spend more money to have a better quality of life. Some people have great lives with very little money. All I'm saying is that, unless he spends his money, a rich person doesn't have anything that a poor person doesn't. Money is just numbers in a computer.

Take a look at what you wrote (I've bolded it for you).

[PhiLandShiR 18]

Take a look at what you wrote (I've bolded it for you).

But....standard of living and quality of life are 2 very different things....

-P

[SMR 368]

Take a look at what you wrote (I've bolded it for you).

Standard of living and quality of life are two different things. Standard of living is about the level of goods and services available to a person. If you want to have more goods and services, you typically have to pay for them. Thus, to increase your standard of living, you have to spend more money.

Quality of life is a much broader term that refers to general well-being. It is affected by things like your culture, your personal satisfaction, family life, health, art, beauty of your surroundings, etc. in addition to the things covered by standard of living. My point about quality of life is that some people haven't got much but they are happy with their life. They could have a high quality of life, although their standard of living is relatively low.

[rebeccajo 14]

Standard of living and quality of life are two different things. Standard of living is about the level of goods and services available to a person. If you want to have more goods and services, you typically have to pay for them. Thus, to increase your standard of living, you have to spend more money.

Quality of life is a much broader term that refers to general well-being. It is affected by things like your culture, your personal satisfaction, family life, health, art, beauty of your surroundings, etc. in addition to the things covered by standard of living. My point about quality of life is that some people haven't got much but they are happy with their life. They could have a high quality of life, although their standard of living is relatively low.

Isn't that a philisophical perspective? (Again I quote you).

[natty bumppo 297]

But....standard of living and quality of life are 2 very different things....

-P

[Mommy2ZaidnSalma 11]

Jas,

You said it right. I dont mind that I paid 13k in taxes this year. What I do mind is overhearing women talk about how they "cheat the system" and recieve 600$ a month in cash and food stamp assistance. GO GET A JOB!!!!

[Jasman0717 9]

Jas,

You said it right. I dont mind that I paid 13k in taxes this year. What I do mind is overhearing women talk about how they "cheat the system" and recieve 600$ a month in cash and food stamp assistance. GO GET A JOB!!!!

And drive a Caddy to the welfare office to pick up their check There is a considerable amount of welfare fraud and even more in MEDICARE. Criminal minds will always find a way to cheat the system and the system, when the criminal is caught, doesn't do enough to stop the behavior so within a short time most are back cheating the system.

The piece on 60 Minutes about Medicare fraud was scary, did anyone see that?

[SMR 368]

Isn't that a philisophical perspective? (Again I quote you).

Quality of life is. Standard of Living really isn't. You are the one who brought up quality of life and I was simply stating that I didn't think money determines quality of life.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

I'd be on board with a flat tax on every dollar earned - whether actively or passively. Those in the higher income brackets most likely would not be.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

is this individual or household?

The numbers are AGI's, as reported on tax returns. Some are individual, some are household.....

[rebeccajo 14]

Quality of life is. Standard of Living really isn't. You are the one who brought up quality of life and I was simply stating that I didn't think money determines quality of life.

Then try living without any. See if your opinion changes.

[SMR 368]

Then try living without any. See if your opinion changes.

That's a ridiculous straw-man argument taken to the extreme. I didn't say that money doesn't effect quality of life, only that it doesn't determine it. Some poor people enjoy a high quality of life and some rich people a low quality of life.

In any case, you have radically changed the subject. We were really talking about standard of living and how you have to spend money to increase your standard of living. Do you accept that, or do you still think that simply having the money is enough?

[rebeccajo 14]

That's a ridiculous straw-man argument taken to the extreme. I didn't say that money doesn't effect quality of life, only that it doesn't determine it. Some poor people enjoy a high quality of life and some rich people a low quality of life.

In any case, you have radically changed the subject. We were really talking about standard of living and how you have to spend money to increase your standard of living. Do you accept that, or do you still think that simply having the money is enough?

I think having the money is enough. I think having the power to choose to spend the money is enough.