en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/1427492 Comments by Galts_Gold http://biggovernment.com/bshapiro/2012/02/14/average-gas-price-at-obamas-inauguration-1-84-per-gallon/#IDComment292427475 It's not just a supply issue. $4+ gas is also a reflection of the decline in the dollar. Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:25:22 +0000 http://biggovernment.com/bshapiro/2012/02/14/average-gas-price-at-obamas-inauguration-1-84-per-gallon/#IDComment292427475 http://biggovernment.com/bbaugus/2011/12/17/economic-growth-requires-tax-simplification/#IDComment241238852 Problem with your scenario is that your 401k money has never been subjected to income tax and has been accumulating tax free interest for the past 42 years. When you withdraw it from your 401k upon retirement the money is subject to regular income taxes. The assumption is that upon retirement you would withdraw small monthly or annual amounts to last many years to cover your lower living expenses in retirement. Depending on how much you withdraw each year it would probably result in little or no income taxes due because of your tax bracket. On the other hand, if you withdrew the whole amount in one year to buy the farm the whole $300,000 would be recognized as income that year and would place you in the top tax bracket (currently 38% federal). In this case you would pay "full freight". Otherwise, say if you decided to withdraw $1,000/mo (which would then last at least 25 years), along with your Social Security check of say $1,200/mo. Your withdrawal of $12,000/year would result in little or no taxes because of the standard deduction and personal deduction. You get off tax free! I, on the other hand, inherit in your scenario, a similar farm for which I would have paid a 55% inheritance tax. I then work for the next 42 years to pay off my mortgage that I had to take out to cover the inheritance tax (paid with my after tax income). I paid taxes for my 42 years while your retirement money sat in your 401k tax free! You point out the differential between regular income max tax rate of 38% and capital gains 15%. Currently, the capital gains tax rate has been given a preferential rate lower than regular income to encourage long term investment and create jobs. The article above declared capital gains to be the same as regular income and to be taxed the same. This is what I was originally taking issue with. John, a personal note, I appreciated your second post. While we disagree, you obviously gave some thought to your post and avoided any name calling. Cheers! Mon, 19 Dec 2011 00:49:00 +0000 http://biggovernment.com/bbaugus/2011/12/17/economic-growth-requires-tax-simplification/#IDComment241238852 http://biggovernment.com/bbaugus/2011/12/17/economic-growth-requires-tax-simplification/#IDComment240990978 I marvel at your quote, "Capital gains should be taxed at the same rate as any other income. Don't like it don't invest.". That is the problem with America today. We don't invest. We just spend it on cheap crap imported from China while all of our jobs migrate overseas. First you have to understand inflation. Government creates inflation by increasing the money supply faster than the economy has grown. My first car I bought new in 1966 cost me $3000 and a gallon of premium gas was less than $0.35/gal. Why would a similar car cost today $30,000 and a gal of regular gas cost $3.50. Don't blame greedy car makers and OPEC. Your dollar has shrunk in value by over 90%. That's inflation. Let's play a game. I'll assume that you were born in 1966 and your parents who had worked hard shoveling coal, bought you a $3,000 Chevy Nova as a gift and locked it away for when you grew up. Unfortunately, your parents passed away before you came of age so the car was included in their estate where it was taxed 55% ($1,600) so you could get what was already yours. To pay the tax you drop out of high school and go to work shoveling coal. Once the car is paid off you decide not to drive it, but leave it in the garage as a memorial to your parents. Now 45 years later, when you should be looking forward to a comfortable retirement, your coal mine has closed down because of governmental regulation and you are now out of work. You need money for rent and food so you pull out your still new 1966 Chevy Nova and sell it at a collector car auction for $30,000. Now the IRS steps in and demands its share. They ignore inflation and claim that after all you are profiting some $25,000! Since you are not greedy like me, you give them some $7,000 in taxes and are left with some $18,000 for a comfortable retirement. How do you feel now? Just change the names, amounts and that the car was farm land that I had worked for 45 years and you have my situation. Inflation hits us all. Why should the government tax the inflation that they created? To deflect your charge of my being "greedy", I would have no problem capital gains tax if your parents instead gave you a 1966 Shelby Cobra and you sold it for say $1,000,000 which far exceeded inflation. If you could adjust your basis (cost) for inflation to say $50,000 then it would be fair to subject the balance of some $950,000 to income tax. Sun, 18 Dec 2011 18:22:11 +0000 http://biggovernment.com/bbaugus/2011/12/17/economic-growth-requires-tax-simplification/#IDComment240990978 http://biggovernment.com/bbaugus/2011/12/17/economic-growth-requires-tax-simplification/#IDComment240295346 Capital gains are not necessairly income because of inflation. Long term capital gains should be exempted from taxation or fairly adjusted for inflation. I speak from first hand experience in selling the family farm which had been in the family since the 1930's. The greatest share was taken by the government and the rest was split amoung the remaining family. Any reasonable adjustment for inflation would indicate that we made little or nothing in income from the sale, but the government's position was that over 90% of the sale was subject to capital gains tax. The government will never control inflation if it benefits from long term capital gain tax windfalls. Conversely, we cannot expect individuals and families to make long term capital investment if the government will punish them with taxation. Sat, 17 Dec 2011 22:24:29 +0000 http://biggovernment.com/bbaugus/2011/12/17/economic-growth-requires-tax-simplification/#IDComment240295346 http://biggovernment.com/amellon/2011/04/24/getting-poor-on-the-backs-of-the-rich/#IDComment145676273 Amen. Sun, 24 Apr 2011 19:25:32 +0000 http://biggovernment.com/amellon/2011/04/24/getting-poor-on-the-backs-of-the-rich/#IDComment145676273 http://biggovernment.com/dkeene/2010/09/21/gops-history-repeats-itself/#IDComment100271164 I didn't say only one term by "Term Limits". We just need to limit ther term to something less than life. Incumbents always have an advantage. If they are good they can term out and run for another office, but without an incumbant's advantage. I agree with you whole hartedly about gerrymandering. Tue, 21 Sep 2010 23:51:21 +0000 http://biggovernment.com/dkeene/2010/09/21/gops-history-repeats-itself/#IDComment100271164 http://biggovernment.com/dkeene/2010/09/21/gops-history-repeats-itself/#IDComment100250721 All I can say is "Term Limits". Tue, 21 Sep 2010 20:57:56 +0000 http://biggovernment.com/dkeene/2010/09/21/gops-history-repeats-itself/#IDComment100250721 http://biggovernment.com/publius/2010/07/20/naacp-statement-on-resignation-of-shirley-sherrod/#IDComment87639878 Now if only he posted a similar appology to the Tea Party. That might be too much to hope for. Tue, 20 Jul 2010 08:17:30 +0000 http://biggovernment.com/publius/2010/07/20/naacp-statement-on-resignation-of-shirley-sherrod/#IDComment87639878 http://biggovernment.com/dmitchell/2010/07/17/americans-voting-with-their-feet-to-escape-obama-tax-oppression/#IDComment87320835 It never crossed my mind. Sun, 18 Jul 2010 16:20:49 +0000 http://biggovernment.com/dmitchell/2010/07/17/americans-voting-with-their-feet-to-escape-obama-tax-oppression/#IDComment87320835 http://biggovernment.com/jhoft/2010/07/16/huh-rep-elijah-cummings-best-way-tea-party-can-fight-their-racism-is-to-help-folks-get-jobs-video/#IDComment87019979 It's all about Black Liberation Theology/Philosophy which holds as a central tenant for whites in order to atone for prior sins (alledged racism) whites must redistribute their wealth to the black community. That is how Mr. Elijah Cummings gets from alledged Tea Party racism to demanding jobs (payment). In his mind racism exists everywhere in the white community until it transfers all of its wealth (power) to the black community. Fri, 16 Jul 2010 20:48:04 +0000 http://biggovernment.com/jhoft/2010/07/16/huh-rep-elijah-cummings-best-way-tea-party-can-fight-their-racism-is-to-help-folks-get-jobs-video/#IDComment87019979 http://biggovernment.com/publius/2010/07/15/cair-backs-naacp-resolution-on-tea-party-racism/#IDComment86880410 Humm.... NAACP = National Association for the Advancement of Colored People CHAIR = Council on American-Islamic Relations La Raza = Translates "The Race" Tea Party = Movement opposed to unrepresentative government. Please pick the least racist of above. Fri, 16 Jul 2010 01:12:51 +0000 http://biggovernment.com/publius/2010/07/15/cair-backs-naacp-resolution-on-tea-party-racism/#IDComment86880410 http://biggovernment.com/publius/2010/07/15/cair-backs-naacp-resolution-on-tea-party-racism/#IDComment86875982 Relax.... I'm completely happy with orginazations like CHAIR declairing us racist. I can't wait for the Communist Party USA joining CHAIR in endorsing the NAACP resolution. It just exposes them for what they really are and more importantly who we really are. Keep cool, we're winning this! Fri, 16 Jul 2010 00:30:39 +0000 http://biggovernment.com/publius/2010/07/15/cair-backs-naacp-resolution-on-tea-party-racism/#IDComment86875982