I always wondered where David Weber got his ideas on the social issues. Now I know.

What sucks is that we're now moving onto the third (and maybe fourth) generation that doesn't get the connection between work, income and being able to get ahead.

See also.

First I was stunned by the statistic that 24% don't think FedGov gets its money from taxpayers, then I remembered that we are rapidly approaching the point where only 50% of us pay income tax and then it didn't seem to strange.

It's cancer. Is there a solution to the problem? I have the sad feeling that the only way would be a nasty economic depression that would affect *everybody*. A good economic cleansing. Financial blood in the streets and bankrupt governments. Then, perhaps, the lefties and other wishful thinkers would get it.

> I remembered that we are rapidly approaching
> the point where only 50% of us pay income tax

Yonder—

You have all seen, I hope, the graph with two intersecting lines that should terrify everyone in this room. One line shows the declining participation in the income tax system. The top 1% of American earners pay 40% of the income taxes - the top 5% pay 60% of the income tax. The bottom 50% of American earners pay 3% of the income taxes. When this administration gets in place all of its tax preferences, 60% of the American people, a large majority, will pay either no income taxes or less than 5% of their income. Now that is a majority that has zero incentive any longer to restrain the growth of a government they are not paying for. That is a classic case of moral hazard and it is an addiction and a dependency on the government.

Under its current constitution, laws and political institutions, California is doomed.

The Democratic party is run for and by public sector unions, and is extremely unlikely to take any unpopular (with the *unions*) steps to force them to take a haircut on their unsupportable pension plans or to make it easier to fire their many criminally inept members. The Republican party is composed primarily of the tax-cuts-solve-everything faction, and won't make deals that raise state revenues. The proposition system allows people to vote in ridiculously expensive boondoggles (e.g., the high speed train system) that can't be unfunded except by proposition; these same people also voted to make it nearly impossible to pass a budget because 2/3 of the legislature must be on board (how often do 2/3 of politicians agree on *anything*?). The state is gerrymandered such that few legislators face competitive races, ensuring that most of the people elected represent the worst tendencies of their respective parties. Budgets never come in on time, and those that do are the worst sort of hackery. That these budgets avoid dealing with our financial mess goes without saying.

Absent dramatic reform to reform the budget process and the proposition process, California will be a pioneering state in a new way: testing out whether a state can declare bankruptcy – something that has never happened in the history of our union. Given the pathetically inept political leadership here, the likelihood of serious reform before bankruptcy is infinitesimal.

The U.S. Federal government and the other major Western powers mostly face the same sort of problem, but can avoid dealing with the problems for a while longer. In the long run, though, we're all in deep trouble. Deep reforms in revenue and spending. Like in California, I have little faith that these governments are up to the challenge of reforming our financial ways and making tough reforms, especially regarding our promises of support to older people and former public employees. California is doomed, but I suspect we're the canary in this coal mine.

When this administration gets in place all of its tax preferences, 60% of the American people, a large majority, will pay either no income taxes or less than 5% of their income.

This is a concern. But how many of these people pay little-to-no income tax because of the EITC? A policy that is designed to encourage people to go to work is partially responsible for that statistic.

I may not be rich, but I can still console myself that I paid more taxes last year than Exxon/Mobil did. And so did you.

This is a concern. But how many of these people pay little-to-no income tax because of the EITC? A policy that is designed to encourage people to go to work is partially responsible for that statistic.

It doesn't matter. They are people on the public teat. When more than half of the population can vote - but pays nothing - we have reached the dystopian future predicted by so many authors.

The likelihood that the public will voluntarily take the bitter medicine required to fix this situation? Zero. There might be a chance if our supposed leaders would actually lead. Unfortunately, our government and media elite all come from the sheltered ivory towers of the Evil League universities, and they seem entirely blind to the real consequences of their socialist programs.

I can hear it now: "But we meant well, we just wanted to help people". The road to hell...

Bradley13: I think it does matter. These people do pay taxes (state, local, sales, Social Security, etc), all of which tend to hit lower earners harder than higher earners. At tax time they get a credit because they went to work instead of sitting around. The argument that these people "pay no taxes" and therefore feel liberated to vote for benefits they don't pay for assumes that people segment, in their minds, their Federal income tax from all of their other taxes. I doubt this is the case.

Let's not forget the gender elephant in the room. Layered over the general statistics is the fact that men pay the large majority of money into our social welfare systems (Medicare, Social Security, etc., etc.), but women receive the large majority of the benefits. Women LOVE supporting these "security" programs -- and an ever-larger government -- with their votes, but not with their own pocketbooks.

As men's educational, economic and social decline relative to women continues, and as men have their natural inclination to give a crap about women evaporate, how will the "independent" ladies get by at the end of the day?

I guess they'll find out how "empowering" it is being a wage slave to business and a tax slave to the government. Cogs in the corporate machine, and concubines in the government's harem. You HAVE come a long way, Baby. A long way down, that is. Make way! Make way! Lemmings coming through, here, and they've got places to GO!

As Joni Mitchell sang, "You don't know what you've got 'till it's gone ... "

Welcome to the Parking Lot.