Tax the rich if they do not reinvest in American job creation. That seems fair.

No matter how much tax the rich pay on the first million, they should ALWAYS pay more on the second.

No matter how much tax the rich pay on the second million, they should ALWAYS pay more on the third.

and so on...

Suresure, tax the rich--

But unless corporate personhood is abolished, and that means by amending the ol' Constitution, NOT the not-even-baby-step of reversing the Citizens' United decision...

This is the latest flavor of snake oil being sold by the "progressive" "wing" of the Democrats...

No lesser a personage than former Sen. Russ Feingold graced our town last week and that was his big idea:

Re-elect Obama so he can nominate someone to the SCOTUS who will trip the 5-4 CU decision the other way.

It's hard to attain a phrase profane enough to capture my true feelings here, but let me try this one, which I'll represent by first initials only:

JCMFSOBWTF are you talking about?

Citizens United only made it easier for corporations to reinvest in what they'd bought long ago: the government. It's just a bit more open now..kinda like W and Cheney had their assassination squads taking out people in countries all over the world, like O does today, except Obama brazenly claims the right.

It's the same tactic always used...they take a mile, then give an inch, and call that "progressive" when in fact the entire country moved that much deeper into naked armed conflict against its own people.

Like against Occupiers--and the poor everywhere.

All I'm saying is, tax them, sure, but let's first set it up to where we know we're going to collect.

Even if it means a new Constitution.

Which it does.

The article doesn't mention that the rich usually have rich relatives who insure that they avoid falling into the lifestyle that's normal for most of us. Once you have money beyond what's needed for basic necessities, your money can go to work for you.

Corporations Only exist to Hide ownership and to Limit Liability.

We need not only to abolish the concept of Corporate Personhood but also the ability of corporations to be Private and hide ownership.

Let We The People see who exactly Owns these predator corporations- let's see the Votes by shareholders at their Annual Shareholder meetings.

Then we can have that Info that is needed to make an informed decision with our purchasing power.

A TAX PLAN -
NO TAX ON INCOME BELOW $88,000
A PROGRESSIVE TAX FROM $88,000 TO $1,000,000
A 99% TAX ON ALL INCOME ABOVE $1,000,000
ALL INCOME - EARNED AND UNEARNED FROM INVESTMENT

SIMPLE - FAIR - NO DEDUCATIONS - NO LOOPHOLES

It's called exploitation and has been happening since the start of capitalism.

This idea that the latest round of stealing from the masses is politics driven is wrong.

All these white guys are referring to is the fact that it's now the white middle class who are being driven into poverty.

Where were these people when the natives were being dispossesed, when minorites were being exploited?

I suppose that doesn't count since there are now de jure rights telling everyone they are equal in every way.

Not only a progressive tax is needed, but if we stopped supporting the 1%'s imperialist wars, a further trillion+ dollars would be available to support the 99%. Oh, what the hell - let's just dump this capitalist system already and replace it with a new system that does away with the 1% entirely. The world can no longer afford the rich.

I have two articles I found online about countries where the rich pay high taxes...
Where tax goes up to 60 per cent, and everybody's happy paying it

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2008/nov/16/sweden-tax-burden-welfare

and an American living in Sweden had this to say:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/2009/05/13/help-i-live-in-sweden-and_n_202820.html

Interesting thing here in the US is that even those that would benefit from a changed system in the US are against it. I say that has to do with them being brainwashed by the exsisting system....most are FOX TV followers.

The "brainwashed" part of the population will often use the excuse; US is to large of a country to change and socialism could never work here due to the size of the population. .
Hmmmm works in China with 4 times US population....

tax the rich...

how does one do that?

Taxing the rich would require a different government than the one we have.
INSTEAD, TRY A DEBT STRIKE:
http://www.alternet.org/story/152963/debtor%27s_revolution%3A_are_debt_strikes_another_possible_tactic_in_the_fight_against_the_big_banks/?page=entire

Workers never paid ANY TAX before 1913. Taxes were initially only for the corporations! How things change in 100 years.

http://www.policyalmanac.org/economic/archive/tax_history.shtml

In 1994 I was fortunate enough to listen to a comencement address at Cal U of Pennsylvania in which the speaker reminded the graduates how fortunate they were to have benefited from the largess society had bestowed upon them and that they would in turn be asked to give back in measure what they had received. By that time I was in my mid forties and deeply appreciated what he had said. My fellow students, much younger than I were not so moved--"blah, blah blah--more of that boring graditude stuff. Graduation should be a time for celebrating our own achievment"--they felt. The bratty immaturity of youth--I thought. If that is so we live in a very spoiled and immature country. Now I am in my sixties and I feel even more poignantly the fragile grasp any of us have on life and the quickly passing nature of it--all of which should make us humble enough to share what we have while we have it. Blah, blah blah--the ramblings of an old man.

Progressive taxes don't work for long. "El que hace la ley, hace la trampa". Spanish for "whoever makes the law rigs the system".

Direct democracy

Tax the rich? They will all just move to Greece the rich don't pay their taxes there. I hear they're buying that place pennies on the dollar already. I bet you could buy a nice island for less that a Park Ave condo.

If we had ONLY 1 tax, sales tax, it would be so simple and corruption-free. Each person could get a $30,000 tax free card at the beginning of each year. If you use up the tax free credits in 3 minutes or 3 months will depend on your spending habits.
Tax evasion and the multi billion undergound economy, cash under the table would dissapear. Even criminals, who buy products, would pay their fair share of taxes. http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Joseph-Solution/307138385979022#!/pages/The-Joseph-Solution/307138385979022

Does it ever occur to the writers who forever write only about taxing the rich that fixing the way spending the revenue is also to be included in the fix? Nearly every nation in Europe does both. When will the writers on this issue put it together? Yes, I realize that some idiots will contend that discussing how the revenue is to be properly spent is somehow "rightwing" despite the fact that I refer to cutting down on military/corporate spending and directing that towards socialistic programs. Oh well...

"How to Fix Rampant Theft: Tax the Thieves"

How does that make any more sense than the author's suggestion does?

Tax the rich? Won't happen. They fund the politician's campaigns.

There's only one update I would like to make to your article. When you referred to the American Revolution. You may not realize it yet, but that was only the FIRST American Revolution.

EAT THE RICH! BRING BACK THE GUILLOTINE! Time to make these bastards pay! "Compromise" is out of the question: They won't compromise! The all-out attacks on American freedom and the American people deserve an all-out retaliation. 1776 all over again! We have been too nice too long. STAND UP FOR AMERICA!

I would like to see the Occupiers invest some of the monetary donations in properties from HUD. Non-profits a.k.a investors are purchasing HUD homes for pennies on the dollar, fixing up the properties and renting to people receiving housing vouchers. They are making out on both ends - buying homes cheaper than that offered to 'the poor,' then receiving money from the govt for their rentals.

I'd say the best way to make the rich pay is to compete. Buy a few homes, plant gardens, start a bartering system, open small community stores (to sell fresh vegetables/fruits) - or farmer's market. Right now, almost everyone is not self-sufficient. With a home, you can grow most of your food. Renting an apartment, they are making you pay all utilities (water/sewer/trash), you even pay for water you didn't use because it's divided between all residents - sewer is normally paid by homeowners which is included in real estate taxes.

Tax the rich? Too late for that. We should think about shooting some of them! History has repeatedly demonstrated that the rich ruling class NEVER cedes wealth and power without violence. That is all they understand. Things will change when public roads are no longer safe for a Ferrari or a Mercedes... and when riding in a limo becomes a suicidal act.

The individual income tax code is the main reason why there are such obscene accumulations of wealth at the top, why the National Debt is astronomical, why there continues to exist extreme inequities in the individual income distribution, and why there are so many detrimental consequences to most of society. There is a solution for this Read the following.
US Individual Income Tax System: Of, By, and For the Filthy Rich
A Tax Code that Engorges the Few to the Detriment of the Many
By John M. Bachar, Jr.
It is well-known that the wealthiest 1% have 40% of the net wealth (= $25 trillion). It is not well-known that this gigantic wealth is largely acquired from the stash of exorbitantly excessive incomes held by the wealthiest. This occurs because of the huge number of tax breaks within the individual income tax code: the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy enacted in 2001 and 2003 (and extended by Obama in 2011), as well as the huge number of “exclusions” applied to gross income that heavily accrue to the wealthiest. As a result, the income tax revenues collected are unjustifiably inadequate. This is the root cause for the severe reduction or elimination of a large number of essential services for the rest of society.

In this paper, we shall record the results of an exhaustive analytical study of the data in:
1. The 2,053,933,938 individual income tax returns filed for the 16 rear period 1993-2008;
2. The 140,532,115 returns filed for 2009 (preliminary data);
3. The 400 Individual Income Tax Returns Reporting the Highest Adjusted Gross Incomes (AGI’s).

Many consequences are described, including a revision of the tax code that would greatly increase the amount of individual income tax revenue collected in order to restore and revitalize seriously needed public services.

There are over 100 “gross income exclusion rules” and “statutory adjustment rules” in the tax code that heavily benefit the wealthiest income groups. These rules absolve them from listing their actual gross income, and, therefore, from paying a fairer share of the individual income tax revenues.

For the 17 year period, 1993-2009, the gross income was over $134.3 trillion but the tax revenue was only $13.7 trillion, so that the overall average rate was less than 10.2%!! A proposed tax rate schedule on gross income for the various percentile groups shows that if it were applied to the tax returns for the 16 year period, 1993-2008, then an additional $18.9 trillion in tax revenue would have been collected, and the current (October 12, 2011) debt of $14.86 trillion would now be a SURPLUS of $4.04 trillion!

Many, many egregious examples of the dysfunctional tax code that scream out for major revisions of the tax code that would greatly increase the amount of taxes paid by the super-rich and that would restore the multitude of devastated essential services for the overwhelming majority of struggling Americans. Scores of other inequities are contained in the section on Tables and Graphs. There are 44 Tables and 9 Graphs.

Download and read the full analysis by clicking on:
http://www.absentlinks.com/uploads/6/6/4/2/6642350/us_individual_income_tax_system___of_by_and_for_the_filthy_rich.pdf

As far as I'm concerned, we shouldn't even be talking about taxes, we should be talking about something like passing laws that limit the ratio of CEO/COO/whatever-in-charger person salary to average/lowest salary employee. That's where the redistribution is occurring. It's absolute insanity that the current average is somewhere around 300 to 1 in terms of Avg. CEO to Avg. Worker pay. In the 80's it was 46 to 1, which is still out of whack. There ought to be limits and when the CEO's pay goes up so do all the other workers.

This discussion sounds like the one about keeping guns away from criminals by making them illegal. By definition criminal don't follow the law so the law doesn't solve the problem. These1% we are talking about are not just folks with money, these are people who knowingly profit from cluster bombing children. These 1% cause the suffering of millions of people for profit. They will do anything to anyone to get their way. It's not about money, that's why none of these ideals ever work. The problem is misunderstood. They are driven to impose their will upon others, they don't understand it themselves. Control freak doesn't begin to describe how twisted these people are. What is happening now is another grab for the brass ring, absolute control of everything and everyone. They have great power and wealth, but they don't have absolute power and control, and it drives them crazy that they don't. We don't understand them, because if we did we'd all be crazy!

As a general manager in the restaurant business all my life, my schedule was 15,hours a day, and never a holiday off. In the early years the company shared profits with the managers and we all made a great living. Then one day the company put a walstreet boy into the CEO spot. All of a sudden our pay structure changed. The managers were making to much money and the profit sharing stopped. Then as the years went by, more benefits were cut, and higher expectations and more time working as they cut management.
This was a systematic degrading of our financial opportunities by corporate personal. We worked our asses off in this business, only to see our dream slowly eroding away, as corp exec gave themselves bonuses and stock options. The American dream has been hijacked, and now they want my social security? HELL NO!!!

Tax the Rich!

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=153880&songID=1039941

Verse
The politicians say there's not enough to go around
So they're laying off the teachers, and the schools are shutting down
Will our children live as serfs, suited only for their chains?
If we love them, we had better use our brains

Verse
With government turned upside down, the money flows uphill
And it makes its tired journey there against the common will
Now we need that money back, and our lives are on the line
So let's go after what we know is yours and mine

Chorus
TAX THE RICH! They've got much more than they will ever need
TAX THE RICH! And they're standing by and watching as we bleed
TAX THE RICH! Their giant wealth is taken from the common store
And now it's time for them to give a little more
Yes, it's time for them to give a little more

Verse
One percent of all the people owns one half of all the wealth
They like to show off their possessions to everybody else
But they crawl out through a loophole when tax-time comes around
Just when we need them most, they're nowhere to be found

Verse
And when the wealthy do not pay, then the budget axe must fall
And when a child feels the blade, it's the unkindest cut of all
Each young life is like a song, and if we want to hear it played
Then we can't allow these debts to go unpaid

Chorus
TAX THE RICH! They've got the crops, and now they want the seed
TAX THE RICH! Why should the future be a hostage to their greed?
TAX THE RICH! Their giant wealth is taken from the common store
And now it's time for them to give a little more
Yes, it's time for them to give a little more

Verse
Well, I must be a dreamer, 'cause I think that there could be
A country of and for the people, blessed with peace and harmony
But the first step on that path is fairness and equality
So, let's take that step together, you and me

Chorus
TAX THE RICH! Release us from the prison of their greed
TAX THE RICH! We need that money now to care for those in need
TAX THE RICH! Their giant wealth is taken from the common store
And now it's time for them to give a little more
Yes, it's time for them to give a little...More!

This author and many of the comments are incredibly ignorant and divisive. You need to understand two things before you start taxing anyone with a decent standard of living. 1. The elite, the controlling rich that we rarely see, they don't pay any taxes no matter how high the tax rate is. 2. No matter how much you raise the taxes, it won't pay off the debt and interest payments. There isn't enough money in circulation. That's a flaw in the monetary system, that money only comes when interest bearing debt is taken out, and until you fix that you fix nothing.

This "system" cannot be "fixed".
There's a very simple reason for that; it's not broken. It's working perfectly for the small, parasitic minority that controls it.
A problem cannot be resolved by applying more of the same reasoning and principles that caused it in the first place.
http://hamsayeh.net/world/1329-burning-down-the-house.html
As a species, we either make some very major, fundamental changes or continue on this ill-chosen path to extinction.
It's really that simple.

Unless Americans learn the difference between wealth and income we will never correct the problem.

First let me correct some numbers in the article.
Assuming:
The renter and not the landlord pay for property taxes.
All other taxes, except income taxes, are passed on to the consumers through higher prices for goods and service and should be distributed based on the expenditures of each quintile.

The Effective Tax Rates based on income for all federal, state and local taxes becomes 33.4 % for the bottom 80% with the bottom 20% paying 45.3% and the top 20% paying 32%

But if you look at the Effective Tax Rates based on financial wealth the bottom 80% pay 24.4 % of their financial wealth each year in taxes. The bottom 20% pay 80% and the top 20% pay 4.4%.

Joe Average pays $2,000/year in property tax on the $100,000 house that he and the bank owns.
Mr. Big Shot pays $0/year on the $10,000,000 of stock that he owns.

Joe Average pays $1,500/year in sales tax on his $50,000 of purchases
Mr. Big Shot pays $0/year on the $1,000,000 of stock that he purchases.

To simplify our Federal Tax System and make more equitable, I propose a 6-1- ¾ Plan.
1. A 6% Flat income tax on ALL income with no deductions, credits or excemptions except a $10,000 deduction per person.
2. A 1% “ Property Tax” on Stocks, Bonds Derivatives, Etc.
3. A ¾% “ Sales Tax” on Stocks, Bonds Derivatives, Etc.
4. The elimination of all other Federal taxes including payroll taxes and corporate taxes.

This plan would:
1. Be revenue neutral.
2. Make our corporations more competitive, increasing jobs etc.
3. Reduce the tax burden of payroll taxes on the very poor.
4. Reduce market volatility by making day trading less profitable.
5. Tax everybody the same.