Postby Spence » Mon Mar 02, 2009 1:06 am
It isn't the sentiment that causes this, it is the politicians who incite it. The fact about this over 250 tax is that it is a small business tax. The actual "rich" people you refer to will shelter their money. They can, so they will. The businesses really can not do that unless they move out of the country. So they will pay the tax and they will raise the price of their goods to cover the tax because they have no choice. They have a bottom line to meet. Lots of people do not realize that most small businesses file on their personal income. Some, who pay for their products without a line of credit, appear to make a lot of money. The truth of the matter is that money is to pay for more product. To keep things moving. Lots of people think if an item sells for $20.00 that the seller probably paid $4 or $5 for it, when the reality is that they likely paid $18. At least that is how the wholesale business works - with probably another 1 to 2% marketing money under the line. For the right to make that $2 he has to pay for the product, pay to get it shipped, pay to get it unloaded, pay to warehouse it, pay for someone to pick it to ship back out, and pay someone else still to deliver it. Not to mention paying someone to sale it and do the accounting and all of this with benefits. The net profit on a business like this figures somewhere between 1 and 2%. That means most of the money you bring in goes to pay for new product, utilities, payroll, and benefits. If you do enough volume you have to think about expanding. If you have been lucky enough to do enough business to be able to expand - build an new building or an addition, and hire more people to help man it - you have to invest money that the business has made and money the business will make (hopefully) to pay for it. Business just can't eat the cost of the tax, it must be passed on to the consumer. This means that everyone who uses the product pays the tax.
In Ohio we pay a federal tax, medicare, social security, state tax, county tax(in some counties), local tax(in most counties), school taxes (in some counties), property tax, sales tax, fuel tax (44 cents per gal.), and several sin taxes. Every year someone puts a levy on to pass a tax add on for a quarter of a cent for this or that good cause (and it is usual an important or usefull service). Politicians justify it saying it will only cost you an extra 25 or 50 bucks a year or say that someone else will pay for it, not you. It is how politicians raise taxes on the middle class. They tell you they are only raising taxes on someone else. Here is an idea. Why don't we tell them to make do with what they have. Even better, less then they have. Lets not raise taxes on anyone. Lets make them work inside a budget with a set amount of money like all of the rest of us. This divide and conquer system of class warfare used by politicians is only effective if we let it be effective.
I have children like many other people. My oldest is a diabetic, her new insulin pump just cost me $6200. Her infusion sets cost me $34 every two or three days. Does insurance pay for most of it - yeah. Except someone has to pay for that insurance and the way that works is the insurance company adds up the cost of all your employees medical costs and spreads them out between the group. It is re-evaluated every year. We pay 75%. I pay 100% of mine and 75% of theirs. I think I pay enough already, I don't need someone telling me how lucky I am. A loaf of bread will cost me as much as the next guy.
"History doesn't always repeat itself but it often rhymes." - Mark Twain
I find it absolutely insulting as an American that no Congressman read this bill and voted for it. I don't really care how long it is; don't put your name on it if you haven't read the thing. And, I think we should be asking ourselves, why does Congress have to pass a bill THAT large, anyway? 
