This week's Word for Word featured David Cay Johnston's speech at the Commonwealth Club of California, in which he outlined how government-private sector collusion affects the middle class and the poor. Johnston says the government pays subsidies to some of the richest people in America, including the owners of the Wal-Mart chain:
"The Walton family are the richest family in America. They have more money than Warren Buffet and Bill Gates together. That's how rich they are and yet they are feeding at the public trough everywhere they can-- they are getting taxpayer dollars... So, how many hours are you willing to give up every week to give money to the Waltons? I'm not willing to give them one minute. This is how much I'll give them: zero."What do you think? Do the wealthiest Americans deserve to "feed at the same trough" as those with less wealth? Should the very wealthy be taxed disproportionately higher than the rest of the country? Listen to this week's speech and share your thoughts below.
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Suzanne Pekow
Word for Word
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Comments: 11
I don't know that for sure, but it seems logical to me. If, for example, your household makes over $100,000 per year, you wouldn't be qualified for food stamps, medicare, etc. Right? Therefore your benefits per tax-dollar would be proportionately smaller than a family that makes much less.
Am I missing something here?
Uh, I'm going to restrain myself, and just say, hmmmm.............could be.
You can lead a Republican to the facts, but you can't make him think. (Greasy Grant)
Does "Lex Luthor" think he should pay taxes that go NOT to government, but to the Waltons and other rich families and individuals? If so, please explain.
Also, tell us how many hours or days you are willing to work each year to add to the fortunes of the Waltons and others like them? And explain why you do not believe the market is sufficient and people like the Waltons need to be subsidized.
The wealthy do not own the majority of corporate wealth, the middle-class does through its retirement funds.
The wealthy pay most of the bills in this country and the wealth the middle-class has invested in its retirement funds is placed there tax-free, not taxed as it grows and taxed less when it is withdrawn.
I've had a conversation with people who think at the end of the day they're getting low prices at Wal-Mart. I remind them that as taxpayers we may be paying small amounts at the W-M cash registers but we're footing the bill for its employees' health benefits, vis a vis community health services and emergency rooms.
I dispute the statement that the wealthy pay most of the bills in this country, and the suggestion that the middle class is getting away with something by investing in retirement funds. Frankly, if I could convince my husband to pull all our 401k money out of the stock market and stick it under our mattress, I would. The market is one more racket that the middle class is forced to enter (in the guise of "growing" its nest eggs) but it mainly seems to enrich the wealthy and powerful, who can dump shares quickly and easily.
The question above misses the point. I don't believe the wealthy should be taxed disportionately; rather, they should be taxed at a progressive rate, same as the middle class is. The more money you make, the more you pay. Very simple.
Very cool article..........
I wish some of this kind of money would be put into stretch marks research, but then again, I guess you could put the money into just about anything health-related.